Not ridiculous, and the chainsaw thing is probably unnecessary, you can get a lot of work done with just a bowsaw that you can fit in the back of your boat.

But there is the ethical issue, if wood is there is it really a proper thing to do? I'm on the fence about the issue, I'm not about to stop anyone from that sort of thing, but it's unlikely you'll see me participating in such a caper.

For example; in rockclimbing gluing, chipping, or adding unnatural holds to a route is very passe, and in some places even bolting a route is against the rules. So is it really our place to remove potential fish habitat in the name of cleaning up a line? As river stewards is is more important to maintain a safe paddling environment or simply the environment that the river has established for us? I can understand wanting to remove wood that either can't be sneaked or portaged, but beyond that I'm not sure how I feel about it.

But to answer your question more thoroughly, just bring handsaws. Chainsaws are only going to get bar-oil and two stroke fumes all over your gear. Plus the idea of hearing a Stihl 460 with a 32 inch bar revving up as I catch an eddy in the nozzle sort of defeats my interest in human powered sports.

The ethical answer to these types of questions would be the same as if you were backpacking: leave no trace.

in terms of hazard, ethically, you could use that as an argument only if the wood posed an IMMEDIATE danger to life and limb, such as an instance where you can't proceed. obviously this is a gray area.

in addition, there is a legal issue, and technically you would be performing "in-water" work that would require a Hydraulic Project Approval permit.

Obviously most people probably think I am going overboard. My point is, though, that this question has come up before and the answer is consistently this: Wood removal is an ethical and legal gray area that leaves the paddling community open to conflict with other interest groups. As such, we should avoid discussing it in public forums.

Everyone is spot on here. Taking out limbs and partially blocking trees is just not needed. A piece of dangerous wood blocking the nozzle could be different, and as Mike suggests it should be dealt with in a less public fashion. I sure do like a good chainsaw'n though.

I don't think this was intended to be a fish discussion but I will bite! In my view Dams and Natives are the two biggest threats to fish. Wood, water quality and non-native fishing is the least of the problems. The Green has both and unfortunately the natives increase their impact every year. Until someone deals with the Native agreements our fish are going to continue to decline, but hey on the bright side you can get some wonderful deals on cheap endangered Chinook down at the Muckleshoot!!!

Well, I'm glad I asked. To be honest, I hadn't given thought to the legal aspects. Best to just let nature be, yes?

The other thing that should be mentioned would be the causality related to "gettin in touch with your inner beaver". Heh heh that could be taken a few ways. Heh.

But anyway the process of cutting wood out can end up being more risky and dangerous than just paddling around the offending wood. Esspecially if ropes are involved in any way. Swiftwater rescue basics are probably a good thing to be knowledgeable about. Its good to do that stuff with someone who has experience.
Cause and effect: where is the wood gonna end up after you liberate it?

Causality.
I don't need to tell a lengthy, ancient Chinese Whitewater Proverb, do I?

True.

The word 'taboo' does have weight, though.

Then again, people use the word 'love' very loosely.

Oh dude, don't worry- I'm all about free love and taboo. Proof? My detailed descriptions on these forums regarding my "Van Groover" (had to use it last saturday, in fact). And, if you show up at the 2012 PP Ball, you'll no doubt here of other "taboo" things I have done.

Ya ain't living if you don't break taboo once in awhile. It's American, Damn it!!

But, it may deserve mentioning that some topics may be best treated more obliquely, such as wood, and certain access issues. While this site may be off the beaten path, it is still very public. That's all.

There ya go. Opinions are all over the map on this one. I agree with Jed about the "ethics" of it, but its more from a purest's point of view, and yeah, I'm basicly just waxin philosophical like Jay said. I agree with him that most of what we are likely to remove is not viable for fish habitat so much. Its usually sticking mostly out of the water where there are plenty of other complex shapes in the river bed for fish to utilize. Prolly have to take this up with my fish biologist friend and get some fresh feedback.

Really at the end of it all, I'm too lazy to do much about wood usually, although I have found a few "white whales" of my own in the form of the woody debris. One such log on the LW made me swim. Went to saw it out but it was a diffcult project, and peeps got fatigued so we bailed on it. (I confess that having a boat with no rear pillar practicly begs to take on a 36" bow saw as occassional cargo.)

There. Ya happy? I'm such a hypocrite.
But, like Slick pointed out, usually nature will take it away. The Green Truss was plagued by dozens of downed trees for awhile, but then after last winter's HUGE january floods, it all got flushed.

Even :'( ~snif~ the 'ol leaner log in Lower Zig Zag. Ya know, that log was like a reliable friend. It added character to the rapid, even showed you where to go. Some people said it made the rapid safer than it is now, I'm not sure myself. But, I miss 'ol Leaner.

Yeah, that's what the "Ancient Chinese Whitewater Proverb" that I threatened to post was going to be about. The causality of wood removal. Cause and effect, the risks while cutting it out, and the possibility of it ending up in an even worse spot.

The rest of Bigwah's post also adds good perspective on this topic. And no doubt that after another round of high winds (my power went out again last night), we can expect more wood on the Green and elsewhere.

YEAH, anymore its only the worst wood offenders that get to me. In general I have a "get freindly with wood" policy. I mean, wood doesn't give me wood. But, dead Ents in the river don't bug me. Its part of the PNW WW experience. Some of these dead Ents are my friends...

SO: staying within the Green topic, been too busy to closely track flows. The main employee where I work abruptly quit. Combined with the power outages of the last week, I'm jonesing to boat. Might be runnin the Green on Friday. Upper if its in, otherwise prolly just run my little Paradise circuit: start and end at Paradise. No shuttle. But if the Upper is at least 1000 (I'm lowering my minimum flow as the winter progresses), who's in?

Sweet! It looks like flows could be a decent low, or maybe even a juicy low. Maybe even a decent medium! I don't wanna get my hopes up for medium fat.

I'd settle for decent low.