Lisha Kill Forest Preserve Niskayuna, NY Bob Leverett leads the way into an Ancient Forest PHOTO: DYarrow 12/1/01

"Trees are guardians of the Earth, and we are the guardians of trees." —'Treeman' Ilan Shamir

With as much as 400,000 acres of old growth forests, New York may have more ancient forest than any state east of the Mississippi. New York has only one modest-size National Forest

map Ancient Forests in New York

(Finger Lakes National Forest), which has essentially no old growth. Most of New York's old growth is in the Adirondack and Catskill Mountain Preserves, and an unknown amount survives in small to tiny patches in state parks, private preserves, extreme topographies and other forgotten niches in the land.

Very little is virgin forest—or "first forest"—that escaped the farmers and lumbermen. Less than a quarter of one percent (.25%) escapes the saws and axes. Most is second growth forest that has regrown after the first wave of land clearing and settlement. Second growth forests up to 200 years old are known, even at the north tip of Manhattan island in New York City. Outside vast tracts of evergreen-dominated forests in the two great mountain preserves, New York's ancient forests are usually small, isolated stands of mixed hardwoods and hemlock on state or private properties.

First Annual Membership Meeting June 14, 2003 Landis Arboretum

Until recently, the common belief was that no forests escaped the axes and saws of settlement and industry. And therefore that New York has no virgin timber. The idea of "old growth" was a laughable mythology. Professional forestry saw trees strictly as commodities for harvest, and old growth was viewed as "over-mature"—trees that had been allowed to grow too long, and were declining in value as commercial timber.

God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools. —John Muir

But the last quarter century saw increasing public and scientific appreciation of forests as something more than cash for timber, pulp and firewood. Concerns for wilderness, recreation, habitat, biodiversity, global warming, and spiritual ecology are reordering forestry principles and purposes. Many scientists described the Earth's forests as genetic reserviors of biodiversity, and as the lungs of the planet that regulate global atmosphere and climate.

This is resulting in a reassessment of our forests, and a revisioning of our responsibility to steward them for our own uses, and for future generations. And in the confrontation with global warming and climate change, trees and forest are among humanity's most important allies.

What's New SURVEYS NEWS ARTICLES Tour of U.S. Ancient Forests Sierra, Nov-Dec, 2002 Relics of Old Forests Knight-Ridder, 11/18/02 Into the Woods Syr. New Times, 7/24/02 Cedars date from centuries Cobleskill T-U, 7/3/02 Ancient New York NY Times, 7/13/02 ESSAYS U.S. Must Lead the World in Forest Protection Climate Change Old Growth Criteria PHOTOS Adirondack Big Trees

Documenting Old Growth

The tedious tasks required to locate and identify New York's old growth forests is carried on largely by individuals, most of them unpaid volunteers, many of them academics, research scientists and graduate students with personal interest in these sylvan remnants. Many are environmentalists concerned about conservation, and wilderness preservation. Some are foresters and arborists who discovered greater joy and satifaction saving forests instead of cutting trees.

In the 1980's, a few old growth pioneers such as Barbara McMartin, Michael Kudish, Joe Sencabaugh, Don Leopold, and Bob Leverett compiled the first inventories of ancient forest, and debated criteria to define a forest as "old growth." In 1993, Mary Byrd Davis published the first inventory of "Old Growth in the East: A Survey." Dr. Davis' inventory of New York's old growth in her 1993 publication is being augmented by additional field work, and is now available online as a continually updated Directory of New York Old Growth.

Fred Breglia Eastern New York survey team leader PHOTO DYarrow 11/9/02

In 1986, six naturalists, botanists and ecologists formed the Western New York Old Growth Survey Team, sponsored by the Niagara Frontier Botanical Society. In 15 years of persistent field work, this team discovered and documented over 60 new stands of ancient trees, and stimulated a steady stream of publicity and press. Members of the team were also active in actions to prevent the logging of old growth in areas such as Zoar Valley and Allegany State Park. Team leader Bruce Kershner was funded by Audubon Society to write a Guide to Western New York's Ancient Forests, and went on to scout out more old growth in the Adirondacks, and his boyhood turf of Staten Island and New York City.

In 2001, Fred Breglia, arborist at Landis Arboretum, and David Yarrow, coordinator of the New York Champion Tree Project, formed an Eastern New York Old Growth Survey Team to discover ancient forests in their end of the state. This is a tremendous task, since eastern New York encompasses the vast tracts of Adirondack and Catskill Preserves. With headquarters at Landis Arboretum near Esperance in Schoharie Valley, the team began an ambitious Calendar of monthly field trips to survey potential old growth sites. In its first few months, the team documented several old growth sites in the Capitol Region and beyond, including:

Eastern NY Survey Team under Landis Arboretum's Great Oak December 2, 2001 PHOTO DYarrow 12/2/01 from left: Jerry Horowitz, Daniel Karpen, Lou Sebesta, Ben Larsen, Fred Breglia, Bruce Kershner, Peter Hirsch

NYOGFA participates in the Eastern Native Tree Society Click here to learn about ENTS

Green Lakes State Park Lisha Kill Preserve Old Maids' Woods Landis Arboretum Albany Pine Bush Reist Wildlife Sanctuary Schunemunk Mountain Saratoga Spa State Park Minnewaska State Park Selkirk Shores State Park

Palmaghatt Kill ravine Inwood Hill Park Little Nose Vroman's Nose Schoharie Escarpment Delaware Forest Nelson Swamp Smith Woods The Elders Grove Pine Lake Forest

Statewide Association

2003 Survey Training Events Feb. 15 Finger Lakes April 12 Central NY May 3 Susquehanna East June 14 Eastern NY

The eastern and western survey teams are working together to form survey teams in other areas of New York, and offer workshops to train new team members. A Central New York survey team was formed in May 2002 and is conducting monthly surveys. Two meetings in New York City began to organize a survey team for the downstate and tri-state region. Team leaders also formed a statewide old growth association to coordinate the teams' activities and obtain funding for team leaders to guide the field work.

The New York Old Growth Forest Association (NYOGFA) was founded on May 4, 2002 at Green Lakes State Park. The NYOGFA Mission is to locate, document and protect our ancient forests. NYOGFA is headquartered at Turtle EyeLand Sanctuary in East Greenbush near Albany, and is a tax exempt, charitable organization organized as a chapter of the New York Champion Tree Project, with a Board of Directors and Committees.

Arborist Fred Breglia, President New York Old Growth Forest Association with the Tallest Tree in North America

In 2003, NYOGFA will conduct more old growth training workshops, print a booklet on New York's ancient forests, publish a manual on how to survey and document ancient forest, and begin programs to teach youth environmental stewarship. By the end of 2003, NYOGFA hopes to have seven survey teams confirming old growth in different regions of the state, led by trained field leaders.

Over the longer term, NYOGFA intends to initiate research into the dynamics of old growth communities, and offer support to landowners who dedicate their forests to regenerate into ancient forests.

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New York Old Growth Forest Association — www.championtrees.org/NYOGFA/ — updated 11/21/2002