The following blog post is a summary of the article “The Northeast Has Unexpected Old-Growth Forests That Survived Colonial Axes” by Krista Langlois, published in Sierra on June 10, 2024. To read the original article, click here.
Erik Danielson, a self-taught botanist and big-tree hunter, discovered a massive eastern white pine he named “Bigfoot” during a bushwhacking expedition into New York’s Adirondack Mountains. This 151-foot-tall giant stood in a rare, untouched 550-acre old-growth forest, a remnant of what once covered the region before European colonization. Before colonial exploitation, eastern white pines, some soaring to 230 feet, played key ecological and cultural roles, including inspiring the Haudenosaunee Confederacy’s Tree of Peace. However, these majestic trees were heavily harvested, particularly by European settlers and the Royal Navy, drastically altering the Northeast’s landscape. Over centuries, more than 99% of the region’s forests were cleared multiple times for agriculture, timber, and industry.
Despite massive deforestation, northeastern forests have regrown, but most consist of relatively young, uniform trees lacking the complexity of old-growth ecosystems. Ecologists stress that old-growth forests are uniquely valuable due to their rich biodiversity, resilient soil, and role in carbon storage and climate regulation. In places like New Hampshire’s Pisgah State Park, even storm-ravaged “horizontal old growth” highlights how old, decomposing wood provides critical habitats and seeds for future growth. Such ecosystems also offer vital opportunities to study natural forest dynamics, revealing insights into tree longevity and the complex relationships between plants, fungi, and soil organisms. For ecologists and conservationists, identifying and protecting these remaining old-growth pockets is critical for both ecological and historical preservation.
Conservationists envision expanding these forests by protecting adjacent lands, fostering the recovery of young forests, and allowing them to mature into old-growth-like ecosystems. Methods to accelerate forest recovery include mimicking natural processes, such as creating canopy gaps or leaving deadwood to enrich the soil, as advocated by experts like Paul Catanzaro. Others, like David Foster, argue that leaving forests untouched is the best way to restore old growth, pointing to initiatives like Wildlands. Wildlands’ goal is to permanently protect forested lands from human interference. While approaches vary, the shared goal is to transform fragmented landscapes into contiguous corridors of healthy, mature forests, aiding climate resilience and restoring lost biodiversity.
The resurgence of interest in old-growth forests has sparked efforts to identify and map these remaining areas, which remain under-documented despite their ecological significance. Forests like the Adirondacks and Catskills, protected for over a century, provide hope for conservation. However, privately owned old growth remains vulnerable without permanent safeguards. Efforts to connect protected lands, such as linking the Adirondacks with Canada’s Algonquin Park, demonstrate a regional push toward large-scale forest recovery. Conservationists believe that protecting and expanding these rare forests can help recreate ecosystems resembling the Northeast’s pre-colonial woodlands, fostering resilience in the face of environmental challenges.
Ultimately, northeastern forests are slowly recovering, driven by a growing movement of scientists, conservationists, and individuals passionate about rewilding the region. Though this recovery may span centuries, the forests’ natural processes—leaf decomposition, soil formation, and fungal growth—will heal the land over time. With careful protection and stewardship, the Northeast could see future old-growth forests, echoing the grandeur of Bigfoot and other towering giants. This restoration offers hope for a rewilded landscape, reconnecting the region to its ecological and cultural roots while addressing modern environmental concerns like biodiversity loss and climate change.