Falling and slashing is the game for Edziza

 By Malcolm McColl

TERRACE B.C. - Clayton Burger is a Northwest Pacific born and raised tree faller from Iskut, B.C., who took his skills with a chain saw all over the province, all types of forest and species of trees. After 20 years as a falle, he worked for a short time as a foreman for logging outfit, which proved to be excellent preparation, “to start my own business . This is our second year operating out of Terrace, B.C..” He moved from Iskut (Tahltan territory to pursue the coastal falling jobs, “I spent ten years in camps, two seasons of heli-logging.”

Today Clayton has 10 fallers working, and anywhere between eight and 15 through the year, and it will grow. “We are training in Nisga’a, and may be working as far as Columbia Valley on a transmission line job there.” Edziza works falling contracts in Edson, Alberta, and Dawson Creek, B.C., and currently, “Right where we are with the Northern Transmission Line project,” running north from Terrace. Falling and slashing is the game.

“Line cutting, right-of-way, seismic, oilfield line, pipeline, routes cut to make trails for industry, or government contracts.” Clayton notes, “We do house construction and renovations. One of my employees was building houses in Fort McMurray. We do renovations. We are thinking about pursuing the idea of Band housing. We do rebuilding projects on trailers and commercial properties, custom cedar fencing.”

Edziza is working on the Northwest Transmission Line survey of the centre line for the 300-plus kilometre transmission line project that proceeds from Terrace in Kitsumkalum through the Nass Valley and Nisga’a Nation, proceeding across Gitxsan into Tahltan territory. “Weather’s been horrible, miserable, raining or cold, but a crew of 12 continues to plug away through the wet conditions. We started last September 2010, and working on the project from point-to-point. I have a 12-man crew working on the centre line.”

Most of these have been trained in chainsaw faller competency at his own company’s expense, by a company called Enform, and these men form the core of a company that is expanding operations to other principalities, including Alberta, and the north. The NTL project involves doing the survey, and at the same time, cutting a walking trail the entire distance so engineers and construction teams or environmental monitoring personnel can access the route.

“We started the project last fall with All-North Consulting, and we’ve been working with McElhanney since the spring on the survey job at NTL. I am also working on a program now in Nisga’a to run a training course for two weeks looking for chain-saw experienced people with no tickets. We will get them out and prepare them to test, then they can pass the tests,” to be certified fallers in the region.

He says, “Business is good and getting better. We go year-round. We worked last winter in Alberta in the beetle control fall and burn program from January to March. and seismic lines. I expect that’ll keep us going again this winter.” The personnel is usually First Nation, “Most of my guys are from Hazelton, Nass Valley, Iskut, Kitimat, and Tsimshian, even Prince George. I just hired four more from Lytton and Kelowna area, since we are hoping to go to work down south on the Columbia Power project.”