Not certain of the status of Douglas firs on the West Coast. But lodgepole pine along the continental divide are nearly all dying or dead by now due to the practise of allowing uninhibited dense growth. Near-monocultural stands of these trees has encouraged the mother of all pine beetle infestations. Forest rangers have told me it could be a couple of centuries before the natural succession again returns these lodgepoles to the top of the ecological heap.I've been re-reading my copy of Panarchy (by Lance Gunderson) and the pine-beetle infestation above reminded me of their story of the spruce budworm "damage." Forestry in much of North America is only old enough to have been through one cycle of the spruce budworm, which takes about 40-140 years, so when it happened everyone thought it was the end for spruce-fir forests, since it defoliated a good 80% of the trees in some places, with kills nearly as large.
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