Winter Timber

View of Highway 101 in Washington State, USA on March 7, 2025.

I’m traveling from Seattle to the Olympic Peninsula, south to Portland, and along the rivers that flow west in the foothills of the Cascades. It’s a warm beginning of March and I’ve been thinking about the complexity of managing forests. The forests are infinitely complicated but easy to oversimplify.

A cormorant in the Hood Canal of Washington State, USA dries its wings on March 7, 2025.

Timber is integral to the economy of the Northwest. The industry is also a major exporter. The export of raw logs and processed wood products has been a point of contention for decades as trade policies integrated economies.

Timber is transported on I-5 in Washington State, USA on March 7, 2025.

The forest fires are tragic on so many levels, from psychological to economic. The identity of the place is defined by strong treetrunks and rough cut beams.

The wooden beams of a bridge over the McKenzie River in Oregon, USA on March 9, 2025.

There is sadness in the remnants of a charred forest but also a glimmer of beauty. Nature will take its course, eventually, which might include recovery from toxic emissions.

Charred trees along the McKenzie River and an evening moon on March 9, 2025.

The road continues to inspire. It occurs to me that concepts, either real or imagined, as depicted in the media become collective reality. A visit in-person adds depth of understanding and context.