Hope for old-growth forests?

The definition of “old-growth” is controversial but generally means larger trees that are usually at least 100 years old. A key characteristic is the ability to trap extraordinary amounts of carbon in leaves, branches, trunks and roots. Old-growth forests have the healthiest soil, the cleanest watersheds, and provide habitat for a wealth of fish and wildlife. Retention of forests composed of older trees is one of the best, most cost-effective nature-based solutions available to combat both climate change and the mass extinction crisis. Leaving the trees alone costs nothing and whatever financial loss timber barons and their Wall Street investors would incur, whatever small number of timber jobs would be lost, as a result, is offset by the benefits to future generations and the planet. Old-growth forests also provide unique recreation opportunities, support tourist economies, and inspire us with their beauty and grandeur. To Native Americans, these forests have immense cultural significance. If whatever remains of old growth is logged, what is lost will take lifetimes to replace and, in a world rendered increasingly unlivable by climate change, replacement may not even be possible. Clearly, they deserve protection.  

Nonetheless, under the plan, logging will remain the greatest threat to old-growth. While the administration is calling for a limitation of chain saws, trucks and other tree-harvesting infrastructure, and will disallow economic gain as a primary incentive to cut, gaping loopholes in the plan render the big trees still vulnerable. For example, logging will be exempted from the new rules if justified by a stated need for “emergency forest restoration” or “vegetation management” for wildfire risk reduction. Selling the wood for profit won’t be prohibited since it is not the primary incentive. And that profit will ultimately end up in timber industry coffers at the expense of taxpayers. 

Euphemisms for logging like “restoration” and “vegetation management” have been embraced and perpetrated by the timber industry, timber-backed scientists, and timber lobbyists since the highly destructive wildfires in the West in recent years. The narrative using such terms lays blame for these wildfires on excessive fuel in forests due to a century of fire suppression policies. The consensus among hundreds of independent scientists not receiving funding from logging interests overwhelmingly contradicts this narrative, however. The real culprit is heat and drought brought on by climate change that is, in turn, caused by fossil fuel use and deforestation. Today’s wildfires are driven by dry fuels, extreme heat and high winds, not “overgrown” forests and cutting down large trees deep in forests neither makes them healthier, nor does it keep anyone safer from wildfires. Never mind that “emergency” logging is exempted from environmental impact assessments. 

Other than eliminating loopholes, to address climate change and protect wildlife more comprehensively, the Biden plan needs to go further. Protections should be extended to the 45% of national forestland that is the old-growth of the future. These slightly younger “mature” forests are developing the characteristics that will eventually evolve into the complex ecosystems found in, and are already providing most of the benefits of old-growth.  

The planet needs trees now more than ever, especially older and larger ones. Let us all hope Biden’s initiative to protect them is genuine, long lasting and just a start. Let us hope it represents the beginning of a shift away from an endless extraction mindset toward true stewardship of the land that follows the example of indigenous tribes. Let us also remember the Native American proverb: “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”  

After moving to California in 1985, Dr. Jennifer Normoyle became an avid hiker and developed an enduring love for wildlands. Since retiring from a 34-year career in obstetrics and gynecology, she has been volunteering with the Sierra Club where she focuses her environmental advocacy on local, state, and national forest issues. She lives in Hillsborough.