In the political arena, information is a commodity but science is, at times, discounted by special interest profit margins. Over the past few years, a team led by Bob Leverett, executive director of the Friends of Mohawk Trail State Forest and leading old-growth forest researcher, has discovered a mounting number of old-growth forest stands throughout the Commonwealth (see Leverett article this issue). These remnants represent nearly 1, 500 acres, which is still just 0.0005 percent of Massachusetts' three million acres of forested land. Legislation pending before the Massachusetts House of Representatives would give the state the powers necessary to provide for the long-term restoration and sustainability characteristic of old-growth forest stands and to protect representative forest types for research, education, and aesthetic appreciation. But a private company, Wachusett Mountain Associates, which manages a popular private ski area at a public reservation, has successfully held the bill hostage for fear that it may endanger the construction of its proposed snowboard park, ski trail and lift straight through a mature forest area that buffers the reservation' s old-growth forest.
The old-growth stand on Mount Wachusett is the only documented site east of the Connecticut River. The majority of old-growth sites have been located along steep, rocky slopes and ravines on state-owned land in the Berkshires and Taconics, where trees have matured and died over many generations with minimal human disturbance. Most of the old-growth stands are between seven and 60 acres in area. Their small size makes them susceptible to sudden destruction by storm events, fires, disease, or insect infestations. Many of the stands are surrounded by mature forests that shelter the older trees from storms and other disturbances. Both the old-growth and surrounding mature forests need to be maintained in their natural state.
With thick and deeply furrowed bark and often twisted or asymmetrical trunks, the older trees may be either densely or sparsely distributed. An old-growth forest floor is covered with coarse, woody debris in varying stages of decomposition with an abundance of lichens, liverworts, mosses, and an underground fungal network that circulates nutrients throughout the ecosystem. Downed logs, standing snags, and windthrow mounds all are important indicators that a forested area has not been significantly impacted by human use for a long time.
The Old-Growth Forest Reserves legislation authorizes the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) to review all data available on the status, age, and composition of forests on lands managed by the state. EOEA is then authorized to establish Old-Growth Forest Reserves on those lands of sufficient size with old-growth characteristics.
The proposed legislation would encompass both the old-growth stands and surrounding mature forests. The bill enables EOEA to allow existing recreational uses and facilities, such as hiking trails or hunting and fishing within the Reserves. Prohibited activities include new recreational, commercial, industrial, roadway, or utility-related development, as well as active timber cutting. EOEA may approve exceptions for activities that are essential to the maintenance of the natural characteristics of old-growth stands, or to protect the public health and safety.
Old-Growth Forest Reserves will serve as ecological benchmarks or scientific controls for distinguishing what is happening on other Commonwealth forests due to their management. Without such control sites, there is no way to distinguish the effects of active forest management practice from outside influences such as air pollution or climate change.
Our political system is no less immune to outside influence, and the owners of Wachusett Mountain Associates have built an extensive largesse through their additional corporate holdings of the Adirondack Beverage and Polar Beverage companies. But as the loss of a single treasured work of literature, music, art, or sculpture impoverishes us all, our natural heritage is no less important. The small remaining vestige of Massachusetts' old-growth forest, including the stand at Mount Wachusett, must be protected to avoid irreplaceable loss to the Commonwealth's biological heritage.
All photographs by M. Salett, ©1999-2000. Photographs cannot be reproduced without permission of photographer
Christopher Hardy is the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Legislative Liaison. To join the Society's Environmental Alert Network and receive frequent updates on the old-growth forest legislation and other major conservation issues, email the Beacon Hill Legislative Affairs Office at beaconhill@massaudubon.org.