You older folks may remember a game we played as kids. I think the name was " Pick-Up-Stix ". You dropped a bundle of long, plastic sticks ( looked like overgrown toothpicks ) onto a table top, or floor, and tried to remove a single stick from the pile without moving any of the other pieces. The person who successfully removed the most sticks, won the game.

A prevailing scene within Yellowstone constantly reminded me of that game. A great deal of Yellowstone ( about 800,000 acres out of a total of approximately 2,500,000 acres ) was devastated by a huge fire a few years back. Literally millions of trees were burned, have died, and fallen to the ground. Millions more of these damaged trees await the very same fate.

The Park Service has a policy of leaving these fallen trees exactly as they fall. Only if these dead trees block a road or a hiking trail will the Park folks remove it or trim it back. The trees are left to be assimilated back into the earth as the years roll on. Due to the elevation of the land, and other influencing factors, this process can take years. Even though new growth is coming along well, this stark evidence of the past fire is going to be highly visible for many years to come.

Tom

Hey Tom,

My first trip to Yellowstone was only a few months after the fire. It was indeed stark and somewhat depressing. Your shots here show the natural renewal of life. Thanks for the updated view

Originally Posted by rwells Hey Tom, My first trip to Yellowstone was only a few months after the fire. It was indeed stark and somewhat depressing. Your shots here show the natural renewal of life. Thanks for the updated view

These shots are far from glamorous but they do accurately show a side of Yellowstone that is most unfortunate. There are literally millions more trees to fall...victims of the same fires that killed all the others. In many cases, this thatch of fallen trees will be practically all the ground cover you will see in a lot of areas. Nature will ultimately prevail...the dead trees will decay back to earth. But, brother, that process is going to take years; I mean MANY years.

Tom

Oh my ... this looks just totally devastating. I understand the thoughts of letting nature assimilate them back into the earth. You were told why they were leaving them .. were you told why they won't/don't clear them out? Please don't misunderstand me .. I can understand the reasoning of letting nature take it's course too

Hummmm....... I'd think this is a whole lot of kindling for another fire.

Pick-Up-Sticks is a good title for these photos. The last photo looks like you had a good hike up to take it

Originally Posted by Dogdots Oh my ... this looks just totally devastating. I understand the thoughts of letting nature assimilate them back into the earth. You were told why they were leaving them .. were you told why they won't/don't clear them out? Please don't misunderstand me .. I can understand the reasoning of letting nature take it's course too Hummmm....... I'd think this is a whole lot of kindling for another fire. Pick-Up-Sticks is a good title for these photos. The last photo looks like you had a good hike up to take it

None of the rangers I talked to addressed the issue directly. I'm sure, though, that any effort to remove these dead trees would be of such a scope and expense level as to be prohibitive. Additionally, the damage done to the environment in getting in there to remove these trees would be unacceptable. The overriding mantra of the park management is to keep Yellowstone as close to what nature mandates as humanly possible. I'm afraid the fallen trees are with us for a long, long time.

You're right about the hike to get to where I shot that last picture. I should now be certified as a master " tree hopper ".

Originally Posted by black mamba None of the rangers I talked to addressed the issue directly. I'm sure, though, that any effort to remove these dead trees would be of such a scope and expense level as to be prohibitive. Additionally, the damage done to the environment in getting in there to remove these trees would be unacceptable. The overriding mantra of the park management is to keep Yellowstone as close to what nature mandates as humanly possible. I'm afraid the fallen trees are with us for a long, long time. You're right about the hike to get to where I shot that last picture. I should now be certified as a master " tree hopper ".

Yes would be an expense to remove them and right too that it would cause damage to the natural landscape. So .. let nature take it's course.

I hereby certify you a 'Master Tree Hopper'

Originally Posted by Dogdots Yes would be an expense to remove them and right too that it would cause damage to the natural landscape. So .. let nature take it's course. I hereby certify you a 'Master Tree Hopper'

Thank you, Mary. I shall wear my new certification with pride and a real sense of accomplishment. Now, if I can just get the last of those splinters out of my butt, I'll be a happy man.

Tom

Originally Posted by black mamba Thank you, Mary. I shall wear my new certification with pride and a real sense of accomplishment. Now, if I can just get the last of those splinters out of my butt, I'll be a happy man. Tom

I thought you walked up and down

Good captures, Tom. I was just there a few weeks ago, but didn't put as much care into photographing them as you evidently did.

There was a big windstorm and the dead/burned-out trees were dropping like flies all over the place. They made a a huge "CRACK" when they fell. Pretty unnerving really. I'm surprised people haven't gotten hurt yet.

Originally Posted by kdog Good captures, Tom. I was just there a few weeks ago, but didn't put as much care into photographing them as you evidently did. There was a big windstorm and the dead/burned-out trees were dropping like flies all over the place. They made a a huge "CRACK" when they fell. Pretty unnerving really. I'm surprised people haven't gotten hurt yet.

I hear you about this, Joel. I, too, witnessed a number of these trees going down in heavy wind. I had driven up Mt. Washburn ( as far as the public-use road will take you ) and I was talking to some hikers who had just returned from their hike on up to the fire tower that sits on the peak...a brutal hike, I might add. A tree fell right in front of them on their way up....missed them by 20 feet. From that time on, I kept a real wary eye on those things whenever I was surrounded by them ( which was quite often ).

Tom

I can't speak for Yellowstone's reasoning because I work in Yosemite but I think the reasons may be similar. Fires play a major role in forests as a essential part of nature, some trees require fires to open their cones in order to release their seeds. Then the burnt trees decompose and release their nutrients back into the soil so that a new forest can grow, which is why the trees are not removed even after they are dead and burnt. What might be a little different though is that in Yosemite the ideal healthy forest is one with old big trees with not a lot of small vegetation because a few old big trees store far more carbon than several small young trees.