1. Old-growth forests - 1
Running header: old-growth forests
Management polices of old-growth forests
Timber harvest practices in the Pacific Northwest
Jenny Payne
Cleveland State University
December 9, 2008

2. Old-growth forests - 2
Introduction
Old growth forest are an important part of the American experience, once these majestic
spaces are gone they cannot be replaced. The object of this paper is to give a brief overview of
what old growth forests are as well as the biodiversity found in them. The focus of this paper is
to take a look at how logging practices have taken a toll on old growth forests and polices
protecting them. Several agencies that are charged with carrying out enforcement of polices will
be looked and whether they are doing a proper job enforcing those polices .
Description of old-growth forests
Forests that have a majority of trees over 150 years old can be consider old-growth
forests. Many of the trees are of varying ages, with some trees being much older than 150 years
old, and some of the trees being much younger. The best definition of old-growth forests comes
from Rapp, (2003) which defines them as “old-growth forests are ecosystems distinguished by
old trees and related structural attributes…that may include tree size, accumulations of large
dead woody material, number of canopy layers, species composition, and ecosystem function.”
Kaufmann (2007) states that old growth forests can take on various meanings depending on the
individual. Some believe old-growth forests are those that appear to be untouched by human
hands, for others old-growth forests are those where logging has not yet taken place. A majority
of old growth forests in the United States are found in the Pacific Northwest, ranging from
California up to Washington State.
Biodiversity found in old growth forests
Old-growth forests are important aspects as these forests are smaller ecosystems in a
much larger ecosystem. These forests support a wide range of biodiversity amongst plants and
animals, and if sustained properly then a unique ecosystem is formed. Biodiversity of old-

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growth forests can be quite subtle, not always obvious to the untrained eye. Examples of wildlife
found in old growth forests include black bears, Roosevelt elk, deer, raccoons, squirrels,
porcupines and martens. Marbled murrelet are also found in old growth forest, these birds
are currently on the endanger species list, on the verge of extinction (Coast Redwood,
2008). Bats fly high in amongst the tree tops of old growth forest, and in Oregon spotted owls
make their home in old growth forests. Many types of trees are found in old growth forests,
including the Douglas fir, western hemlock, white fir, red cedar, ponderosa pine, giant sequoias
and Sitka spruce; some of these trees can live up to 3,000 years old (Kaufmann, 2007).
Another aspect of old growth forests are carbon sinks, which can be found in old-growth
forest. Carbon sinks are areas which draw carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and absorb the
CO2 for storage, in old growth forest the carbon is absorbed into the soil. Between 15 to 30
percent of the five billion tons of CO2 Americans emit into the air goes in to carbon sinks around
the country (Ramanujan, 2002). Increased amounts of vegetation help boost CO2 sequestration
in carbon sinks around the United States. An interesting fact about carbon sinks is that during
the 1980’s absorption of CO2 in carbon sinks around the United States increased from 0.37 PgC.
y
to 0.71 PgC.
y per year (Hurtt, 2002). Carbon sinks are important as they take CO2 out of the air
and store the CO2, so as to allow breathable oxygen to remain.
Policies protecting old growth forests
There are several different polices in place protecting old-growth forests, mainly on
federal land. Thus section covers three of those acts. One act is the Wilderness Act of 1964,
which Congress passed to protect any wilderness area within the United States. Another act
passed by Congress was the National Forest Management Act of 1976, which exclusively

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protects national forests. A third act that Congress passed was the Forest and Rangeland
Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974.
The Wilderness Act of 1964 was passed to create a National Wilderness Preservation
system to protect parks for the good of society. The act defines what a wilderness area is and
provides clear guidelines on how such areas will be managed. A second aspect of the act goes
on to state which agencies have control over the management of the wilderness areas, as well as
who the agencies will answer to. Basically, the act was established to protect wilderness areas
for future generation’s enjoyment. Lastly, Congress needs to approve any addition of land to any
wilderness area located in the United States; any addition of land cannot exceed 5,000 acres
(United States Congress, 1964).
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires that the Forest Service provide
an environmental impact statement on how wildlife and the environment are protected. The
National Forest Service also has the obligation to regulate the timber companies who harvest
trees on national lands. As part of planning process under NEPA an environmental management
system (EMS) must be put into place. The aim of the EMS is improving how federal agencies,
such as the National Forest Service, perform on environmental issues. An EMS also provides a a
more uniform policy for all federal agencies. Some issues that an EMS deals with are continual
improvement and preventing pollution in national forests (Boling, 2005).
The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 provides the
National Forest Service with the means to “protect, develop, and enhance the productivity … of
the Nation’s lands and resources and for other purposes” (United States Congress, 1974).
Congress realized the need for managing the intricate system of national forests around the
nation, as well as having policies in place to ensure preservation for the future. Regular

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assessments are required by the act so as to establish a strategy for continued renewal of old
growth forests.
The National Forest Management Act of 1976 was passed to provide clear guidelines as
to how national forests and rangelands would be managed on a Federal level. The act clearly
states that renewable resources are a high priority for the nation, and appointed the Forest
Service as the department with oversight in managing national forests. Reforestation, as
provided by the act, requires that agencies protecting the parks and forests must have a
renewable source of timber (United States Congress, 1976).
The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) was passed in order to gain greater
accountability in managing forests around the United States. The Forest Services record was
called into question by several in congress on their reliability to manage and protect forests.
Senator Humphrey stated, “the days have ended when the forest may be viewed only as trees and
trees viewed only as timber. The soil and the water, the grasses and the shrubs, the fish and the
wildlife, and the beauty that is the forest must become integral parts of resource managers’
thinking and actions” (Vosick, 2007).
Management Agencies for of old-growth forests
The U.S. Forest Service founded in 1905 as the agency that would protect national
forests. The Forest Service is under the Department of Agriculture and charged with protecting
timber. Currently, the Forest Service manages 186 million acres of forests in forty eight states
(not including Alaska and Hawaii). The Forest Service is also responsible for how wildlife in
National Forests is managed (Langston, 1995). The Forest Service, under the NFMA, must
devise a management plan for each of the 155 national forests in the United States. Management

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plans must be based on sound scientific study for each particular forest, environmental impact
statements must also be submitted as required by NEPA (Vaughn, 2007).
The National Park Service was founded in 1916 to protect the national parks in the
United States. The Park Service’s main objective is to enforce the existing polices in effect. The
National Park Service is one of several federal agencies in place to protect the forest, including
old-growth forest (Vaughn, 2007). Much like the Forest Service they must fill out environmental
impact statements as well as management plans stating how parks will be managed and
sustained.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is also responsible for managing how timber
companies harvest trees on National Lands they manage. Currently, the BLM manages 412,600
acres worth of old-growth forests (Edelson, 1987). One concern of environmental groups is that
BLM is not strict enough in managing the land under their control when it comes to regulating
timber companies. According to Edelson (1987) the BLM is logging 15,000 acres annually.
Harvesting of timber in old-growth forest
While there are several threats to old growth forests, such as wild fires and visitors
enjoying the forested landscape, the most discussed threat to old growth forests is harvesting of
timber. Many of the policies discussed earlier were put into place to protect these fragile
ecosystems. Harvesting timber in old growth forests is meant to be strictly monitored, but often
the Forestry Department, and BLM, will allow certain areas to be logged despite the restrictions.
The timber industry is a massive enterprise in the Pacific Northwest, which means the timber
companies have quite a bit of say in how timber is harvested. Many towns are built around
harvesting of timber, accounting for 44 percent of jobs in Oregon and 28 percent of jobs in
Washington state alone (Vaughn, 2007).

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Several cases have been brought against the National Forest Service, stating that the
environmental impact statement did not meant the required standards for preservation of old
growth forests. One court case was National Wildlife Federation vs United States Forest
Service, in which the Federal District court ruled in National Wildlife’s favor. The ruling stated
that the Forest Service did not properly asses the impacts of logging on the fragile soil of the area
where the timber company wanted to perform logging. If timber companies were allowed to log
in this particular area there was a huge possibility of landslides occurring in the area. Mudslides
cause severe damage to property and other areas of the forest (Edelson,1987).
At one point several environmental groups filed an appeal confronting BLM’s practice of
harvesting timber in old-growth forests. These groups charged that BLM had violated three laws
while doing business with the timber companies. First, BLM did not fully consider the impacts
of logging on the fragile ecosystems of old growth forest, as required by NEPA. Logging in
certain parts of the old growth forests have impacted habitats of spotted owls. Secondly, the
appeal stated that BLM had policies allowing logging to be the dominant use of old growth
forests, and hindering any type of preservation of their lands. Lastly, the appeal stated that BLM
allowed the destruction of habitats for animals like the spotted owl (Edelson, 1987).
Redwood National Park
Redwood National Park is located in northern California near the Oregon border. Coastal
redwoods cover an area of 1.7 million acres in or near Redwood National Park. Of the
remaining 90,000 acres worth of old growth forests in northern California roughly 80,000 acres
are protected by the Federal government. Much of the old growth forests locate here and
throughout California had been harvested by the mid nineteenth century. During the twentieth
century the amount of harvested timber would only increase (Vaughn, 2007).

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Management of timber harvesting
Logging by timber companies on public lands is regulated under the National Forest
Management Act of 1976, where is it states, “(E) insure that timber will be harvested from
National Forest System lands only where – (i) soil, slope or other watershed conditions will not
… be irreversibly damaged; (ii) there is assurance that such lands can be adequately restocked
within five years after harvest;.” The Act of 1976 puts limits on how many trees timber
companies can be harvested on federal lands. Most of these limits control the amount of timber
harvest and sold from public lands, with annual reports being generated to state how
reforestation is taking place. Timber companies also have to obtain permits from the National
Forest Service in order to log on into federal lands (United States Congress, 1976).
In any management plan there are four main components, fire management, development
of old growth forests, planning and managing landscapes within the forest, and enforcing
protection polices (Rapp, 2003). Fire management includes planning the two main types of fires
high severity fires and smaller patch fires. Some fires happen near the ground, will other take
place near the crowns of the trees. Developing old growth forests ensures a more even growth
pattern throughout the forest, ensuring that the appropriate gaps exist within the forest to allow
for growth of new trees. At times human thinning of trees may become necessary when forests
do not naturally thin themselves. Managing landscapes aids in diversity of forest conditions,
allowing the ecosystem to flourish. Protecting old growth forests is important so that these
forests can remain sustainable in the future (Rapp, 2003).
Sustainability of old growth forest
Sustainability of the forest has been an issue for many over the years, with roots in
eighteenth century Europe. The United States began to realize the importance of preserving their

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forests in the mid nineteenth century. Harvesting trees without considering the consequences of
the future would have a detrimental effect on the new country. Leading to the creation of several
different agencies, such as the National Park Service. The National Park Service would in later
years have the clout to enforce the many new preservation acts and policies that Congress was
passing.
One group that is advocating better forestry practices is the Andrews group; they have
conducted studies focusing on forests as an ecosystem. After much study the Andrews group
determined that having trees of various ages contributed to the health of the forest, thus
managing how trees were cut down and where was a major issue (Franklin, 1989). Clear cutting
destroys the complex ecosystems destroying the natural flow of the forest. Where as natural
forest fires leaves in its path a richer ecosystem filled with organisms and improved structure.
New plans are being tested in which harvesting of timber is rotated with several larger trees
being left on site. By doing this fragile ecosystems are protected and trees are allowed to
regenerate (Franklin, 1989).
Why people should care
Old-growth forests support a wide range of biodiversity amongst plants and animals, and
if sustained properly then a unique ecosystem is formed. Once these old-growth forests are gone
their unique ecosystem is lost forever. Old-growth forests also absorb excess water from storms,
with much of the water being absorbed by tree roots. These forests provide a buffer zone tween
humans and animals. Life that continues to exist, such as bears, will migrate into areas where
humans live and do business. From all indications interactions between animals and humans
does not always go well. Once the old forests are gone biodiversity the old growth forests
supports will slowly cease to exist.

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Much can be learned about old growth forests just be visiting them either in national
forests or national parks. Being among the huge trees can bring a sense of peace that often
cannot be found in urban environments. Protecting old growth forests will allow animals to
remain in areas that are natural to them, thus interaction between humans and animals is
minimized. Trees have the ability to absorb huge amounts of water, as well as preventing soil
from forming into mudslides on steep hills. Mudslides have a huge impact on property located
near the base of hills or mountains. Old growth forests are irreplaceable parts of the American
experience.
Conclusion
Many battles between environmental groups and the timber industry have been waged in
the court room in order to protect what is left of old growth forests. Policies that are now in
place are effective, however better enforcement of these policies is crucial to preserve old growth
forests. Stricter requirements for obtaining permits to harvest timber on public lands should be
mandatory for timber companies. Permits should include stricter harvesting practices, mandating
a more selective approach to harvesting of timber in old growth forests. Typically timber
companies easily obtain the required permits to harvest timber on public lands. These permits
allow the timber companies’ liberal access to public lands, in some instances timber companies
will harvest all the tress in a given area.
Better timber practices, such as reforestation, are extremely important for the health of
old growth forests located in the United States. Instead of solely harvesting timber in old growth
forest planting tree farms would be a more sustainable practice for timber companies in the long
run. Tree farms have the potential to grow quickly and can be harvested for their wood at
varying times. One example would be bamboo, which has a short growth growing period of five

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years, and can grow in many warmer climates including the southwestern United States.
Meanwhile other trees can be planted with varying growing rates, having different growing rates
trees that grow quickly can be harvested while letting longer growing trees take more time to
mature.
Old growth forests are amazing ecosystems that supports many living creatures, animals
and plant life. Without this biodiversity the earth would have no way of reproducing O2, nor can
old growth forests be reproduced quickly. Old growth forests take thousands of years to grow
and mature, hence they are extremely hard to reforest. Hundreds of animals who call the old
growth forest home could become extinct in a short time. Other animals, such as bears, would
migrate to urban areas in order to search for food.
Much of the redwoods in California have disappeared due to an excessive timber
harvesting of the region before old growth forests were protected by law. Preservation of old
growth forests should become a high priority for governments and citizens alike to ensure that
old growth forests continue to exist for future generations to enjoy. Maintaining habitats for
animals that live in old growth forests is a vital part of preservation, as animals are a vital part of
old growth forests. Preservation would include selective timber harvesting, allowing other trees
space to continue growing.

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