December 4, 2025 3:20 a.m.
A Roseburg based company is among the top forest operators for 2025 announced by the Oregon Department of Forestry on Wednesday.
Austin Weber and his company Weber Logging and Construction were chosen as Operator of the Year for the Southwest Oregon Region for successfully working under new Forest Practices Act rules requiring him to protect a half dozen stands of trees in especially steep areas at risk of landslides.
An ODF release said leaving trees in those stands served various purposes, including protecting soils from erosion and downstream water from sediments. Trees left standing would also be available when they eventually fell over to deliver woody debris for future fish habitat. To do so, Weber had to set up multiple yarding sites and haul logs up to lands on the side of the road above the harvest unit.
Michael Williams of Roseburg Forest Products, who nominated Weber, said he also protected a fish bearing stream in the unit, avoiding damage to trees in the stream buffer. Williams said that Weber has consistently excelled at protecting natural resources while harvesting in some of the most challenging situations in the region, for nearly twenty years.
View a video about Weber’s work at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqwOaRaQ2po
The other honorees are:
*Eastern Oregon: Boulder Ridge Logging LLC, headquartered in Bend
*Northwest Oregon: Quality Excavation Inc. out of Seaside.
Three regional advisory committees to the Oregon Board of Foresty selected the trio earlier this fall. The recipients will be recognized in Salem at the January meeting of the board.
The award recognizes forest operators who, while harvesting timber or doing other forestry work, have an excellent track record of protecting natural resources and improving forest health at a level that consistently meets or exceeds requirements of the Oregon Forest Practices Act. That law requires people to manage forests responsibly and protect streams and water quality, protect and enhance habitat, and reduce landslide risks. The law also requires landowners to replant forests after harvesting.