The bark beetle attacks trees weakened by overpopulation. Logging reduces the stress on the ecosystem by thinning trees - thus keeping the forest healthier.
Of course the other natural predator of Bark Beetle is FIRE!
Forest management requires one or the other...logging vs. fire. The eviro wackos think fire is the "natural" option.
The solution is private property. The sickest forests are the ones mismanaged by the government. If we are going to have urban homesteading, we need some rural homesteading, too. I fantasize about retirees caring for trees.
Sad isn't it that the keepers of the forests are the very ones who have managed the forests destruction. The communists did say they would destroy US from within.