If you live in a forest community, odds are – unfortunately – that clearcutting is occurring in your area. If you don’t live in a forest community, clearcutting still affects you, as it contributes to global warming and climate change and can negatively impact water supply and quality.
As you drive through a forest, you may wonder why you rarely – if ever – see a clearcut. That’s because most timber companies leave what is euphemistically described as “beauty strips” – untouched sections of timberlands along roadways that obscure the destruction that is occurring just yards away. But if you could fly overhead, you would see a patchwork of denuded forestlands beyond the roadside screen of trees. It’s a familiar pattern in nearly every forest community.
Here’s a sample of aerial views of what our forests really look like while clearcutting continues (click on image to enlarge view).