We need to "create conservation programs with time-frames that span centuries"

This recent study describes what we already know - - we are losing the big trees and must think long-term to reverse that trend. That is exactly what the Old-Growth Forest Network is doing.
World's Oldest Trees Dying At Alarming Rate: Study (VIDEO)

Looking for old trees?

 Imagine growing up next to a forest grove with trees this size. Tom Howard (pictured here) had that good fortune and he has been educating others about old-growth forests for decades. This is the Wizard of Oz Memorial Grove named in honor of  Oz author L. Frank Baum who grew up in the area and likely visited the grove.The big red oak shown  above is the largest tree in the 7 acre grove, but it is not the oldest. Ring counts have shown that this large oak is "only" 142 years old. Other, smaller, trees in the grove are closer to 200 years. (Such as the fallen white oak shown below -- with glove for scale -- 198 years.)

 

More reliable than girth, in judging tree age, is the way the bark changes as a tree gets older. This is different for each species. For instance red maples get shaggier, but tulip poplars and some oaks get 'balder' (smoother) near the base. Here I am standing next to an ancient oak that has balding bark.

The best way to judge a tree's age is by looking up. The oldest trees will be very tall -- having reached for the top of the canopy over many years. Relative height seems to be a better indicator of age than relative girth -- but exceptions abound in the forest, as elsewhere. Here is what an old tree over 100 ft. tall looks like:

 

Note how much greater the trunk volume is compared to the branch volume. (Taken with Photosynth app). To the discerning eye, however, it is the 'architecture' of the branches that tell us which trees are truly ancient. Look for tall trees that have fewer limbs, and with limbs that are thick and twisting. When you see "sinuosity" such as that exhibited by the tree below in the North Syracuse Cemetery Oak Grove -- then you know you are walking among the ancients.This tree could be 300 years old.

 

 

My video debut as an "Environmental Elder"

This spring while I was in California I was interviewed by Huey Johnson for his Resource Renewal Institute project, "Environmental Elders Speak." Here is a link to my video: Joan Maloof | FORCES OF NATUREFORCES OF NATURE I am honored to be included in this illustrious group of people who are getting things done for the earth.

One person can make a difference! An uplifting story about saving a Washington State old-growth forest

A legacy of giants | HeraldNet.com - Local news

Maybe the problem is with the word 'trees'

On the Garden State Parkway, down near Cape May, New Jersey, there are three exits that are not what one would expect on a major highway. These exits have no on and off ramps, instead they are intersections with red lights. For years the highway engineers, and many others, have been saying that something ‘should be done.’ What they mean is that these exits should be the sort of exits that one would expect on a major highway -- after all, the many beachgoers need to get to and from their destinations safely and quickly. Now it seems that 125 million dollars of federal and state money have been found to fix the exits. Good news, right? Well, listen to the rest of the story before you make up your mind.


Along this same stretch of highway, between mile markers 9 and 11 to be exact, on the ocean side, there is a strip of mature native forest separating the highway full of fast cars from the homes and schools. The forest contains tall tulip polar trees, ancient hollies, nut-bearing hickories, colorful sassafras, red cedars sheltering birds, shrubs covered with berries; and this is just a short list made after one stop. There are probably no rare plants in there, but maybe there are – no one I spoke with knew of a vegetation survey. This forest is protecting the nearby residents from the noise and the air pollution produced by the highway cars just a short distance away; it is feeding the birds as they migrate up and down the coast; it is cleaning the polluted storm water that runs off the highway and toward the wetlands; it is absorbing the carbon dioxide that is changing our sea level; it is beautiful, and it is home to other beautiful creatures.

The sticking point is that the highway ‘fixers’ do not want to disrupt traffic too much while they are doing the fixing. So the plan is to put a temporary road….wait for it….right where the forest now stands. Not to worry, say the engineers, when the highway is ‘improved’ they will erect a wall to buffer the residents from noise. Twenty-six acres of trees will be cut, but 19 acres of trees will be replanted after the construction is finished.
Almost sounds reasonable, almost. Maybe the problem is with the word ‘trees;’ because I don’t think there is any way the ‘trees’ they plan to remove will be compensated for by the ‘trees’ they plan to plant in that post-construction zone. I think it is a very bad idea to remove this particular forest to create a temporary road. People everywhere are urged to plant trees because of their many environmental benefits, and while people everywhere are trying to do the right thing, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority is planning to undo the good they are doing. Forest cover continues to decline.

Local residents are asking Governor Chris Christy to step in. I hope he does. I am not an expert on the situation, but from the little I have read, and seen, this precious forest should stay.



All photos taken from the NJ forest discussed in this post. (by Maloof)



Maloof to give a talk Nov. 11 at the Wetlands Institute in Cape May, NJ

Would love to see anyone in the neighborhood come out to the Wetlands Institute on Sun., Nov 11th at 2pm. I'm looking forward to another visit to Cape May. Follow this link for directions and more information: Visit Us « The Wetlands Institute

Calvert County, Maryland, forest added to Network

Peter Vogt (County Coordinator) and Karen Edgecombe (Ex. Dir. of ACLT) with Old-Growth Forest Network sign

Joan Maloof (holding acorns) with members of the American Chestnut Land Trust

Parker's Creek Preserve - East Loop - was recently added to the Old-Growth Forest Network. Members of the American Chetnut Land Trust hiked through the preserve with me before putting up the sign. This is such a beautiful, diverse, forest! That evening I gave a talk at the Chestnut Cabin of Scientists Cliffs.