‘The Last Woodsman’: Jared Douglas Dishes on Season 2 Drama & What’s New

It’s time to break out the axes and chainsaws as Discovery Channel brings viewers back into the untamed wilderness of the Pacific Northwest for Season 2 of The Last Woodsmen. When the series returns November 14, it marks a new chapter for Jared Douglas. The veteran logger enters into an agreement with a businessman who is described as “ruthless” and, as viewers all see, there are some new twists ti the show.

With a deal that could bring a big payoff, it could come at a hefty price. The tree boss cuts ties with the old partner and pulls out all the stops to acquire a virgin timber claim that could set him up for long-term viability. At the start, he’ll have 10 days to raise needed capital of $200,000, which proves easier said than done. His team must endure monster cedars with an out-of-control fire that threatens their machinery and puts lives at risk. If that weren’t enough Douglas must face the heat of fierce competition, new and unforgiving terrain, and potentially disastrous equipment problems. 

Here the Cypress Creek Logging head chops it up about the dangers ahead and stakes on the line. 

On his logging claim in the Pacific Northwest, Jared Douglas races to grab the water truck after an old yarder starts to catch on fire. (Discovery Channel)

How has life changed for you since the first season aired? 

Jared Douglas: My life has been a little more public now. We’re out in the woods all the time, so I guess it hasn’t changed that much. That is beyond random requests I get from people around the world now. We’re out in the woods doing our thing. I guess the biggest change is working with film crews now. Discovery definitely sent their ringers out to step it up this season. So, I’m pretty excited about that. 

What stands out this season? 

We just took on some really big risks this season. We moved to a location that is so remote it was really hard to get in and out of. We’re using planes instead of boats. We just really went for it this season. It will make for a hell of a show. I know that. 

What did you take from the last season and how things unfolded? 

With everything there is growing pains, I definitely respect the people we work with. The respect they show to show our industry has always been there. Our industry is always under fire unfortunately. It is a green renewable industry, and we get to show it now. I know our film crew does their best showing how loggers are the number one environmentalists. We’re just farming a tree farm. It’s often seen the wrong way, so I’m happy to be able to showcase the life of the hardworking people who are doing the job.

They are awesome. I have so many characters in my crew. Our saying in camp is we’re all here because we’re not all there. It’s a great industry. I’m very proud of it. I’m proud to showcase it. It gets shown all over the world. What greater honor could you have than trying to represent your industry and business. I’m very grateful to Warner Brothers Discovery, the production company and guys on the ground. These guys are working really hard and put themselves in dangerous situations a lot. We live in the middle of nowhere and are trying to bring a TV crew to a logging operation. It’s like worlds colliding, so it has been interesting. 

I think when you are watching as a viewer and see what we see on TV, you don’t often think about the crew chronicling everything. They go through the experience with you. I feel like they are unsung heroes in a lot of ways. 

Yeah. They absolutely are, but I think they enjoy it. The food is good in camp. They get to integrate themselves with our crew. This is a great industry. It’s a great job. People do these unimaginable things with axes, power saws, old school ways and old equipment. We got people laying in mud puddles trying to fix this stuff. It is amazing what we go through, the trials and tribulations to get a log out of a forest into the market. 

Talk about what are some things we’re going to see in the premiere and beyond. It looks like you’re going to be making some big moves when it comes to the future of your company. You’re under the gun on a big deadline as well. 

I bought out my business partner last season and just barely made that happen. I kind of went from the frying pan into the fire. I have a timber claim I’m trying to purchase, which is a big step up from where I’m at now in my business. If I can secure this timber claim, it’s going to be great and bring lots of opportunities for me, my employees, and my company. We’re putting everything on the line. We really have to work hard to get this done. It’s almost unreachable the goal we’re doing, but we are putting everyone on the line. It’s definitely risky. Stay tuned. I have a lot of setbacks, equipment breaking down, weather conditions. I have definitely the weight of the world on my shoulders right now to get this done. It’s going to be good. When we were in it, you could read the stress on my face. I have a few more wrinkles now and lost hair and lots of gray hair now. 

How would you describe this “forever claim” and the difference that can make? 

A “forever claim” is a certain timber claim that gets put up for auction or for sale. We have the chance to buy it and it’s this renewable cut where you’re not out there always trying to find jobs or bidding on them. You get to harvest this claim forever. It just changes the game, the business. You can spend more time honing in on actually getting the job done than having to go look for the next job. They are very rare. These opportunities that come up these days. I can’t give you the spoiler on this, but if I can secure this, it will put me on the map. 

Being part of the Discovery Channel universe, have you connected with anyone from other shows like Gold Rush or Deadliest Catch? You all are in different industries, but face a lot of the same hurdles. 

I did have an hour-long conversation with Tony Beets, which was really interesting. He is the “King of the Klondike” and I’m looking to be the “King of the Coast.” 

When hand falling in the Pacific Northwest, Rob Winger makes sure every cut is precise to ensure the trees fall as expected. (Discovery Channel)

I have to know what you all talked about. 

Just equipment and differences in our industry. We talked about a lot of challenges like getting a good crew and working in places out in the middle of nowhere. He is challenged with the same thing I’m challenged with. I like to say this isn’t a gravel pit. We’re on the mountains. I like to think logging is a little bit more stressful than mining gold. 

Weather certainly creates another layer of unpredictability. 

Oh yeah. We have these steeper roads. We have to move our camps around water, oceans, currents, tides, storms. We have a lot of things we have to deal with in the logging industry. Not that the miners don’t. It was good to talk to some Discovery royalty and to reminisce that we all have the same problems and solutions are harder to find than you think. There is a reason we have these reality shows because it is a tough life. 

What is the state of the industry given the political climate, economic climate, environmental changes?  

We’re definitely watching Gold Rush and how they are at  record high gold prices. We are at record low timber prices right now. It has definitely been challenging. We had to definitely roll up our sleeves, make better decisions to make it right now. The industry is greatly impacted by market conditions. We’re struggling out here. We really are. We’re not getting the dollars we need from our product to be sustainable so a lot of people are struggling in this industry right now. It also offers when you ‘re at the bottom there are always opportunities, so that is what I’m looking to capitalize on. This business is cyclical; it will come back up and come back down. You have to ride the wave. 

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What else do you want to tease for people this season? 

It’s a lot of hard work. There are a lot of setbacks and challenges we got through each day. You can’t make this up. I don’t know why I do it. I just want to quit sometimes when I look back on it. However, it’s all I know. I’m glad to bring people into our world. I really believe we work in the most beautiful place in the world. We’re lucky to be out in the forest. We have men and women now.. We have women out there with us too, but it’s lot of grit. It’s the real deal. I’m hoping people will tune in and like to see what we have going on. Hopefully, we can show the world what we do for many seasons to come. 

The Last Woodsmen, Season 2 premiere, November 14, 9/8c, Discovery Channel