Stumped?

I've walked by the stump almost daily for many weeks, but on this particular day I felt like photographing it.  That's because I was intrigued by the variety of answers my students in Nature Literature gave to the question "How could a large area of tree stumps be seen as an indicator of progress?"  This question was asked in the context of shifting arguments in the development of the USA between conservationists and protectionists, and various definitions of each.  As so typical in political arguments, the sides tend to define each other (as in 'straw man' arguments) in ways that can differ greatly from how they define themselves.  What about this particular stump?  I tried to look at it from both points of view.  More later.