Friday
Mar222013
Tala Clandestina
Friday, March 22, 2013 at 10:00AM 
During the early 1980's, I lived in the San Bruno district of Xalapa, Veracruz. At certain times of the year, you would walk out to the street and see vendors selling boards that had been harvested without permits, i.e. "tala clandestina", from the pine forests around the Cofre de Perote. Dragging them down from the mountain with burros shaved several inches off the back of the board. [NOTE: Hope I can find more images from Xalapa. This was a wonderful place and a wonderful time in my life].
Reader Comments (2)
Nice picture. I'm curious- looks like a white pine from the picture, where I'ld expect yellow pine. Do you remember the species? Also, how do they break the log down? The guys from down there I've worked with tell me they used chain saws for this. Thank you for this and your other excelent photos & features-William
It could be any of the numerous conifers on Perote: pino de altura (Pinus hartwegii), pino ocote (P. rudis), pino prieto (P. greggii), pino cahuite (P. ayacahuite), pino blanco (P. pseudostrobus), pino de Navidad (Abies religiosa). Maybe Pinus pseudostrobus, if you think it's a white pine?