Ancient Redwood Forest, California

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Gigantic fog enshrouded trees, a moist and cool refuge, an ecosystem of incredible diversity, and America's greatest renewable resource... But wait a minute, these forests may not be renewable at all. If they are it would take a minimum of between 500 and 1000 years, and in the meantime all of the plant, animal and insect species that can exist only in these forests would become extinct. For perspective, the United States has been around for less than 250 years, and we have logged over 94% of our old growth forests in just the last 100 years. That's one fifth the minimum time they may take to regenerate, if they can regenerate at all.

The term "old growth" refers to an ecosystem type that must meet specific criteria, not just a forest with large trees. We know that 70 years after an old growth forest is been logged and replanted many of the species that originally existed there are still absent. Climate changes that have occurred over the last thousands of years these forests have existed, and are now occurring much more rapidly, together with nutrient depletion and erosion caused by logging operations, may make it impossible for subsequent forests to ever regain "old growth" status. In essence this is because the ancient forests originally developed under conditions that no longer exist and cannot be reproduced.