Managing for future old-growth: The worth of our choices may be beyond calculating today

Some years ago, my friend Paul and I were hiking through a Washington State Park. We were a couple of old park rangers turned managers, but we both still loved being out on the trails.

We paused on a rise, looked out into a mixed forest of conifers and hardwoods. Bigleaf maples spread their crowns above a mix of sword fern, elderberry, and evergreen huckleberry. Conifers, mostly Douglas fir, but with a smattering of cedar and hemlock, reached for the sun. Paul surveyed the scene and remarked: “What State Parks is doing here is managing for future old growth.”

Paul’s insight stopped me. We stood in a forest, the product of logging operations decades ago, now recovered to be an attractive green oasis in a rapidly developing landscape, but hardly the sort of dramatic old growth that we visit in our national parks in the region. The individual trees were no larger than their counterparts in many Thurston County yards.

But the forest we enjoyed was more than the sum of its parts. There were openings where past storms had brought down trees. Sunlight now reached the forest floor there, stimulating the growth of a wide diversity of plants. We could see snags, standing dead trees that now bore the marks of woodpeckers attracted to the insects beneath their loosening bark.

What might this place become in a decade, or in a century, or two, or three? What would it mean in the future to have a place close to home where the slow rhythms of the natural world could proceed without interference? How extraordinary, how precious would it be to have such a refuge in a time of greater human population in this Northwest landscape?

In Virginia, there is a National Park called Shenandoah. It stretches along the ridges of ancient mountains, cradling mixed hardwood forests, providing a home for creatures great and small. Visitors come from all over the world to visit the park. But a century ago, that place was mostly farmland, as well as forests that were cut for timber and firewood.

Early in the 20th century, the land was purchased for a national park. In the depths of the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps planted trees, restored eroded fields, and began the restoration of the landscape. The park was managed for future old growth. Now Shenandoah is a national treasure beyond price.

Perhaps this way of looking at the lasting effects of our current actions can apply to more than parks. We live in a culture that measures success in short-term ways. Stock markets rise and fall so fast that automated systems place orders to buy or sell. The devices that rule our lives insist on telling us what is trending minute to minute. Breaking news gets our attention — but only for a moment, till the computer chimes with the next urgent message.

But there are decisions we make, actions we take, whose true worth will only be measured over a longer time. When a parent or teacher is helping young children learn lifelong values, is that not managing for future old growth? When a business owner ensures that customers are treated with fairness and respect, is that not a present action that will influence long-term success for both parties?

The essence of this notion, of managing for future old growth, is that people make current choices that may outlive their lifetimes before the benefits are fully known. Much like an old-growth forest, the worth of those choices may be beyond calculating today.

This is my last opportunity to write for The Olympian as a member of the Board of Contributors. Warmest thanks to Executive Editor Dusti Demarest for this chance. Best regards to readers who have sent me notes of encouragement or helped me recognize my errors. A local newspaper, one that helps us appreciate those things that affect our lives, enriches our community. It is an asset beyond price, one might say, as precious as old growth. I hope it will endure.

Cleve Pinnix is a retired State Parks Commission director, a Panorama resident, and a member of The Olympian’s 2020 Board of Contributors. Reach him at cfp.ranger44@gmail.com.

This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 5:45 AM.