Shovel logging, sometimes called Hoe Chucking, uses a log loader to swing the logs into the forest path.
Logging with a shovel is one of a number of methods that can be used to move logs out of the forest onto the road.
Instead of driving it towards the log and dragging it back to the landing,
the loader moves slowly across the harvest area,
grasping the accessible logs / trees and rotating them to drop them closer to the road.
Logs off the road can be rowed back and forth downhill in a few passes.
Slip and cable registration can be more cost effective for logs away from the road.
Shovel registration can take advantage of the loader between logging truck arrivals.
It can also reduce soil degradation, as it only requires a single pass to move all logs within reach.
The machine shown here is a typical "shovels" used for spade logging.
It is a modified excavator or 'shovel'.
This name extends back to previous generation equipment when loggers used power scoops (usually with a different boom) to load logs.
