Caption This is another clear-cut slope that sustained extensive slides during the storm. Studies indicate that landslides frequently occur in unlogged forests but happen with greater frequency in logged-off lands. Major storms, such as the one that hit earlier this month, often are the triggers for slides and debris flows that — as they travel downhill and gather momentum rip out rocks, root wads and other material. --seattle times
OK, I may be dense here, but why is this a bad thing? Especially when one takes into account that a relatively rare storm was a major contributing factor.
Looks like part of that washed out area in post 2 had been logged and replanted several years ago. Looks like the replanted area washed out as bad as the bare areas.
Twenty inches of rain in 24 hours is extraordinary, even in Washington state. I lived there through some major storms in the past, and the flooding isn’t caused by logging. TWith enough rain, the landslides happen anyway, but are more visible in clearcut areas. The rugged terrain testifies to frequent gullywashers and creations, and trees just grow back over it.
You must also consider that unharvested forests will burn in the hot summers and the land will be vulnerable to visible mudslides the next winter.
It is always changing — erosion is natural.
Replace the words "unlogged" and "logged-off" with unburned and burned down.
I don’t see any slides in those pics. There’s erosion from runoff after soil saturation’s achieved, but the same would appear in the forested areas. Had there been slides, the stuff at the bottoms would be covered. It’s not. Hte heavy rain just made the surface like quick mud, which could be washed away easily. Those tree roots there in the forsested areas wouldn’t prevent that from happening. The forest does is hide the erosion that occured there.