In truth, there's a good chance that the area could look much better--not only better than it does now with the desiccated remains of these giants standing as both an eyesore and a fire threat, but better than it had before the spruce beetle did its work. It is my fear that things will be worse once they are removed, and my own lack of knowledge about what to do, that has left them there for so long. I've both been afraid of the final result and hoped that someone else would take care of the problem even though this might actually make my yard look better (as well as be more useable) and is a problem that I can learn to deal with myself.
Rather than continuing to wait, I decided to step up. I've spent a while learning about what I can do and how to do it safely. Yesterday, I purchased a chainsaw (a purchase that I've been putting off since we got here), and today I started work. I began with the most obvious issue: the tree that fell and hit our house last year. It was not only the biggest eyesore, it was a problem that helped me better understand how to use the chainsaw and what considerations I need to take in the future.
In the end, it was a great deal of work and quite exhausting, but it also was not as hard as I originally thought it was. More importantly, the yard is in considerably better shape in both appearance and health now that particular tree is out of the way. Sure there are more trees to go, but I know what I can do and have set up a plan to take care of them. I'm looking forward to seeing the final result.
... There might be an analogy here ...