Problems with Old Growth Protection in Plans

Problem:   The draft Management Plans provide inadequate protection for existing Old Growth.

Old Growth areas contain wildlife and natural ecosystem resources found nowhere else in the world.   They include those big old trees, from 100 to over 400 years old.   Many of our Old Growth areas are yet to be discovered, and although they escaped devastating logging at the turn of the 20 th Century, if these plans don’t change they could be ravaged at the beginning of the 21 st .

Solution: Tell the Forest Service to protect all Old Growth stands.  Tell the Forest Service to establish standards that put all existing Old Growth found in the future into old growth patches that will protect the stands.

Substantiating arguments:

•  These old stable forests are a temperate rain forest – which accounts for all of its diversity.   Few people realize it but our region is one of the most species rich areas outside of the tropics – meaning that when added together we have more types of animals and plants than most others.   Many of our Old Growth areas account for this diversity.

•  Few old growth areas were left after the devastating logging that occurred at the dawn of the 20 th century. All of these remaining old growth remnants should be protected

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