I think you're right about the EU regulations and wide front fenders. Really, it's quite sensible, because tractors are on the road so much here you just can't keep the windows clean. The front mounted tool boxes are all the rage here at the moment....

I don't know much about forestry, and there's not much near me anyway. There has been those cranes on tractors for decade, but in the intense forestry areas they do use those harvesters that cur the tree down and process it then carry a load of them away