Clear cutting works just fine and done properly actually serves as a firebreak.
Where I live in Idaho we have been hollering at the idiots in the USFS for 10-years that the forests are dying from beetle infestation. They refuse to do anything, and if they actually do come up with the rare timber sale, the record of decision is always appealed by some a**hole environmental organization from two states away.
The US forest service is responsible for the poor condition of the forests in the west, and now they are trying to get loggers to show interest in a few break-even puny timber sales to bale out decades of lousy management.
What a joke. I could go on.
I will concede that, done properly, it can work.
Problem is getting it done properly given currently rules and regulations.