That is scary. I zoomed in expecting to see farmland but instead they were bald patches. Just like male pattern baldness by the time you notice it, the process is already well underway.

Yes it's ugly, but much better to clear cut pockets every couple decades than to clearcut everything to turn into farm land.

These forests take a lot longer than a couple decades to recover.

On Vancouver Island the harvesting cycle is 40 - 50 years. Trees grow fast with reasonable temperatures with lots of rain.

In Washington I think the cycle is similar for hardwoods. Wherhauser is a pretty good steward of their land, as that's really the only "asset" they have.

Same with Vancouver Island: https://goo.gl/maps/aXADesFXHUbyjPMw8