Lodgepole clearcut eastern Idaho, Idaho (1986)
	Both public and private lands are subject to clear-cutting, removing all the trees on growing from a given area of land, instead of practicing the older logging of "selective cutting," where only the "cream" of the trees are removed at any single time. A major problem is not just the habitat change involved in clear-cutting (an aesthetic abomination, in most eyes), but also the problems associated with regenerating new trees on the site. Often a monoculture replaces the more diverse trees that preceded the logging.
	Next: logging truck Previous
Return to Paul Starrs' Images of the American West Go to the GeoImages home page.