The Seattle Times ran a feature on Sunday that delves into the link between clearcut logging and landslides. The feature takes a look specifically at the 730 landslides that occurred in the Upper Chehalis basin when a large December storm hit the area, and finds that a disproportionate number of those slides started on slopes that had been clearcut.
In an online supplement to this feature, the paper discusses the use of mapping software to overlay the clearcut sites with the landslide sites. It discusses the use of aerial surveys, and walks through the steps that were taken to conduct the research.
This type of investigative reporting is critical for a paper to fulfill its role as a watch dog. The reporting indicates that while there are laws in place to limit suspect logging practice, there’s very little oversight. I’m certain that the correlation between clear cutting and landslides that the paper has made will result in some action. The large number of slides from this storm had tremendous local impact, including residents that couldn’t drink water from their taps for more than three months.
