Читать книгу Afoot and Afield: Portland/Vancouver. A Comprehensive Hiking Guide онлайн

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With their mild and famously wet climate, these mountains are probably the best place in the world to grow evergreen trees. In addition, the Clatsop and Tillamook State Forests, which administer this land, have traditionally focused almost exclusively on timber harvest, in an effort to maximize state revenues and produce jobs. In fact, until recently, recreation was almost completely ignored, since managers did not see this as part of their mandate. In the last decade or so, however, some of that thinking has changed, and, at least from a hiker’s perspective, all to the better.

After the monumental replanting efforts following the Tillamook Burns of the 1930s and 1940s, much of forest here is uniformly green and impressive, with just enough lingering snags to add scenic and historical interest. Those trees are now ready for harvest, however, so if you want to see this land without the scars of clear-cuts, you’d better hike the trails here soon. More important, now is the time to get involved in the efforts of the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, and other environmental groups to save at least part of this beautiful landscape from the ravages of the chainsaw.