This sucks. Timber has been a huge part of Oregon's DNA for some time now, and a lot of the old-time loggers here are basically environmentalists (though they w

This sucks. Timber has been a huge part of Oregon's DNA for some time now, and a lot of the old-time loggers here are basically environmentalists (though they would prefer it if you didn't call them that.) And what I mean is, they seem to have a deep understanding that taking care of the ecosystem that sustains their livelihood is good for them and their families in the long run. Some of these ranges are just staggeringly beautiful – especially the coast range as you drive out to the water. Typically you'll see small patches logged, with signs indicating the new plantings, etc. One interesting bit of info: Douglas Fir is an iconic tree here, but a hundred years ago what was more common was rolling prairies of oak savanna and oak woodlands. The Douglas Fir have taken over the oak woodlands, which are vanishing (and in the Willamette Valley a lot of the prairies and oak woodlands have been cleared for vineyards.) Native Americans used to maintain the landscape by setting burns annually. The oaks are fire resistant, so they'd get rid of a lot of brush that way, while pockets of annuals in gullies (including vegetables etc) would survive, as well as the oaks which supported large game. We have an oak woodland and prairie on our property that we're conserving and restoring, and a Douglas Fir stand on our ridge which we have no plans of logging for the time being. They do require some thinning occasionally as the trees mature, and it's important to keep brush down to lower the wildfire risk.