Eastern Old Growth Forest Conference 2023
A Gathering, a Celebration, a Call to Action
Old growth forests were the predominant condition on the landscape of the Northeast prior to European settlement. They are exceedingly rare today, explaining, perhaps, our fascination with them, our desire to understand them, and our plea for protecting the region’s remaining old growth.
From time to time, scientists who study old growth forests gather to share data, research findings, and news about the discovery and protection of old growth forests. Such a gathering happened this September in New Hampshire. The Eastern Old Growth Forest Conference, held on Lake Winnipesaukee, drew more than 250 people from around the region. From visions of a wilder future to detailed instruction on measuring trees, the conference spanned a variety of topics. There were talks on how new aerial imagery can help us find old forests. There were participatory art activities. We heard a variety of definitions of old growth. We heard about human health and old forests. A stunning exhibit of photographs by Mitch Epstein drew us into the world of old trees.
Yellow Birch, Monroe State Forest, Massachusetts 2021. Photo © Mitch Epstein, courtesy of Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York.
There were four conference themes: 1) forest dynamics, ecology, and biodiversity; 2) balancing preservation and management; 3) climate change implications; and 4) health and wellness. For a full list of offerings, see the conference schedule.
One message, however, rose above all these themes—if we want more old growth forests in the Northeast, we will need to protect more Wildlands. As defined in Wildlands in New England: Past, Present, and Future (2023), these are conserved lands where natural processes are allowed to unfold without human management. It is in these places that the old growth forests of the future will develop, if they are not present already. We heard clearly that nature knows how to manage forests, and has done so for millennia. We simply need to allow that to happen in many more places, across the region. At the same time, and just as important, we need to manage the remaining forest wisely and sustainably to produce needed forest products and keep our economies vibrant.
The two days of talks opened with a welcoming address from Bob Leverett, who has spent decades finding, researching, and writing about old growth forests. A panel then addressed the question “What is Old Growth Forest?” Following a lively discussion, ecologist Charlie Cogbill summed it up succinctly as “continuity of process through time.” In other words, an old growth forest is one in which natural ecological processes have been the dominant factor for a long time, usually several centuries. These processes can dramatically alter a forest—as happened when the massive 1938 Hurricane blew down the old growth Pisgah Forest in New Hampshire—without changing its status as old growth. Many concepts of old growth forests include huge trees, multiple age classes, abundant standing snags and down wood, complex structure, canopy gaps, and abundant mosses, lichens, and fungi. None of these are defining characteristics; they are instead descriptions of many “typical” old growth forests.
Following that groundwork, we heard a plea for a balanced approach to forest protection and management in a combined talk by Jon Leibowitz of Northeast Wilderness Trust and Bob Perschel of New England Forestry Foundation. In this talk they reversed roles, Bob putting out a fervent plea for more wild places, and Jon asking for very thoughtful management where it is needed.
David Foster of Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands & Communities (WWF&C) called us to action in an impassioned keynote address that summarized the findings of Wildlands in New England: Past, Present, and Future (2023). The region is 80 percent forested, but only 3.3 percent is Wildland, far below the goals WWF&C, 30x30, and many state-specific plans. We need to accelerate the pace of permanent wildlands conservation, said Foster, and embrace the idea of rewilding parts of the landscape. This will be the path to more old growth on the landscape.
Here are a few highlights of the fascinating presentations that followed in the concurrent sessions:
The Natural Heritage Inventories of four states presented powerful new (and old) tools for locating and documenting old growth forests. Bill Nichols of New Hampshire has discovered some very old red cedar forests in unexpected places—on cliffs and outcrops—and has documented trees up to 575 years old, with many trees older than 250 years. Nichols believes that the red cedar woodland may have existed as a stable community at these sites for many centuries.
Eastern red cedar in New Hampshire. This is not your classic old growth forest, but this cedar and its natural community have been present here for hundreds of years. Photo courtesy New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau.
Ali Kosiba, University of Vermont Extension Forester, and Mark Anderson, The Nature Conservancy, as well as other presenters, addressed the important role of old growth forests in storing carbon. There is little debate about whether old growth forests have large carbon stores, but there is much confusion about sequestration rates, measurements, terminology, and regional differences.
Several scientists associated with Harvard Forest, WWF&C, and other academic institutions throughout the Northeast spoke on disturbance dynamics, dendrochronology, old growth forest characteristics, resilience of wildland forests, and other topics.
The conference featured a series of talks in the area of human health, an important addition to the offerings since the last conference in 2004 . The series concluded with an interdisciplinary panel of scientists offering perspectives on the connections between forests and human health and well-being.
Florence Williams gave a compelling plenary talk on forests and health in an outdoor amphitheater overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee. She spoke of the mental health benefits of spending time in forests, as documented by her research and the research of others, along with her own personal story.
Other speakers on this theme addressed everything from the health of the planet to the specific human health benefits of forest bathing in reducing stress hormone production, improving feelings of happiness, and lowering heart rate and blood pressure.
Florence Williams talks about forests and human health on a beautiful fall day on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. Photo © Liz Thompson
Paul Catanzaro spoke about managing forests for old growth characteristics, drawing on his recent publication on that topic with Tony D’Amato. In certain circumstances, where some management is either desired by the landowner or required by a management plan or legal constraint, or where restoration from non-native plantations is called for, they recommend light management to enhance characteristics such as down dead wood, standing snags, and complex structure.
Representatives of the Old Growth Forest Network, Northeast Wilderness Trust, and others talked about efforts to recognize and protect existing old growth forests, as well as wildlands that will become old growth forests over time by remaining untrammeled—by letting nature do the management as it will.
The conference closed with a pair of complementary talks. First was a sobering address on climate change by Bill McKibben, who described the summer of 2023 as the earth’s warmest in 125,000 years. He painted a bleak picture of our future if we do not act, yet he offered some optimism in the form of young people, and also older people, forming organizations to battle the devastating climate change caused by the extensive use of fossil fuels and the conversion of forests.
Finally, Suzanne Simard, author of Finding the Mother Tree, spoke with hope about the underground connections between trees, and the communications that happen in the soil through mycorrhizal networks. Her extensive research in this area documents the many pathways through which information is transferred, right beneath our feet, in healthy, intact, functioning forests. She left us with a sense that we are doing the right thing in paying attention to old growth forests.
Fungi of all kinds are abundant in old growth forests, and they offer only a tiny hint of how abundant and important fungi are in the healthy functioning of forests. Photo © Liz Thompson
Following the conference, many participants headed to the woods to see and experience old growth forests throughout New Hampshire.
Several attendees had the opportunity to visit The Bowl Research Natural Area following the conference, appreciating its wild and natural streams. Photo © David Foster
Participants in the conference raved about the quality and variety of its offerings, the fabulous location, and the real sense of camaraderie and celebration they felt. Said one of the organizers, “It was important not only for people’s minds, but for their hearts.” One attendee was heard to comment, “I finally found my tribe.”
Chris Kane, one of the key conference planners, was passionate in his search for old growth forests in New Hampshire. Sadly, he died unexpectedly only a few days after the conference came to a successful close. Photo courtesy Eastern Old Growth Forest Conference Archives
For more information about the event along with links to the presentations, click here.
The next conference, Wildlands and Old Growth Forests, will be held in Vermont in September of 2025. Stay tuned for details.
Liz Thompson is an independent ecologist from Vermont who serves on the steering committee for WWF&C, the board of Northeast Wilderness Trust, and the editorial board of this publication. She is convening a group to plan the 2025 Wildlands and Old Growth Conference.