Oregon Baby Boomer Wood

A Close Up On Clear Cuts.

Oregon visitors see the forest and the trees.

They also see forest management.

Some new people expect a Disney-like forest with happy animals greeting them.

Anything less is an affront to their senses, which feels like an affront to Oregon.

The push for wood products created an industrialized forest. The push continues.

Where open pit mining leaves a huge hole in the ground, clear cutting leaves bald hills. It’s not the same.

The mining hole doesn’t regenerate its bounty. The hills get replanted.

Virgin stands of timber used to go to market as fast as possible in the days of cut and run.

Logging companies bid on contracts, built roads, and cranked up their saw.

They took the trees down and moved to the next show and called it progress.

Eventually the beautiful Oregon forests were saved. Tall trees line roads and drivers imagine it’s like that all over the state.

If you look hard enough you’ll see clear-cut hill after clear-cut hill between the border trees.

Visitors often see hills skinned of trees and jump into eco-warrior mode. Wrap your arms around this: Loggers see tracts of forest the way farmers see fields of wheat. Both cut and replant, though one is seasonal and the other generational.

Look harder at the bare hills and you’ll see small trees rising up.

Look harder at Oregon and you’ll see a state learning to work with nature.

Is this what it looks like?

via clearcutoregon.com

Is this what it sounds like? From www.clearcutoregon.com:

“Numerous non-profit organizations in Oregon work to protect and restore the forests and waters on our public lands. 

Current proposals to dramatically increase logging in western Oregon – from county, state, and the federal governments, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) – have prompted many groups to work together to bring these proposals to light in the public. These proposals include increased clearcutting across millions of acres of public lands. We believe this is a short sighted vision for our public lands, which should be valued for clean drinking water, recreation, and scenery – not just for timber – and preserved for future generations. 

In August 2013, Oregon Wild, Portland Audubon Society, Sierra Club, and the Center for Biological Diversity launched an ad campaign – featuring the billboard-style ad in the header of this website – to draw attention to the shortcomings of the rules governing logging in Oregon.” 

Before you decide one way or the other, Boomer, take a walk in the woods, the clear cut, the park, and soak it in.

This land is your land. Keep that in mind.