 It may seem counterintuitive, but sometimes proactively cutting healthy trees from a forest stand is the best overall treatment for forest health. Preemptively cutting green beetle infested trees is often referred to as sanitation cutting. In this approach, otherwise healthy appearing trees are removed from forest stands weakened by insects and disease in order to help slow the spread of infection and improve the growth and vigor of a stand. In sanitation cuttings, foresters are assessing the actual or anticipated spread of insects and or disease in prescribing cuttings to prevent future forest degradation. Thus the idea is to grow a future forest that is more resilient. This Douglas fir stand is an example of a sanitation cut that was completed in the fall of 2014. Green trees infested with Douglas fir beetle were harvested and milled. This in return suppressed Douglas fir beetle populations in the current timber stand resulting in fewer infested trees in 2015. So through sanitation logging, foresters are able to improve the health of a forest and also generate some income through the sale of wood products. From the University of Wyoming Extension, I'm Tina Russell, Exploring the Nature of Wyoming.