Clear cutting

I recently inquired about the tree cutting along roads and the County I lived in gave me a copy of a study that showed that road side TRIMMING or cutting of the trees in rural areas could help prevent up to 60% of the normal accidents on these narrow roads by increasing the visibility around turns. I do not know if that is what you are talking about, but in one place a landowner sued the County and the County planted 5 to 1 trees for each cut on his lands adjacent to the road even though it was part of a right of way where they were cut. They planted them in a vacant field near a stream.

There used to be a system of harvest that was like a clear cut but resembled a fire and it was better on the environment, but it required a lot of planting and not many roads plus they left a lot of pockets of trees here and there. I cannot remember what it was, but not many practice it now from what I see.

 

I have to agree with Tom here. Most loggers and people in the logging industry do value and cherish the forest, the trees and the creatures that live among them. Alot of forestry workers also feel at least a little bit of guilt for cutting down and scarring the earth.
But that guilt will not stop them from doing there jobs. In logging/resource based communities there are usually not a large amount of decent paying jobs outside that field.
Now I'm not too familiar with the american forestry/logging system but as far as Canada (British Columbia) goes I'm pretty knowledgeable. Our forestry industry is far from perfect but if you look at the advances that have been made in the past few decades, then we're are light-years ahead of the logging practices of the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's.
I'll agree that clearcuts are an eyesore and a scar upon the earth and that there is a lot of waste, but I'd rather see most of the waste left on the ground to decompose rather than get trucked off to the mill and be rejected just to be ground into pulp or left to rot in a pile.
We do plant more trees than are logged! We shouldn't have to log as much, but I would say thats an issue with consumer demand. Nobodys forcing it down your throat.
When planning logging and clearcuts, technicians have to be knowledgeable of the ecosystem. If there is an important feature for animals you have to leave it. If there is historically signifigant trees (native) you have to leave it. If the soil nutrients are not up to the task of properly regrowing a strong forest you have to leave it. If there is a fish bearing stream you have to leave it.
I could go on and on about the rules and regulations that have to be followed here but I think the general idea:
Logging/clearcuts are still needed in modern society,
We need to cut down our demand on wood products,
Logging of the past was vicious and extremly destructive to earth,
Current practices are much more socially and enviormentally friendly,
They are still far from perfect and will continue to evolve,

SO DONT GET MAD AT THE LOGGERS AND THERE EMPLOYERS, INSTEAD GO OUT AND TRY AND CREATE A DIFFERENCE BY REDUCING THE DEMAND FOR THEIR PRODUCTS.