Forestry in the Pacific Northwest

What's it like being a forester in the Pacific Northwest? After one day of job shadowing, this is how it appears. First, there'd be something pleasant about spending each day in these forests. 

Fewer work environments smell as fresh, feel as natural, or look so clean - even if these forests are far from virgin. These stands were intensively logged 70 or so years ago.

And they are still being intensively logged. Stands are clearcut here, and that's about it.

It would be unrewarding for me to lay out timber sales and see the trees cut. However, apart from forest road construction, I would argue forestry is less intrusive and detrimental than other industry and development. Nonetheless, like with intensive management of any crop, there are negative externalities that are undervalued or ignored. 

A forester's job includes laying out the harvest area and building roads. But most of their work probably goes into marking which trees aren't to be cut. A certain number of trees are to be left per area, in addition to stream buffers and wildlife habitat the forester deems valuable.

It's too difficult to discuss the merits and moral philosophy of current forestry operations here. But foresters who are environmentally conscious could certainly help balance the industry. And for me, it was neat to see and learn more about how we mange our resources.