Weyerhaeuser Tree Farm, WA. Study #3 - David Gardner (San Francisco, CA)

Weyerhaeuser Tree Farm, WA. Study #3 David Gardner (San Francisco, CA) Photography, Archival Inkjet Print, 28” W x 22” H   Artwork: Traveling up Spirit Lake Highway near the Mt. St. Helens monument boundary in Washington state, trees grow thick, lush and straight. But this is not a healthy forest. In terms of diversity, it is hardly a forest at all. The land is owned by the Weyerhaeuser Corporation, and used as a "Tree Farm". After the 1980 eruption, the St. Helens Monument was created. The remaining area outside the boundary, still owned by Weyerhaeuser, was replanted with just three commercially valuable species of tree. They are planted closely together to encourage straight growth. Forty years since replanting, the trees are maturing and harvest operations are underway, clearcutting large swaths across the mountains. They will be replanted, and the cycle will continue. Artist Statement: In 2016, geologists officially agreed the Earth had entered a new Epoch in its ev