Old-Growth: Science, Advocacy, and Public Values

Foresters love old-growth. I know this because when I hike with other foresters into a stand that has the characteristics of old-growth, I invariably hear remarks on its beauty and the joy it imparts. Increment borers and D-tapes are immediately set to work, and cameras capture foresters hugging trees. Of course, what I’ve described occurs in many forest types when foresters are around. But why has the public also become so captivated by old-growth? Old-growth was the first forestry issue I faced as a professional. I found it difficult to develop and implement forest policies around a concept that was largely undefined, drastically different depending on forest type, and in many ways a political issue that had little to do with the practice of forestry. It seemed to me that a group of passionate advocates were dictating how forestry must be practiced, even though their understanding of the subject was limited if not altogether absent. The voice of the profession was at the table, but it lacked the passion of the oldgrowth advocates and so failed to capture the attention of decisionmakers.