The undercut has already been made on this mature Douglas Fir tree, which will determine the direction the tree will fall. The logger is beginning the back cut, which will complete the felling of the tree. This scene took place in the 1960s.

Most loggers are not insensitive to harvesting these giants of the forest; they realize that trees, like any living thing, will eventually die and be replaced with other trees in a continuing cycle. Important in this cycle is the human stewardship of responsible management ensuring good, healthy, productive forests benefiting all mankind now and in future generations.