 | | Ian Marshall and son hugging a tree in the Alan Seeger Natural Area, Huntingdon County, PA |
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Board of Directors
Will Cook
Paul Grimm
Frank Gunion
Steve Hamblin
Susan Ives
Joan Maloof
Mike Pretl
Emilie Robinson
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The Network is growing!
Dear Supporter - 
It has been a wonderfully busy summer for the Old-Growth Forest Network! As you can see we have added new forests in California, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. I have been doing lots of traveling and giving many talks: Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Irvine Nature Center, Cornell University, SUNY Cortland, and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Everywhere I go the Network gains new supporters. I have heard, "this is a great idea," countless times now; and of course I take time to visit forests wherever I go! At the Fischer Old-Growth Forest, owned by Cornell Plantations, 40 people came out for the forest walk and dedication (although it was supposed to be limited to 25 -- and many more were turned away). As Camille Doucet, one of our newest supporters says, "When Joan Maloof speaks for the trees, tree lovers come out of the woodwork!" If you are interested in any details about the events, or if you'd like to know about upcoming events, please sign up for a feed from my blog: www.joanmaloof.blogspot.comTree lovers are such wonderful people, and everywhere I go I am treated with kindness and generosity. In mid-September I was hosted by John Davis in the Adirondacks. John is an amazing adventure-athlete and spokesperson for wild creatures. Last year he trekked up the entire East Coast for Wildlands Network (see http://www.twp.org/trekeast). His mother, Mary Byrd Davis, was the premier cataloger of Eastern old-growth forests. John and I hiked in three New York counties looking for forests for the Network and we found some beauties. You will be hearing about them in a future newsletter. Also look for news about Hawaiian forests (!). While I was in New York I was interviewed by an NPR reporter. Visit this link to hear the 4-minute program: http://wrvo.org/post/project-protect-old-forests-comes-cortland The positive press just keeps coming! We had a heartwarming response to our first mailing - and received enough support to keep us going for a few months. If you haven't donated yet - but are meaning to - I hope this newsletter will be a gentle reminder. For the trees....
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Our Latest Four Forests!
We are proud to announce that four more forests have been inducted into the Old-Growth Forest Network. Congratulations, and
welcome to our growing network!
Sam McDonald County Park - Heritage Grove
San Mateo County, California
The Heritage Grove is a 37-acre preserve of magnificent old-growth redwoods surrounded by over 800 acres of parkland comprised of younger forest and dry ridges. A sense of awe and tranquility permeates this unique enclave of forest that escaped the timber harvesting of earlier years. Many of the grove's huge redwoods were scheduled to be logged until a citizen's group banded together to raise funds to purchase the grove so that the magnificent trees could be preserved forever. The county matched these funds and made acquisition possible. It is considered to have the largest redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Trees common to the redwood forest include the coastal redwood. Douglas fir, various varieties of oak and California bay trees. In the lower elevations along moist ravines, many fern varieties are to be found, including the graceful five finger fern, sword fern, lady fern, gold back fern, polypody and woodwardia ferns. Also to be found along the moister slopes in great abundance are trillium, redwood violet, red clintonia and wild strawberry. In the more shady areas, carpets of redwood sorrel cover the redwood floor, and during the spring rainy season beautiful mosses and curious mushroom shapes appear throughout the park in glorious array.
Fischer Old-Growth Forest
Tompkins County, New York
Majestic, magical, inspirational, with trees over 150 feet tall, this site is a sanctuary in every sense of the word. The best of the few remaining examples of pre-settlement forest in the region, this old-growth forest is notable not only for the extreme size of many individual trees but also for the very high number of tree species - at least 23 - of canopy size. Among these is yellow oak (Quercus muehlenbergii), a locally rare species. The preserve totals 41.8 acres, with almost 30 acres of old-growth forest.
Almost every tree was marked for cutting. The property was acquired by Cotton-Hanlon Inc., a company that manages forested lands for timber harvest, with the intent to log it. Saving this old-growth forest involved years of negotiations between Cotton-Hanlon and the Cornell Plantations Natural Areas Committee. Acquired in 1997, the Fischer Old-Growth Forest is named to honor Richard B. Fischer (1919-2005), professor of environmental education, for his delight in natural history and his tenacity and can-do attitude toward environmental protection, which he shared with his many students.
Alan Seeger Natural Area
Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania
This 390-acre area along Standing Stone Creek includes virgin white pine and hemlock. Towering above the trail as it winds through 20-foot-high rhododendrons is a hemlock forest bypassed by the loggers at the end of the 19th century. Here are magnificent trees, some over 4 feet DBH and reaching several hundred years old. Other tree species in the area include white oak, red maple, white pine, pignut hickory, black gum and black birch. There are tulip trees over 130 feet tall! A mature mixed-oak forest with many large specimens is located on the mountain slope to the southeast. A nature trail leads into the heart of the remnant old-growth forest while winding along Standing Stone Creek, and continuing through a younger forest of oaks, white pine and red maple.
James Madison Landmark Forest Orange County, Virginia
This 200 acre forest is on the grounds of Montpelier, the former home of President James Madison. Sections of the forest are truly old-growth and the towering tulip trees and oaks cast a dense shade. Sounds of bird song will accompany you as you walk the easy trails. While other visitors are touring the stately brick home, you can take the Turkey Foot Loop (0.3 mi), the Poplar Run Loop (0.5 mi), the Spicebush Loop (0.2 mi), or the Mountain Mill Road Trail (0.5 mi) to experience a historic landscape. Some sections of nearby forest are managed, but the Landmark Forest is protected as wilderness. Thank you for being part of our growing community!
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