Old-Growth Forest Network

The Old-Growth Forest Network is a Maryland based, American forest conservation organization. The Network is a registered 501(c)3 charitable organization. It has dedicated forests in California, Colorado,^[1] Florida, Georgia,^[2] Hawaii, Maryland,^[3] Massachusetts, Michigan, New York,^[4][5][6] Ohio, Pennsylvania,^[7] and Virginia,^[8][9] and is expanding across the US.

Mission

The mission of the Old-Growth Forest Network is to preserve, protect and promote the few remaining stands of old-growth forest in the United States. Majestic forests that supported abundant animal populations were this nation's inheritance. Ninety-five percent of those forests have now been removed or radically altered. The organization's goal is to set aside a few forests, at least one in every county where forests can grow, and allow them to recover their old-growth characteristics. These "future old-growth forests" will ensure that generations to follow can experience native forests in their mature diversity and complexity. ^[10][11][12]

History

The Old-Growth Forest Network was founded by Joan Maloof, Salisbury University, now Executive Director of the organization. She spends her time lecturing, writing, visiting forests, assisting private landowners, and supporting local groups trying to protect community forests from development.^[13] The work of the Old-Growth Forest Network is also supported by a staff of volunteers, including County Coordinators who act as liaisons to the managers of the dedicated forests in the network.^[14][15]

Joan Maloof began her journey into the American forest as a scientist. She enjoyed studying the natural workings of the planet – the systems that enable the trees and flowers and animals to subsist on their own with no help from humans. But when she looked around for natural places to study she found that almost everything had been affected by humans. She also became aware that the oldest forests - some of the most natural and biologically diverse places on earth — were being logged and converted into managed forests - monoculture tree farms. Joan was not opposed to harvesting trees for board and fiber, but as an ecologist she knew that when we do we are sacrificing biodiversity. And she came to realize that we are also sacrificing beauty.

Joan realized that as a scientist she could do very little to ensure that at least some of the forests would be left alone, but that as a writer she could share what other scientists had learned about the importance of ancient forests. So Joan made the transition from scientist to writer, and wrote Teaching the Trees: Lessons from the Forest.^[16] The first chapter of that book describes visiting an eastern old-growth forest, a forest that had never been logged. Her readers, few of whom had ever witnessed an old-growth forest, wanted to know how they could get to visit one. There were a few left, but very little information existed about how to find them. So that led to book number two: Among the Ancients: Adventures in the Eastern Old-Growth Forests,^[17] reflections on one old forest in each of the twenty-six Eastern states—with directions.^[18]

In her journeys to these forests, and in her journeys through the forestry literature, Joan learned that very few of our original forests have not been logged or otherwise disturbed - less than 1% remain in the East, and 5% in the West. Thus began Joan Maloof's transition from writer to founder of an organization that would identify and help protect one forest in each county of the US where forests could grow and let people know where they were located. Her plan was to help stop the destruction of what old-growth remained, help some forests recover, and enable more Americans to experience an old forest. But it was not until 2011 that Joan left her university position and started working full-time to establish the Old-Growth Forest Network. The death of her husband, Rick, in 2010 had big role in this transition. With the help of her board, Joan started building the network and educating others about it. In that first year, twenty forests were formally added to the Network and 600 supporters signed up. Joan gave twenty-three lectures – including talks at Longwood Gardens, the US Botanical Garden, Cornell University and Penn State.^[19][20]

Old-growth forests

When we look at a forest, very little appears to change from year to year, but change is happening slowly. Forests, like humans, can be classified as young, mature or old. Because of past disturbances old forests are the rarest. Sometimes the disturbance has come in the form of a tornado, an insect, or an intense fire; but most often the disturbance has been from logging. As a result only a few percent of the western forests are old-growth, and only a few tenths of a percent of the eastern forests.^[21] The amount of old-growth forest has declined every year since European settlement on this continent. As a result, the ecological and cultural attributes of old-growth forests have not often been recognized.

All forest stages have an important ecological role to play, and the old-growth stage is especially important because of its unique structure. Various canopy layers and berry-producing plants are beneficial for many bird species. In a forest that has not been disturbed for hundreds of years, some trees will develop hollow cavities, and these cavities become important nesting places for animals. In an undisturbed forest some large trees will die and fall, creating yet more habitat: numerous insects, fungi, reptiles and amphibians benefit from the fallen trees. The moisture retained within an old-growth forests benefits lichen and mosses, and the species that live among the mosses and lichens. Old-growth forests are one of the few land uses where topsoil is created instead of destroyed. More carbon and nitrogen is retained in an old-growth forest than in forests of other age classes, and they play a role in improving water quality and air quality.

Organizational strategy

For the network to be within reach of all school children, the organization will identify one forest that will be left forever wild within each county where forest naturally grows. Of the 3,140 counties in the US, It is estimated that 2,370 will support forests. Many of these counties already contain public forests so only a single one would need to be chosen and officially recognized as part of the network. In many counties it will be already protected Federal land which becomes recognized in the network, such as National Forest or Fish and Wildlife land. In other places, such as in the northern counties of New York, it will likely be a State Forest that is recognized. In some counties that have no State or Federal lands, the county or city itself may have some property that could become part of the network. The next level of landowners to be considered for voluntarily joining the network are likely to be NGOs such as land trusts and The Nature Conservancy. In the less common situations where there are no public lands and no non-profit organization lands which can be included in the network, a county may appeal to a private donor or apply for federal grant funds, perhaps with the assistance of an organization such as The Conservation Fund.

The organization believes that building the old-growth network in this way will take very little financial investment, and that the preservation of over two thousand undisturbed, accessible, forests which will have a positive effect on both the humans and the wildlife in our nation.

Community forests and private landowners

Local activists contact the Old-Growth Forest Network to help protect community forests threatened with development. The organization is involved in efforts to protect forests in Blacksburg and Arlington, Virginia;^[22][23] Kona and Wailea Hawaii; Cape May, New Jersey;^[24] Columbus, Ohio; and Annapolis and Salisbury, Maryland.^[25] Many of the oldest forests in the United States are privately owned. The organization advises private landowners about their forests and helps them realize their preservation goals. The private forest program was initiated in September 2013, at an ancient woods on the grounds of Hope House (Easton, Maryland). With OGFN help, the property will soon be protected by a “Forever Wild” conservation easement, meaning it will never be logged.^[26]

References

External links

• Old-Growth Forest Network - official website