Having watched the forested slopes of Mount Elphinstone since 1930, having hiked through old growth, second growth and clear-cuts and having observed the operations from high lead and steam donkey to yarder and truck, may I comment on the letter “Clear cutting has no place” from your May 8 edition?
The ridge of Mount Elphinstone has been logged progressively in five stages over the last 90 years. Each operation was a clear-cut and one (Burns and Jackson, 1941) included a burn. The east face of the peak was logged to the 3,500-foot level by the Johnson brothers.
Natural reforestation quickly restored each clear-cut in turn, and for the next 10 to 20 years the area was bursting with life — amphibians, woodpeckers, owls, plants, mammals, birds and insects. These are rarely found in old growth forests.
One look at the forest cover on our mountain will show clearly the reforestation benefits of clear-cut logging.