In our first year, the Old-Growth Forest Network has worked with public land managers in ten states. Some are enthusiastic about becoming part of the Network; others are ambivalent, and a few are almost obstructionist. The State of Virginia, however, gets a gold star! Karen Patterson and Gary Fleming, employees of the Natural Heritage Program in the Department of Conservation and Recreation, used all available data and their first-hand knowledge of the state's forests to create a spreadsheet of potential sites for the Old-Growth Forest Network. The spreadsheet lists all the counties where forests still thrive and which could be candidates for the Old-Growth Forest Network. They inventoried each potential site, noting which held an old-age stand; the current level of protection; the presence of trails and the management agency- federal, state, county, municipal, universities and other organizations. They did all this in the spare time between their regular duties. Providing this valuable spreadsheet, these two professionals have shown how much they care about the land they are entrusted with as well as the people of Virginia they serve.  

It turned out that their extra effort also opened their eyes to the condition of the state's forests. As Karen notes:  "For 24 percent of Virginia counties we could not recommend a site. Many of the best forest stands in the state are too inaccessible to meet the OGFN criteria (not a bad thing!), but the majority of these counties are in rural areas that simply lack public lands. There may be qualifying forests on private lands, but not in places where the public can visit. This fact alone should give power to your cause, as you approach localities and decision makers about supporting your efforts. I find it astonishing that there are that many places in Virginia where an ordinary citizen cannot find a place locally to go for a walk in a forest."