A crowd gathered on the Collins Pine Lawn in downtown Chester June 7 for an afternoon of logging sports at the annual Big Time Logging Jamboree, presented by the Maidu Summit Consortium. It was a beautiful afternoon with temperatures in the mid-80s and a light breeze off Lake Almanor. Spectators cheered events including modified and stock chainsaw, single and double buck saw, ax throwing and more. Around the perimeter of the lawn, booths staffed by local nonprofits and businesses offered Indian tacos and barbecue, drinks, desserts and crafts for sale.
The ‘sport’ in logging sports
Competitors were evaluated on both precision and speed in 14 different events. Contests included the stock saw (a race to complete a straight, clean cut through a large log using an off-the-shelf chainsaw), modified saw (in which contestants perform similar cuts using specialized chainsaws with mechanical upgrades) and single and double buck (in which contents work singly or in pairs to complete cuts using the hand saws, lovingly known as “misery whips,” with an assistant on hand to apply lubricant and insert a wedge when needed).
Emcee Jane Harvey, of Grass Valley, an experienced logging sports contestant herself, commented and gently teased throughout on the knottiness of the logs and the competence of contestants: “You had a pretty good time till then. What’s your excuse?” she quipped to one stock saw contestant, who slowed down midsaw. The answer: old age. Overall, contestants were well-matched. The top three times for stock saw all came within a second of one another, at 24 seconds.
Between rounds of sawing contents, ax throwers faced off. Embedded in the center of each wooden target was a can of beer. A perfect bull’s eye elicited a foamy explosion and a cry of “We have beer!” from the emcee.
The top five placements received cash awards in each category to provide incentive. They also offered competitors the opportunity to earn back their entrance fees. In addition, a prize was awarded for best all-around logger.
A long legacy
The Big Time Logging Jamboree provides an opportunity for the Maidu Summit Consortium to highlight its work in conservation and its role within the community, said Misty Salem, finance/community engagement coordinator. Many residents don’t realize the organization has an office in Chester with five full-time and 15 part-time staff, she said. That’s something the consortium worked to change with a large information booth at the event featuring plush beaver toys for kids. They reference one of the organization’s proudest accomplishments, the reintroduction of the species at Tásmam Koyóm (also known as Humbug Valley). The consortium’s work also includes fire recovery, reforestation and native plant restoration and management.
Logging sports are a natural choice of community event for the organization. Though the consortium inaugurated the Big Time just three years ago, it’s part of a long tradition. Many Mountain Maidu have been involved in logging and lumber sports for generations, Salem said. “It’s something that we’re all proud of.”
“A lot of our people work in the woods,” added Lorena Gorbet, a member of the consortium board of directors, who represents the Maidu cultural development group. “My dad, when I was a kid, competed in the logging shows in the late ‘40s in Quincy. He worked in the woods for over 40 years. It’s something many of us have grown up with.”
Today, the consortium’s work crews continue that tradition. The organization has devoted many hours over the past several seasons to removing hazard trees from Tásmam Koyóm. Creating jobs and providing job training for Maidu people is among the consortium’s goals, said Gorbet. Several crew members participated in the Big Time competition.
The Big Time planning process takes about six months, beginning in January, said Salem. The group has cultivated partnerships with the Feather River Tourism Association, The Almanor Foundation and Collins Pine Co. Dozens of other businesses, nonprofits and individuals contribute as sponsors. Consortium work crew members handle setup and teardown. “Every year it gets a little bigger,” she said. This year’s event drew a good crowd and good contestants, said Allen Lowry, vice chairman of the consortium, who represents Big Meadow historical preservation.
An organization of many organizations
The Maidu Summit Consortium got its start in 2003, explained Gorbet. A stewardship pilot project, planned for a 600-acre area near Homer Lake, inspired a community meeting of different Maidu groups, including tribes, nonprofits and cultural organizations. All agreed that the area was an important one to protect and, jointly, they became involved in the project. Afterward, the consortium turned its attention to other culturally significant places, such as Soda Rock, and the village and burial sites now submerged beneath Lake Almanor. Formalized incorporation as a nonprofit organization took place several years later, in 2009.
Following Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s 2001 bankruptcy, the company entered an agreement with the California Public Utilities Commission to divest itself of some land holdings through donation or conservation easement. The Maidu wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to regain historic homelands — but they “wanted it for all our people,” not just one group, Gorbet said.
The consortium seemed like the ideal vehicle. In order to qualify under the terms of the divestment, they formed an environmental nonprofit organization and went after the land. In total the Maidu Summit Consortium received a little over 3,000 acres from PG&E between 2019 and 2022, including 2,325 acres at Tásmam Koyóm and five other parcels around Lake Almanor. “That was a long, long process to have our voices heard with PG&E,” Lowry recalled.
Once it became a landowner, the consortium turned its attention to caring for those lands — only to have its plans temporarily derailed by the 2021 Dixie Fire. The organization pivoted to fire recovery tasks, said Lowry, such as removing hazard trees and restoring and reopening the campground.
Now the burned trees have been logged off, and it’s time to focus on reforestation, willow restoration, cultivating native plants and getting rid of invasive ones, said Ben Cunningham, chairman of the consortium, who also represents the Tsi-Akim Maidu. After so many years of cattle ranching, meadow restoration is also needed.
In 2023, the organization partnered with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to release beavers into Tásmam Koyóm, where they joined a lone resident beaver. Two years on, two family groups have formed, and they are working on damming up the water, said Cunningham. That will ultimately help to restore the groundwater reserves.
“It’s just going to get better,” said Lowry.
The organization is now being recognized by agencies such as the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the California Department of Transportation and the U.S. Forest Service, Lowry said. “That’s new for us, and that’s a source of pride for us. Just being recognized like that is good for our people.”
The consortium’s most recent acquisition is a 21-acre parcel in Westwood, which includes a full shop — no more storing chainsaws in the office! — and a house, which they plan to convert to office and meeting space.
“The Native people are still here. We will be here forever.”
Ben Cunningham, Maidu Summit Consortium chairman
The group has big plans for future growth. Continued staff development in areas ranging from finance to first aid to woodcraft to cultural monitoring. A new cultural center near Prattville. And of course, ongoing work on the cultural park at Tásmam Koyóm. “We want to use the lands that we have to show people how to care for the land,” Gorbet explained.
They also hope to continue adding to that property, she said, pointing to a potential acquisition in Warner Valley. The consortium is willing to take on and care for even burned land, she said — something not everyone wants to do.
“The Native people are still here. We will be here forever,” said Cunningham.
