Ugly clear cuts with view of Mount Hood - where are they.

[Waffle Stomper]

A recent thread made me think that this is time for me to use my photography for good. I'd like to do a personal photo project. I'm looking for really ugly clearcuts and timber operations with view of Mount Hood. My work is in a slack time and I'd like to do some environmental/editorial photography. Heck, if I'm not earning any income I might as well do some good. I envision a series of photos showing the contrasts between pristine forests and clear cutting. Active operations a plus. The reason I am targeting the Mount Hood area is because it is someplace most people (from Portland at least) can relate to and does not require a lot of travel (I mentioned work is slow so limited financial resources).

Any suggestions? Forest roads are okay, but must be navigable with a Subaru outback. Your thoughts are appreciated. I'd like to do something that is both artistic and journalistic. I'm not sure where I'm taking this, but it has been on the back of my mind for awhile.

I appreciate your thoughts.

[lichenhikin]

Head north on Lolo Pass from 26 — you can't drive more than like 15min at a time between 26 and Hood River without seeing clear cuts or the big power lines (always wondered if those are coming from the Bonneville Dam?) and it's easily navigable in an outback.

[pdxgene]

You could probably send off an email to BARK and they'd have a list for you...

[Waffle Stomper]

Thanks guys. I bet BARK would, great idea.

[greenjello85]

I would think up crooked finger out of Scotts mill or the Molalla river area would both be good areas to check out. The blm lands are pretty much all giant clear cuts. I'm not 100% where to get the mt hood view though. Probably above rhody lake which is actively being cut. I wouldn't go during the week to avoid the trucks and angry loggers.

[pdxgene]

The low hanging fruit would be the disaster you see driving out to Lost Lake. So much for the mandatory replanting bs commercials the forest products industry runs.

[Limey]

I've seriously considered doing a documentary called "The Raping of Lost Lake Road." Breaks my heart to drive out there now. The newest operation, closest to Dee, is destroying what used to be Mohr Park which is shown on old maps. Very sad.

[Splintercat]

I've been on the same wavelength, Marilyn. I started documenting (with photos) what I call the "Rape of the West Fork" since about 2007, when (then owner) Longview Fibre began to dramatically step up their logging, far above anything sustainable. They were then acquired by a Canadian equity firm, and the logging escalated further. The equity firm completed their cash pillaging and sold out to Weyerhauser (last year, I believe) and the pace of the rape continues. I'm still trying to figure out how many of these logs are being shipped raw to Asia. At least Longview Fibre put most of the trees they cut into domestic manufacturing (cardboard boxes for Amazon). Very sad. Here's a pano of the West Fork canyon from just a few days ago - the bluffs above the canyon were just cut within the last year, and you can see another clearcut on the extreme left (on the rim of the canyon) that happened this spring:



Lots of this going on up there, right down to the river, sadly.

Janice, for your project (e.g., photos with Hood), some of the spots I've shot include Road 18 just west of the Lost Lake Road junction, the road to Wahtum Lake (several huge cuts there with the mountain behind) and up on Road 16, where it curves around Blue Ridge. Almost all of this is corporate land -- basically, after you pass the junction with the spur road to the Mazama trailhead coming from Lolo Pass. There is also a fair amount of Hood River County land in the West Fork valley, and unfortunately, the county is still clear cutting (as opposed to sustainable harvest practices).

Thanks for taking this on!

Tom

[Charley]

On a clear day, I believe this viewpoint in the Table Rock Wilderness (up the Molalla) has a view of Mt Hood. It's just awful: the poor Wilderness is surrounded by heavy cutting. Our descendants will never forgive this.

[cfm]

Charley's right. The view from Table Rock is truly disheartening.

If you want to venture further north, you can get quite an eyeful from MSH. This is from Monitor Ridge a few days ago: