WASHINGTON, DC—The Washington Office of Recreation, Heritage, and Volunteer Resources program is pleased to announce three important updates to the National Saw Program: amended national saw policy, national sawyer qualification tracking database and a new sawyer training curriculum. These improvements support implementation of the saw program at the regional, forest and district levels to benefit agency staff, partners and volunteers who use chainsaws and crosscut saws on National Forest System lands.

• Amended National Saw Policy, Forest Service Manual 2358: The updated policy was published March 6, 2023, and is available here and on the Forest Service Directives website. Amendments improve clarity, remove conflicting information and better support saw program managers to carry out the saw program for employees, volunteers and cooperator groups.

• National Sawyer Qualification Tracking Database: The database tracks and stores certification and training information for sawyers including employees, volunteers and partners who operate chainsaws and use crosscut saws on National Forest System lands. Agency employees and non-Forest Service employees will be able to access the database, but regional saw program managers will manage permissions for user access. The Crosscut and Chainsaw SharePoint page (internal link) contains a database user guide and tutorial videos.

• New chainsaw and crosscut sawyer training curriculum: “Developing Thinking Sawyers”: This curriculum focuses on sawyer safety, human factors and risk management. The new curriculum consists of seven modules and is intended to be delivered in person. The modular design will allow instructors to tailor the training to the needs of each group of students. Firefighters who take specific modules will be awarded credit for S-212 in the Incident Qualification and Certification System. Regional saw program managers are currently distributing the curriculum to sawyer instructors.

Regions are encouraged to use the new curriculum but will have until April 2024 to transition. During this time, the Missoula Technology and Development Center Chainsaw and Crosscut course, the Game of Logging course and the National Wildfire Coordinating Group S-212 course will continue to be accepted.

Special thanks to the regional saw program managers, regional crosscut coordinators and all the subject matter experts who have worked over the past few years to accomplish these improvements. The Forest Service is now able to better implement the saw program for employees, volunteers, and Cooperator groups because of their contribution.

Visit the Crosscut and Chainsaw Program SharePoint page (internal link) for more information.

For more information or with questions please contact your respective regional saw program manager or the national saw program.