Valuing Old Growth

Valuing Old Growth

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TOPIC: Valuing the old growth
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/82794e0d5e551bf8?hl=en
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== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Fri, Feb 8 2008 3:17 pm
From: dbhguru@comcast.net

ENTS

Introduction

Recently Joe Zorzin proposed a new topic to ENTS for discussion, namely that of the value of old growth forests and how some of the values that we Ents perceive in old growth ecosystems might be captured and retained by management strategies that seek to create near-old growth conditions. Joe has presented the challenge. I will start the ball rolling with this communication, hopefully to be followed by input from wiser heads and deeper thinkers. Before commencing, though, I want to emphasize that the opinions and feelings I am about to express are strictly my own. In this first e-mail, I will not try to cover the spectrum of considerations inherent in a conceptual framework of value. I don't feel myself qualified to speak to all potential values of old growth. However, with no false modesty, I believe myself qualified to speak on both the tangibles and intangibles that lie along an approach that draws on the historical, is partly scientific, always aesthetic, and includes an all-important personal spiritual component. The above ingredients create a kind of old growth value potpourri, and each of us has the power to blend these ingredients to create a personalized old growth value stew. For some Ents, value will lie in the uniqueness of a blend. However, it is toward the largely spiritual nature of old growth that I will initially speak.

The Dawning

To the best of my recollection, the earliest stirring of feelings for old growth forests occurred in my youth while living a couple of years in Knoxville, Tennessee. As I literally stared for the first time at the cloud-capped heights and timeless forests of the Great Smoky Mountains, something stirred inside me. I was 11 years old at the time and infatuated with mountains. I was also a tree aficionado, but in those days, I was most attracted to the West Coast giants. Redwoods, sequoias, and Douglas fir were the species that held my attention and that I longed to see. Other than feeling admiration for individual trees, and playing in local woodlands, eastern forests served mainly as a break to the surrounding fields outside of Knoxville, and more significantly, as a covering for the ancient ridges of the Cumberlands and Blue Ridge.
On that initial trip, gazing at the distant Smokies and their carpet of dense forests, it was as if I was unconsciously acknowledging a familiar form from a source deep within my greater self. As I recall, we were heading to the Smokies from Knoxville, TN, to stay a few days in a cabin my rich uncle from Florida had rented for us. The Smokies were magical. I immediately fell in love with them. There were bears, Indians, mountains, and fine forests. I found myself having a new forest experience. My West Coast preferences not withstanding, the shaggy tree covering of the Great Smoky Mountains that surrounded us created in me a nascent yearning, a yearning that my young mind could not readily understand. There was something especially primitive and majestic looking in the red spruce spires I observed high on the ridges. The spruce and fir distinguished the skyline of the Great Smoky Mountains in a way completely new to me.
Once we reached the interior of the Smokies, forest-clad high peaks surrounded us on all sides, but one scene especially imprinted itself in my memory banks. For countless visitors, the peaks of the Chimneys make an indelible impression. They did no less for me and the Chimney impact was greatly enhanced by the red spruce spires on the ridge connecting the heath-choked tops of the Chimneys with the main ridgeline of the Smokies. The forests of that connecting ridge presented an image distinctly unlike the woodlands of the Tennessee lowlands with which I was accustomed. The red spruce spires seemed to call to me in some distant way as if I were recalling a past memory grown so dim that all the details were missing with just a shadowy shape remaining. Little did I realize then that the Smokies would launch a many-years-delayed search for ancient eastern forests in the forests of the Northeast as well as in the southern Appalachians. But the Smokies remained my forest icon
.
In later years, the giant "poplars" along the lowland trails helped quench my ever-present thirst for the sight of big trees. I knew that had not seen anything in the East quite like those columnar forms of giant tulip poplars rising through the dense thickets of rhododendron. In the 1950s, most of the southern forests were young second growth, nondescript, and wimpy. Old growth was not even a concept in the southern mind. Yet, I do believe that at a deep subconscious level, an awareness was developing, an image was forming in my synapses of what a real eastern forest should look like. I was ultimately to come to understand that a forest was not just an assembly of tree trunks. For certain, big trees helped, but a complete forest they do not make. That took a gestalt of forms. One must be able to gaze up into large fan-shaped crowns of emergent forms. Big limbs aloft must fill space high above one's head and provide diverse habitat for an abundance of tree-dwelling plan
ts and animals - a village in the tree tops. At ground level, extensive root structures must speak to nesting and den sites. In real old growth, one feels that one is in the domain of hobbits, elves and forest devas.

The Maturing of the Vision

With a forest past deeply rooted in the southern Appalachians, I can finally articulate, from my current New England perch, what distinguishes old growth for me and what values I associate with our remnant ancient eastern forests. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. In the mid-1980s, I was searching the ravines and ridge sides of the Berkshires for old growth remnants. The thrill of discovery fueled my passions. But the appeal went far beyond the emotional high of discovery. When I encountered an old growth specimen of exceptional proportions, I increasingly saw the forest elders of the Berkshires as living connectors to both an ecological and historical past. The trees served as historical time and place markers, and as one with a nostalgic streak, the old trees gave me a palpable link to the colonial and pre-colonial New England past. I never get that in sterile museum displays presented in glass enclosures or even the most artistic recreations of early forests. But the
connection goes far beyond historical connections. Most importantly, when in the presence of old growth, I feel a deeper connection to the Earth and its twisted evolutionary path that I do not experience in post-colonial woodlands, even second growth with large trees.
From their auspicious beginning in 1993, the eastern old growth conferences piled up, and I came to increasingly think along scientific lines - I thought of the old growth survivors that we were documenting as living scientific laboratories with many mysteries left to unravel. Perhaps that was their greatest value. My research interests were expanding, but there were plenty of highly accomplished scientists to build the case for retaining old growth remnants as baselines for evaluating environmental changes and to decoding their many mysteries. Other than my growing appetite for forest and tree quantifications and listening to what distinguished scientists were learning about old growth ecosystems, I left it up to the hardcore scientific community to build the a case for value along scientific lines. I continue to feel a strong need to statistically document what I see, but it is not a zero sum game for me. I have remained keenly aware that I am pulled toward individual
trees and sites more than others and I continue to wonder why. The answer almost assuredly lies in the nonphysical realm.
There is an un-distilled forest elixir at work in my favorite old growth sites. The elixir allows me to transcend the purely visual content of the assemblages of trees, shrubs, herbs, mosses, and the animal citizenry. The old growth spots distill and concentrate a special woodland elixir of the greatest potency - one when partaken induces mental images of a distant past, of a slow, but inexorable march of the species, of life forms becoming all they can be. It is a thirst for this transcendental experience that repeatedly sends me back into the forest. Although, I may express myself publicly and on our ENTS list through tree measurements and mathematical formulae, there is far more subsurface to the subject.

Through Older Eyes

As the years have slipped by, I often think of putting my thoughts about the old growth down onto paper. I want to assure myself as well as others that the appeal of eastern old growth forests has not diminished for me. I still get an uplifted feeling from my walks through corridors of centuries old trees. I still pause to sense their antiquity, and yes, measure their heights. I am inclined to want to more frequently express in public my deep appreciation for being lucky enough to experience old growth elixir in undiluted form. I have also come to a sense of peace about forest processes. I have no desire to change the old woods. I want to let them be. I know that my favored stands will always be in a state of passing and that insects and blights will relentlessly attack them. The older woods will always be in a state of passing, of being replaced by younger woods that possess potential and carry the genetic heritage of their ancestors, but not yet of age or forest wisdo
m. That role will remain with the elders. Younger trees cannot match the timeless wisdom of the elders. Each new woodland must first prove itself and from among them merge the giants. Not all are destined to become a Congaree, a Cataloochee, a Hartwick Pines, a Cook Forest, or even a Mohawk Trail State Forest.
But whether a site is a declared old growth icon or a place of no special public significance, it takes time for the old growth elixir to coalesce, and while that is happening many life and death cycles occur. Storms, dry and wet spells, fire, insect invasions, and blights all leave their marks. So do sunrises and sunsets. The old growth tests survival of the fittest, but is also nurturing and all events leave an imprint. So, passage into the old growth state is a special event whether the trees are large or small.
Another way of making the point - each old growth site that I have visited distills some of the old growth elixir and provides a glimpse of what once was ubiquitous. There is reason to value all the sites. This acknowledged, certain sites always call to me. This point was reinforced years ago. Walking beneath the crowns of the venerable white pine elders of Cook Forest, gazing upward into weather-sculpted forms on a somber October day in 1994, put me and my dear past wife Jani into a reflective mood. Afterward, she wrote a poem to the "standing people" that spoke to the forest from a Native person's perspective. In a visit to Cook a couple of years ago, I watched as my dear present wife Monica sat at the base of a centuries old hemlock engulfed in its energy field. I sensed that she was experiencing its power, its forest wisdom. I have seen her in communion with special trees many times. Jani didn't, nor does Monica, ask me for tree heights or girths. Jani was not, nor
is Monica now, in need of that kind of information. Their spirits are in direct communication with the spirits of the trees, great gentle, sustaining life forms that cast long shadows. As I have contemplated on the subject of value and connection, no purer connection from the human to the forest can one make than the connections that Monica and Jani have made.

In Summary

Despite the pull of the old growth, years of searching for remnants can create a kind of apathy in one. What difference will one more stand make? But, growth in the number of sites isn't the point. Each old growth stand has its uniqueness, its spirit gestalt, and harbors the separate spirits of its many denizens. In aggregate, old growth forests are an important signature of the Earth. As I expect the ENTS list to reveal, their value and appeal can be developed along many lines of thought. But for me, it is their spiritual essence that forms the base of the old growth forest value pyramid. If this sounds elusive, it is. Spiritual essence makes the old growth accessible to some, but distant from others, and in seeking, there is the implication of a personal journey.
I will conclude with the following thoughts. Perhaps to be able to know and fully value an old growth forest, one must first get in touch with one's own spiritual essence. This cannot be accomplished with only the five physical senses at work - and everyone's path is personal and unique, but no richer trip can be made. Perhaps then, the highest value of the old growth is in its power to induce such a spiritual search in each of us for meaning, a soul journey to recapture our Earth roots, if you will. If this is the case, I cannot imagine a greater test of value for the Earth's remaining primary forests.

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Fri, Feb 8 2008 9:14 pm
From: James Parton

Bob,

That forest elixir is also addictive! Due to longer hours at work and
preparations for marriage my getting into the woods has been a bit
slim lately. I am having withdrawal symptoms!

Great article!

James Parton.

== 2 of 6 ==
Date: Sat, Feb 9 2008 6:24 am
From: James Parton

Bob,

Going into the woods is always a spiritual thing for me. But yes, it
is hard to put into words. I guess work has my thought processes
slowed a bit. I will have to think on it.

Thanks on the congratulations, Joy likes the woods too and was with me
on many of my outings last year. Her foot has been giving her trouble
and I am gonna have to get that fixed--~Laughing~.

Yes, I do look forward to the " Entmoot " and meeting both of you.

James P.

== 3 of 6 ==
Date: Sat, Feb 9 2008 7:31 am
From: "Joseph Zorzin"

For me, all forests have wonders- but very old trees are like very old people- it's fascinating to contemplate their lives and depth of character. If an entire stand is old- then it's the life of the stand that is exciting to think about- the infinitely complex dynamics that created it- far more complex than anything that humans can create.

But, that leaves open the ancient question- what is the role of humans in the bigger scheme of things? If it's decided that that role is positive, then there's no reason why humans can't interact with forests in a way as to add something- including the very qualities that Bob discusses in his essay- even spiritual values. The forests don't have to be degraded by the human touch, though that's the basic assumption.

This gets to the idea of managing for "near old growth"- retaining much of the features of old growth with a light touch. Done, carefully, I suggest that you can have your cake and eat it too. Let the forest mature so that it has a very large stand volume- then never let that volume drop below some level- for example, if you have a mixed stand of pine, hemlock and hardwoods in the NE it could easily get way over 20 MBF/acre. Then, every decade remove only 2-4 MBF/acre while leaving the stand over 20 MBF/acre. Often we only remove only 2-4 MBF any ways, but that's with stands which only have twice that- so it cycles between 8 MBF/acre down to 4, then back to 8. If it started at 24 MBF/acre, then remove 4- down to 20, then let it get back to 24, ad infinitum. And, if done right, that 4 MBF/ac could be worth 10 times as much as the typical value received when harvesting younger stands- because most of the trees could be veneer quality. So, everybody gains- more valuable timber for the owner, foresters and wood industry- while retaining "near old growth" forever. It just means that the owner, forester and wood industry will have to wait a long time to see the benefits.

Given the fact that managing that forest for a century or more to arrive at "near old growth" conditions will be financially difficult for all involved, society needs to start compensating forest owners for ecosystem values- which everyone agrees exist but which nobody wants to pay for. Recently the state of Mass., in its "current use" tax program decide to RAISE the taxes of those forest owners with land in the state's current use system, Chapter 61- obviously proving their lack of a long term vision for the forests. Not only should property taxes be wiped out for forest land, society must start paying for those ecosystem services- if forest owners decide to manage for the long term, including some of this "near old growth" style mgt.

Such "near old growth" silviculture might necessitate a new state licensing program- only some foresters will be considered qualified to do it. <G>

Joe

----- Original Message -----
From: bob leverett
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2008 6:17 PM
Subject: [ENTS] Valuing the old growth

********** (snipped)

In Summary

Despite the pull of the old growth, years of searching for remnants can create a kind of apathy in one. What difference will one more stand make? But, growth in the number of sites isn't the point. Each old growth stand has its uniqueness, its spirit gestalt, and harbors the separate spirits of its many denizens. In aggregate, old growth forests are an important signature of the Earth. As I expect the ENTS list to reveal, their value and appeal can be developed along many lines of thought. But for me, it is their spiritual essence that forms the base of the old growth forest value pyramid. If this sounds elusive, it is. Spiritual essence makes the old growth accessible to some, but distant from others, and in seeking, there is the implication of a personal journey.

I will conclude with the following thoughts. Perhaps to be able to know and fully value an old growth forest, one must first get in touch with one's own spiritual essence. This cannot be accomplished with only the five physical senses at work - and everyone's path is personal and unique, but no richer trip can be made. Perhaps then, the highest value of the old growth is in its power to induce such a spiritual search in each of us for meaning, a soul journey to recapture our Earth roots, if you will. If this is the case, I cannot imagine a greater test of value for the Earth's remaining primary forests.

== 4 of 6 ==
Date: Sat, Feb 9 2008 7:55 am
From: ForestRuss@aol.com

Joe:

You have articulated incredibly well a process of thought and timing that I
believe is achievable and possible for the Appalachian hardwood region as well
as the white pine forests of New England.

This discussion intrigues me greatly and I am heartened to read your
conclusions as it parallels much of what I have observed and personally recorded but
never seen written down and I appreciate your insights.

Russ

== 5 of 6 ==
Date: Sat, Feb 9 2008 8:11 am
From: "Joseph Zorzin"

Of course such a perspective is nothing short of heresy to the forestry Holy Mother Church.

Joe

== 6 of 6 ==
Date: Sat, Feb 9 2008 8:25 am
From: ForestRuss@aol.com

AMEN to that!

== 2 of 4 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 10 2008 6:07 pm
From: James Parton

Carolyn,

To give a compliment. I always find your posts informative. Did your
presentation on invasives go well? Hopefully my pictures helped you a
little.

James Parton.

== 3 of 4 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 10 2008 6:16 pm
From: "Joseph Zorzin"

Re: [ENTS] Re: Valuing the old growthThe fact that you had a horrible experience is 100% due to the total failure of the corrupt forestry establishment which tolerates, condones and defends such "timber beasts". Your experience is the same of thousands of other owners which is the real reason there is so little real forestry because you associate "forestry" with what you experienced. Meanwhile, the idiotic forestry establishment claims forestry is rare because of the low value of so many trees in the woods!- which are all so common because the timber beasts left them!

But, tree harvesting can be done with little damage to the ground or remaining trees.

When Mike Leonard and I rant ferociously against the phony, corrupt, forestry establishment- many people trash us- when they should be trashing the forestry establishment for allowing the trashing of the forests.

When you say, "force us to log"- the term should be "apply silviculture to the forest with a forester who actually practices real forestry".

Joe

== 4 of 4 ==
Date: Sun, Feb 10 2008 6:31 pm
From: ForestRuss@aol.com

Carolyn:

My best guess if you were to adopt a program of frequent entries into a
patch of woodland all sorts of criteria would have to be known like how many
total acres, how old the forest is you are starting with as well as the overall
fertility and productivity of the land you are working with. Access would be
essential through the land...not excessively large or wide roads but
permanently established and maintained trails where invasive species are monitored
and or controlled.

Criteria will be different for every forest and climate type with lots of
local geologic variations added to make the process a tad more complex.

Russ

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Feb 11 2008 9:24 pm
From: James Parton

Carolyn,

I did not know daylilies were not native. I am so used to seeing them
growing on roadsides and creek banks around here that I thought nothing
of it. The same goes for multiflora rose. I have confused them with
the native carolina rose for years. One difference they have is the
native carolina has straight thorns. The multiflora is curved. I have
always called both " pasture roses " and have always loved them.
Unfortunately multiflora is often very invasive along a woodland edge.

Actually good woodland photography is quite difficult. Getting the
highlights and shadows balanced without the darks being black and the
highlights burning out can be a pain. Then there is sensor bleed and
chromatic aberration. PhotoShop really helps!

James P.

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TOPIC: OG and near-OG values
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/cead425296626b9e?hl=en
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Feb 16 2008 1:59 pm
From: dbhguru@comcast.net

ENTS,

Well, I think we can say that the proposed thread on old growth values has fizzled, and our friend Joe Zorzin has dropped off the list again, overloaded with tree measuring e-mails. Joe's forte and interests basically lie elsewhere, which is perfectly fine. He was hoping to read the thoughts of others about values and I promised him that I would forward any late ariving values e-mails.
I was hoping that at least a few others would speak to the value of old growth along spiritual and aesthetic lines. I do realize that values is a subject that many feel about deeply, but hold privately in their thoughts. Maybe some of you could let a little spill out. As a starter, what about revealing your deepest deep woods spiritual experience with your fellow and lady Ents?

Bob

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