Webster's Dictionary defines clear-cutting as "removal of all the trees in a stand of timber." This forest management technique has been used in a variety of forests around the world. For many years, it was considered the most economical and environmentally sound way of harvesting timber. Since the 1960s and 1970s, the practice has been increasingly called into question as more has been learned about the ecological benefits of old growth timber especially in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and the global ecological value of tropical rain forests.

Foresters and loggers point out that there are practical economic and safety reasons for the practice of clear-cutting. For example, in the Pacific Northwest, these reasons revolve around the volume of wood that is present in the old growth forests. This volume can actually be an obstacle at times to harvesting, so that the most inexpensive way to...