One hears continuously that the Forest Service doesn’t clearcut anymore. Of course, what constitutes a clearcut is subject to interpretation. The following photos are all taken on the Deschutes NF in Oregon. These are “forest thinning” projects designed to reduce wildfires and “improve” forest health. How many trees do you need to leave behind so it’s not an “official” clearcut?
George Wuerthner is an ecologist and writer who has published 38 books on various topics related to environmental and natural history.
Among his titles are:
Welfare Ranching-The Subsidized Destruction of the American West
Wildfire-A Century of Failed Forest Policy
Energy—Overdevelopment and the Delusion of Endless Growth
Keeping the Wild-Against the Domestication of the Earth
Protecting the Wild—Parks, and Wilderness as the Foundation for Conservation
Nevada Mountain Ranges
Alaska Mountain Ranges
California’s Wilderness Areas—Deserts
California Wilderness Areas—Coast and Mountains,
Montana’s Magnificent Wilderness, Yellowstone—A Visitor’s Companion
Yellowstone and the Fires of Change,
Yosemite—The Grace and the Grandeur,
Mount Rainier—A Visitor’s Companion,
Texas’s Big Bend Country,
The Adirondacks-Forever Wild
Southern Appalachia Country, among others.
He has visited over 400 designated wilderness areas and over 200 national park units.
In the past, he has worked as a cadastral surveyor in Alaska, a river ranger on several wild and scenic rivers in Alaska, a backcountry ranger in the Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska, a wilderness guide in Alaska, a natural history guide in Yellowstone National Park, a freelance writer and photographer, a high school science teacher, and more recently ecological projects director for the Foundation for Deep Ecology. He currently is the ED of Public Lands Media
He has been on the board or science advisor of numerous environmental organizations, including RESTORE the North Woods, Gallatin Yellowstone Wilderness Association, Park Country Environmental Coalition, Wildlife Conservation Predator Defense, Gallatin Wildlife Association, Western Watersheds Project, Project Coyote, Rewilding Institute, The Wildlands Project, Patagonia Land Trust, The Ecological Citizen, Montana Wilderness Association, New National Parks Campaign, Montana Wild Bison Restoration Council, Friends of Douglas Fir National Monument, Sage Steppe Wild, and others.
Comments
12 responses to “Thinning or Clearcut?”
Looks annihilated to me.
Terrible. Just imagine all the wind erosion too! 🙁
The 80 acre clearcuts(40 plus 40 adjacent “patch cuts” – did they think we couldn’t add?)in my town have proven to be an outrage to the public and an embarrassment to the FS and fuel to oppose future shenanigans. At least the trees didn’t totally die in vain…
Talk about clearcuts! and in grizzly bear habitat in the Yaak:
Check this out:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/06/01/nonsensical-clearcuts-rage-on-in-our-national-forests/
And then there is the “native invasive juniper” removal operation ongoing in the high desert. Crazy And how much did they get for that project $350 million (?) to buy all the gas guzzling heavy equipment ?
Makes one wonder what made “the cut” and what did not.
unbelievably outrageous!!! How dare they get away with this!!!
Thanks for the link Barrie. The clearcuts proposed in grizzly bear habitat in the Yaak via the Black Ram project are not only going to increase risk to bears by openings but also by destroying hundreds of acres of prime huckleberry patches as well by my estimate. Some of these areas I have picked for over twenty years that are now proposed as clearcuts with reserves. clearcuts + slashing young trees + burning + replanting = no more huckleberry habitat. The evidence is clear, you can walk through the proposed clearcuts with all the huckleberry forage for bears, people, bumble bees, etc., then you can walk right next to these proposed units in the very same elevation and aspect in 25-40 year old clearcuts and only find scattered individual huckleberry bushes. If carried out as proposed I call it a “taking” because it will be taking an essential food away from wildlife like bears. The sad thing is you can also see past selective thinning units in the same areas that maintained huckleberry habitat so it’s possible to log without destroying such a valuable food crop.
That’s awful! You’d think people would want the huckleberries too. 🙁
Yes, a taking. That fits for the dirt bike racetrack in what should be protected habitat in my Forest that the agency WILL NOT correct. Poor quality employees are part of the problem. A taking from the American public and the wild.
Good pickup. That’s definitely significant tree removal. Nobody in their right mind would call that just a thinning.
Heres another intelligent write-up regarding the push to log & construct roads into forested lands! Good one too.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/06/25/we-cant-fireproof-fire-dependent-forests-but-we-can-fireproof-homes/?fbclid=IwAR0HEStDD4esif-1ijECgQni1lvq9SIeNy9mkUG0LMA69fbCaqQrkDE2uYo