Top Ten Ancient Forests of the United States ( take a break from storm porn)

[SoCalDem]

Top Ten Ancient Forests of the United States
http://away.com/weekend-guide/travel-ta-united-states-nature-sidwcmdev_060445.html
By Mark Leger

Old growth Ponderosa pines in the Gila Wilderness (Center for Biological Diversity)


Old growth is a relatively new, and admittedly fuzzy, concept. At its most elemental it means a forest of old trees. But other conditions need to be present in order for most ecologists to consider a forest truly old growth. They look for old wood on the ground, a multilayered canopy, and no sign of human disruption of the forest's natural processes. The last condition is usually the most compromised. For instance, how does a road, or even a trail, affect a forest?

Why visit an ancient forest? All the rational arguments for the preservation of old-growth forests—biodiversity, watershed protection, climate control—won't answer that question. You can vote the right way and send the right checks, and stay away. Maybe the forests would be better off without more people trampling through them.

But I think not. For me, visiting old trees is like visiting old relatives, people who used to change my diapers and soothe my tantrums. Yeah, it may be behavior that now embarrasses me; I'm glad that I've learned some control over my body and my emotional expression. But old relatives remember me at my most essential: what gave me the most delight, the most frustration, the greatest fear.


snip for the other 9

[AsahinaKimi]

1. I once took a trip to Eureka California.

One of my favorite memories was when we stopped and checked out the Red Woods and Sequoias. They were so huge, that for three years in a row, I donated to "Save the Redwoods".

We even stopped here to eat..

[PufPuf23]

12. I was born in Eureka, CA on Humboldt Bay long ago.

BTW The trees in the picture are Giant Sequoia that grow in the south part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and not coastal California.

Coast Redwoods range from Curry County, OR south to Big Sur but the greatest extent are on the north coast.

There are nice old-growth redwood parks near San Francisco; specifically Big Basin Park near Santa Cruz, and Muir Woods in Marin county.

I live less than 15 miles from Redwood National Park now.

[demosincebirth]

21. Sequoias' are Redwood, Any way, north or Garberville are the

really big ones... some are over 26 feet in diameter and over 320ft tall and over 2 thousand years old. Stand among them and you really feel how insignificant we are. Truly mind boggling

[AsahinaKimi]

24. um...

What is the difference between a sequoia and a redwood tree?

Giant Sequoias and Coast Redwood Trees are closely related and they are both in the redwood family, Taxodiaceae. However, they are different species. Giant Sequoias (scientific name Sequoiadendron gigantea) are considered the largest trees in the world as measured by the volume of their trunk. The biggest Giant Sequoias can be 40 feet wide at their bases and 275 feet high for a total trunk volume of up to 52,500 cubic feet. Giant Sequoias grow naturally only on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California.

Coast Redwoods (scientific name Sequoia sempervirens) are considered to be the world's tallest trees and they can get as tall as 365 feet. Coast Redwoods grow naturally only along the Pacific coast of northern California and into southern Oregon.

There is another redwood tree that was once thought to be extinct. It is the Dawn Redwood and it grows naturally only in central China. Its scientific name is Metasequoia glyptostroboides and does not grow to any great size and it is deciduous, meaning it loses its needles in the fall.

Other trees in the family Taxodiaceae include the bald cypress and Japanese Cedar. Most of the trees in this family, including Giant Sequoias, Coast Redwoods, and Dawn Redwoods, have been planted by people worldwide as ornamental trees.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/faq/#question10

[demosincebirth]

30. I could give you a link to prove my point, too. But for the sake

of argument, we are both right.

[demosincebirth]

18. Here's to you, Texas!!

[xchrom]

2. Recommend

[Lucinda]

3. Very cool! Thanks much.

:hi:

[FirstLight]

4. sooooo cool!

I have always wanted to go to the bristlecone forest near Bishop, CA...it's only a 4 hour drive... :)

[klook]

5. Fantastic - thanks

I've been to the Joyce Kilmer Forest, and it's amazing. (A *very* easy hike, too.) You just can't believe how big and stately these trees are until you see them in person. And then you start thinking of all the things they've seen over the centuries. Wow.

Being in the midst of them is comforting and awe inspiring. They give me that tingly sense of the numinous combined with a healing quality, as though I'm in the presence of something wholly alien, infinitely powerful, yet familiar and friendly at the same time.

I've heard of the Congaree Swamp, but haven't checked it out yet. Looks like Okefenokee, where you can find 2,000-year-old cypress trees.

Bookmarked for future reference -- I'd like to visit all these forests!

Thanks much.

[SoCalDem]

6. *n 7th grade, we recited "Trees" every morning in home-room

Our teacher was somehow distantly related to Kilmer, and after we said the Our Father and the pledge of allegiance , we recited Trees:)

[klook]

10. Nice. Indoctrination I can support. (n/t)

[lumberjack_jeff]

7. Where's the Olympic National Park?

http://ten-thousand-trees.blogspot.com/2008/03/big-sitka-spruce-in-hoh-rain-forest.html

[SoCalDem]

8. apparently the person who wrote the article thought it was #11?

:shrug:

[PufPuf23]

14. On the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.

I recommend the Hoh River Valley Trail.

[klook]

16. The Hoh Rain Forest is incredible.

I've never seen a place where there was so much emerald green. And not only huge living trees, but amazing "nurse" trees where saplings have taken nourishment from the trunks of fallen trees, later retaining their bowed root structure long after the supporting nurse tree trunk is gone.

[Xithras]

27. ONP is beautiful but...

The story is highlighting the ten most pristine examples of different forest types. While Olympic is beautiful, parts of it have been logged, there are many miles of roads and trails in the park that disrupt the natural ecosystem, and there is at least one reservoir that I know of in the park.

ONP is rather like Yosemite...stunningly beautiful, but dotted with telltale signs of human influence.

[SoCalDem]

29. reminds me of Tahiti..

On the round-the-Island (Moorea) ride to our hotel, I was commenting on the lush foliage and the mahogany trees.. I asked the driver whether they were protected, and he said.."Sure..we don't sell them to loggers"...and about 100 yds ahead, there was a full-bore logging operation up the hillside..mowing down some lovely mahogany trees:cry:

[etherealtruth]

9. thank you

It has reminded me that i really need to go to Isle Royal

[Yavapai]

11. Another redwood shot (with my wife Dori)

These trees and my wife are so awesome!!!

[demosincebirth]

22. You really can't imagine the immensity of these tress until you stand among them, as

you well know.

[Leopolds Ghost]

13. Sadly there is bad news on the US forest front too ;-(

American Hickory, Chestnut, Elm, Black Walnut... Oak?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1828956

Sorry to sound like an Eeyore. :evilfrown:

[SoCalDem]

15. Sad , isn't it?

But maybe more reason to see what;s left before it;s gone too.. I remember when the elm my grandfather planted, died.. It was such a beautiful tree..stood there majestically for 60+ years..
They also had several black walnut trees.. I can still remember sitting on the basement steps' landing whacking black walnuts with a hammer to break them:)

[Leopolds Ghost]

19. Reposted it in another thread because I didn't want to be a Debbie Downer. ;-/

[sunwyn]

17. Once upon a time I used to live in Miranda CA

Right off Avenue of the Giants. One of the most calming experiences in my life living among those trees.

[Blue_In_AK]

20. I'm glad to see the Tongass on that list.

It's amazing down there.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

23. That link didn't open for me

When I clicked, the line fills a new browser, but when my loading stops the page is blank. ??? It doesn't tell me I need cookies to see it or anything.

[SoCalDem]

26. hmmm..it works fine here..

http://away.com/weekend-guide/travel-ta-united-states-nature-sidwcmdev_060445.html

or this one:

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&cp=38&gs_id=14&xhr=t&q=%22Ancient+Forests+of+the+United+States%22&qe=IkFuY2llbnQgRm9yZXN0cyBvZiB0aGUgVW5pdGVkIFN0YXRlcyI&qesig=hBJpNq7u2CTaTCtPWFYSUQ&pkc=AFgZ2tmOHmiwO_LUrDmTViyg1ut9od72QNaY0693wktimOWE2r6H933QjJ9nnNhlEPR46SlO4XX7lB12RgwahHCYHJqbUrVu1Q&pf=p&sclient=psy&newwindow=1&source=hp&pbx=1&oq=%22Ancient+Forests+of+the+United+States%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=b62454da27284b07&biw=596&bih=411

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

31. First one still doesn't open, second is a search page

Lots of links, not sure which mentions the ten old growth forests, they look like they are just talking about ancient forests. I'll check them out.

[JCMach1]

25. You can still find the stumps of Florida's cypress giants

that no longer exist. They left their own tombstones.

I was able to visit thanks to the state forestry service when I was a kid, a tiny sliver of old growth live oaks in the Withlacoochee state forest. These were some of the the only ones left in the whole state. It was was like a scene out of Tolkien and amazing.

[Withywindle]

28. k & r

For the Lorax. :thumbsup: