Capital Press Reading Activity

Another in the series of Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom non-fiction text examples to be used in your classroom. These will be available every Friday morning at 7 a.m. during the school year.

These questions are designed to use in conjunction with a selected article from the Capital Press. To obtain access to an e-edition of Capital Press FREE to educators and students visit http://www.capitalpress.com/NewspaperInEducation. For more information about this program and ways to use it in your classroom visit the program webpage. 

Article: No slope too steep for this rig (Page 2)

Questions:

1. What is the innovation that Siegmund brought to his logging operation?
2.  What are the advantages to this method? 
3. What methods are used to minimize environmental impact to the forest? Why is this important? 
4. What are potential barriers to the use of this equipment?
5. Why is this innovation relevant? What other challenges in the logging industry might require technology or innovation to solve? 

Answers: 

1. Siegmund implemented the use of tethered logging machinery that can be used on slopes of up to 100 percent, compared to regular machinery that can only be used on 30 to 50 percent slopes. 
2. Advantages include logging at a faster speed, less fatigue, safer operation for the operator, greater accessibility on steep slopes and the need for fewer workers. 
3. Heavy machinery cannot leave deep ruts on hillsides, which will cause soil to wash down the slope during a rain storm, the cutting machine sweeps a log across the ground, "raking" away the ruts. A mound cutting diagonally across the slope also helps to minimize erosion. 
4. Answers will vary. Possible answers include: cost, safety considerations, unknown use of machinery, regulation barriers, etc. 
5. Answers will vary. 

Archives of past editions are available here. 

We welcome feedback or ideas to make this program as effective as possible! Please direct your questions or suggestions about this program to Jessica Jansen, Executive Director Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom  jessica.jansen@oregonstate.edu.