"Old growth" defies a single definitionand the values of the definer.

it differs by forest type

IN SUMMARYHow should old-growth forests bemanaged? Should they be managed?Stakeholders with differing values andagendas have debated these questions foryears. Over time, the debate has evolved:now there is greater awareness aboutthe complexity of old-growth ecosystemsand different ways humans value them. Ascientist at the Pacific Northwest ResearchStation has co-edited a book to provide acomprehensive, multidisciplinary overviewand synthesis to further this discussion.Written for a lay audience, Old Growthin a New World: A Pacific NorthwestIcon Reexamined is meant to help deepenpolicymakers' and public understandingof old growth.

The book highlights the complexity ofold growth and the dialog surroundingit. Forest management is as much asocial issue as a scientific one. And theauthors contend that intrinsic values ofaesthetics, mystery, and spirituality musthe considered alongside issues of carbonstorage, habitat conservation, and timberproduction. Society may not agree ona definition of old growth, but workingdefinitions based on subregional foresttypes are needed to help guide forestmanagement. As stakeholders becomewilling to hear other sides of the old-growth issue, collaborations and ideasfor new economic models are arisingthat may help maintain or restore theecological diversity of our valued forests.

P2

PNWPacific NorthwestResearch Station

INSIDEDefying Definition 3Finding Common Ground 3Understanding the Social Aspectsof Forest Management 4Integrating Ecology and Economics 4

F I N D I N G S issue one hundred ten / february 2009

"Sae/nce/ of way we^ th4-ink/ tacjethor.Lewis Thomas

OLD GROWTH REVISITED: INTEGRATING SOCIAL,ECONOMIC, AND ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

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—Julia M. Wondolleck

n the final decades of the 20thcentury, the old-growth con-troversy seemed well-defined:

loggers versus environmentalists.Reduced to sound bites and head-lines, however, the issue was over-simplified. As ecosystem sciencehas matured and the complexity offorest dynamics is revealed, whatwas once a polarized shoutingmatch has become more like apassionate conversation.

In May 2005, the National Com-mission on Science for SustainableForestry sponsored a workshop inWashington state to characterizethe state of old-growth conserva-tion and management in the PacificNorthwest. From that workshopcame the idea for a book to framethe emerging dialog and givea voice to representatives fromvarious stakeholder groups.

Old Growth in a New World: A PacificNorthwest Icon Reexamined, published byIsland Press, characterizes and synthesizesthe views of ecologists, economists,environmentalists, historians, managers,philosophers, silviculturists, sociologists,and timber producers. Tom Spies, a research

forester with the Pacific Northwest ResearchStation in Corvallis, Oregon, and SallyDuncan, policy research director at theInstitute for Natural Resources at OregonState University, are the book's co-editors.Among the chapter authors are seven othercurrent or retired station scientists.

This old forest in a riparian zone in coastal Oregon is characterizedby its dense, diverse understory.

Purpose of PNW Science FindingsTo provide scientific information to peoplewho make and influence decisions aboutmanaging land.

PNW Science Findings is publishedmonthly by:

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Send new subscriptions and change ofaddress information to:

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V

In this old ponderosa forest in central Oregon, understory is absent because fire has played a marefrequent role in shaping the forest.

-For all the books that have been writtenabout the old-growth controversy—and therehave been a number of good ones none ofthem really took a broad multidisciplinaryview of the problem," Spies says.

The book provides historical backgroundon the old-growth controversy and contextfor new scientific understandings aboutecosystem dynamics for nontechnical readers.Although it offers some ideas about howstakeholders might work together to managevaluable forest resources, an overarchingtheme arising from the book is that nothingis clear cut. "It's really intended to providedecisionmakers and the public with a broaderperspective on the dimensions of the issue

more insights into some of thecomplexity that they mightfind helpful in trying to craftsolutions," says Spies.

"Everyone has begun tounderstand that it's not assimple as we would like tothink," says Duncan. "We allcarry our own values, and weall like to think ours are theright ones."

The book's purpose is to allow this widespectrum of values to be considered. "Thereare many, many different perspectives onthe old-growth issue, and so it was impor-

L KEY FINDINGS

The history of old growth in the Pacific Northwest is a history ofsocial change, reflecting the influence of Native Americans, pioneerfarmers, early loggers, modern forestry, and a new era of ecologicaland social forestry.

The science of old growth is maturing to incorporate ecosystemdynamics and complexity, including structural diversity and itsimpact on biodiversity.

Instrumental values of old growth, such as carbon storage andwildlife habitat, may be less important in forest managementdebates than intrinsic values, such as spirituality, mystery, andthe search for meaning.

Although the "forest industry versus old growth" controversy islargely over, unintended consequences of mandated managementpractices include the loss of mill capacity and workers to helpcarry out restoration, especially in dry regions.

tant to us in pulling this book together thatwe reflected the multiple voices that hadweighed in," Duncan says. "Of course, thisWas easier to do once some time had passed."

n

Fire created a complex mosaic of burned and unburned patches inthis oldfbrest in southwestern Oregon, making it difficult to classifythe forest into a fill' simple stages.

DEFYING DEFINITION

A

major problem in discussing "oldgrowth" is that it defies a singledefinition. It matters who is doing

the defining.

From an ecological standpoint, an old-growthforest is generally described as one "in thelater stages of development with complexstructures and heterogeneity," says Spies.But the devil is in the details. The forest mustbe viewed as a continuous system that isalways changing. "There is no clear point atwhich you can say, from an age standpoint,this is certainly old growth and this isn't,"he explains.

Counting big old trees or dead trees,measuring density, or characterizing theunderstory also have their limits becausethese components can vary widely withinand among forest types. Ecologists also arediscovering that younger forests can havemany characteristics in common with old-growth forests in terms of biodiversity andthe ability to provide wildlife habitat.

In general usage by the public, the term "oldgrowth" tends to connote noninterferenceby humans and their domestic animals. Ithas become an icon symbolizing "unspoilednature, ecological stability, pristine habitat,and other lofty values," notes Spies. The prob-lem with this definition, according to Spies, isthat old growth is measured in centuries, and

it can be difficult to deter-mine human impact overthe long course of a forest'shistory.

For some people, the term"old growth" is entirelysubjective, making a mean-ingful scientific descriptionimpossible and perhapsirrelevant. Its meaning isexperienced by appreciatingthe profound mystery andspiritual aesthetics of beingin or thinking about a forest.

Kathleen Dean Moore,philosophy professorat Oregon State University,addressed the spiritualperspective on old growth inone chapter of the book. Aspects encompassedin her definition of an old-growth forest includecontinuity of ages, great height, complexity,tranquility, "natural" condition, and beauty.She stressed, however, that its intrinsic valuegoes beyond what can be described orexperienced by human beings.

Spies points out that this cloud of definitions isnot surprising. "It's just the reality of dealingwith something that on one hand is complexand diverse ecologically and on the other iscomplex and diverse from a social perspective."

Although there is no universally accepteddefinition, and likely never will be, workingdefinitions based on subregional forest typesare necessary to help guide forest manage-ment practices, says Spies. Definitions areessential, but they must be held loosely andwith the understanding that they are alwaysbased on values and agendas, he explains. Theco-editors believe that people to whom theforest is sacred deserve a seat at the table—"a voice in the range of voices"—and theirviews must be honored when consideringmanagement alternatives.

FINDING COMMON GROUND

I

n addition to identifying points ofcontinued conflict in the old-growthcontroversy, the book identifies the

beginnings of convergence on some issues."There really is some common ground,"Spies says.

Scientists have made new findings aboutecosystem dynamics in recent decades,and particularly since the adoption ofthe Northwest Forest Plan in 1994. Theyrecognize the need to manage old growth inthis context. Recent major losses of valuedold-growth stands to wildfire have led manyprotectionists to acknowledge the need forsome level of active management to reduceladder fuels and the threat of insect infesta-tion and disease, particularly in the driersubregions.

"Fire suppression and other activities overthe years have resulted in increasing the risk

to some of the old forests we want to retain,"says Spies. "So reexamining and bringing toli ght the challenges of conserving old growthin fire-prone ecosystems was one of the goalsof the book."

Contributors to the book also recognized theneed to manage for ecological diversity insome uniform stands on federal and privatelands. Spies suggests that it is time to thinkacross landscapes and ownerships.

"It's important to look at the whole landscapeand not just focus on the old-growth part,"he says. "So much of the debate has beenreally simplified it's either old growth orit's not. Several chapters point out that awell-managed forest can produce many ofthe habitat values that people associate withold-growth forests—not all, but many."

But the convergence goes deeper than justthe recognition of possible management

compromises. Multiple voices weigh inon the inherent mystery of the icon.

In a "post-modern world where people arepushed and stressed by technology andschedules and rules, there is a real cryingneed for some other way of experiencingthe world," says Spies. Simultaneously,scientists are beginning to understand theinterconnectedness and unpredictabilityof natural systems.

"They are beginning to find wonder in allthe connections between an owl and amouse and a mycorrhiza," says Spies. Inother words, many scientists are beginningto more fully appreciate the intrinsic valuesthat have long been espoused by those whoput more emphasis on aesthetic values. Theconvergence of the spiritual and scientificin this way confirms the power of the iconand the need to tread lightly as managementalternatives are considered.

Science Findings is online at: http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/The site also includes Science Update— scientific knowledge for pressing decisions about controversial natural resource and environmental issues.

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Common ground is surfacing as various factions beginto agree that some level of active management may beneeded to maintain old forests.

UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIAL ASPECTS OF FOREST MANAGEMENT

I

t a consensus on defining oldgrowth is impossible, can we cometo consensus on how or whether—

these forests should be managed?

"Early on, it was thought that if theecologists could just figure out what theowl needed or how we define old growththen everything would be fine—scien-tists would just solve it," says Spies. Butscience is suspect or beside the point incertain sectors, so "it's all really a socialproblem."

Given the many values and agendas,expecting consensus on management isunrealistic. "You can't take a rationalscientific approach to what is fundamen-tally a personal subjective system thatdoes not lend itself to the technologyapproach to problem solving," says Spies."Social scientists are integrated into theproblem now in a much bigger way thanthey were before, and they are helping usto see where some of the intersections ofsocial science and ecological science lie."

So the challenge is accepting thatconflict is bound to occur and thateveryone's view is valid. Enter conflictmanagement.

Julia Wollendeck, associate professorin the School of Natural Resources andEnvironment at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, contributed a chapter aboutthe role of conflict resolution in forestmanagement decisionmaking. She points

out that it is not a question of "who is rightor whose values should prevail," but whetherwe can find ways to work together to solveproblems.

Wollendeck observes that the old-growthconflict has served a valuable purpose inbringing to light important issues and pro-viding an opportunity to reassess long-standing management practices. "Itgalvanized attention and concern, expandedthe scope of scientific inquiry, stimulatednew policies and plans, encouraged eco-nomic transitions in some communities,and enhanced public and scientific under-standing of the old-growth ecosystem,-she writes.

She and other contributors note that prog-ress has been made in workin g collabora-tively despite differences in values andagendas. As an example, conservationistRick Brown outlines his journey of gettingfrom "no" to "yes" as he became involvedwith the Lakeview Stewardship Group inthe late 1990s. The group consists of millowners, civic leaders, citizens, and con-servationists who are working together tocomplete a long-ran ge management planfor 600,000 acres of the Fremont NationalForest.

Spies also notes that a major challenge isfinding ways to keep management policiesaligned with society's values as thosevalues shift and change over time. "Socialvalues are changing more rapidly thesedays than policies," he says. "We need newinstitutions, new ways of integratin g andinteracting with people around changingsocial and ecological perspectives."

/

INTEGRATING ECOLOGYn their synthesis, Spies, Duncan, and othercontributing authors discuss the ironies andunintended consequences of the current

forest management policies.

For example, biodiversity and species protectionwere the motivating factors for closin g federalforests to logging in the early 1990s. In theaftermath, the availability of large-diametertimber decreased dramatically, and mills withthe capacity to process big logs were closed.

"There was a loss of economic incentive togrow big trees," says Spies. Even-aged planta-tions of smaller-diameter trees have becomethe norm, which does not support the causeof biodiversity.

Now there is some recognition among protec-tionists that active management such asthinning may be required to protect certainold-growth stands from wildfire, but thecapacity of the forest industry to respondhas been compromised.

AND ECONOMICS

Growth and disturbance are two pathways of change for a forest stand. Over time, the various stagesmeet the needs of different species. Here black lines show changes created by growth, and grey linesshow pathways created by disturbances.

ri

LAND MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS 114

A single definition of old growth is not possible and should not be expected becauseecological conditions and social perspectives and forests are too diverse. Nevertheless,working definitions based on subregional variation and forest type can aid managementdecisions.

Because humans have altered forest stand and landscape structures in ways thataffect current and future old growth, some level of human activity may be requiredto conserve old growth. Active management, adapted to stand type, may be requiredto deal with threats such as fire, insects, and disease.

Private landowners are seeking ways to promote old-growth characteristics such aswildlife habitat and carbon sequestration while managing for multiple objectives,including wood products. New silvicultural approaches and economic models couldhelp promote these efforts.

E.

E

A high-severity wildfire in an old-growth standmany standing dead trees—creating new wildlifehabitat and a legacy for the new stand.

Small live and dead trees have accumulated asfire has been suppressed, changing the physicalcharacteristics o fold stands in dry forests andincreasing the fire hazard.

WRITER'S PROFILEMarie Oliver is a writer based in

Philomath, Oregon.

"Because of the overall decline in the forestindustry, there are fewer mills and fewerpeople to go out and do that work with thesmaller-diameter wood," says Spies. Theexistence of fewer mills increases haulingcosts and reduces the financial incentive forforest products companies to become involvedin thinning activities.

A shade of gray begins to emerge: it appearsthat forest biodiversity and economic healthare not necessarily mutually exclusive.

"You can begin to see that if you want to dofire hazard reduction in some of the drierareas, you are going to need some humancapacity to do that, and you are going to needsome viable forest industry to process thelogs," says Spies. "So there is a connectionbetween economics and ecological restora-tion."

Spies suggests that these connections, inaddition to changing social values, provideopportunities to examine new economicmodels. For example, management objectivessuch as biodiversity, carbon sequestration,recreation, and water quality are ecosystemservices that have real economic values."Many of these old-growth associated valuesare important to society, and without neweconomic approaches, we may not have theresources to obtain them where managementactions are needed," he says.

Any new approach likely will be shapedby the need to manage for uncertainty.Unknowns such as changes in disturbanceregimes triggered by changes in climate mayshape stakeholders' views of forest manage-ment in the future. Old Growth in a NewWorld may well serve as a starting point forthese future discussions about science andsociety's values.

"The, (214.ksion/s , i w q ut,e4tion/boa/ down/ to- the/ b-oli,ef that--

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curt& stemtati,c/ rule/ of retmo-vv. "—Zygmunt Bauman

FOR FURTHER READINGCarey, A.B. 2003. Biocomplexity and

restoration of biodiversity in temperateconiferous forest: inducing spatialheterogeneity with variable-densitythinning. Forestry. 76(2): 127-136.

Spies, T.A.; Duncan, S.L., eds. 2009.Old growth in a new world: a PacificNorthwest Icon Reexamined. Washington,DC: Island Press. 344 p.

Thomas, J.W.; Franklin, J.F.; Gordon, J.;Johnson, K.N. 2006. The Northwest ForestPlan: origins, components, implementationexperience, and suggestions for change.Conservation Biology. 20(2): 277-287.

Wimberly, M.C.; Spies, T.A.; Long, C.J.;Whitlock, C. 2000. Simulating historicalvariability in the amount of oldIbrests inthe Oregon Coast Range. ConservationBiology. 14: 167-180.

LI

SCIENTIST PROFILESTOM SPIES is a forest ecologist with theUSDA Forest Service, PNW Research Station.He earned a Ph.D. from the University ofMichigan at Ann Arbor in 1983. His currentprojects address landscape dynamics inmixed-severity fire regimes, forest policyeffects, and old-growth forest conservationin fire-prone landscapes.

Spies can be reached at:Pacific Northwest Research StationUSDA Forest ServiceForestry Sciences Laboratory3200 SW Jefferson WayCorvallis, OR 97331Phone: (541) 750-7354E-mail: tspies@fs.fed.us

SALLY DUNCAN is the policy researchdirector at the Institute for Natural Resourcesat Oregon State University. She is currently ona Fulbright Environmental Leadershipfellowship in Bangalore, India, where sheis teaching science-policy communicationworkshops and researching science-policyinteractions in the Indian state and nationalcontext.

Duncan can be reached atInstitute for Natural ResourcesOregon State University210 Strand HallCorvallis, OR 97331(541) 737-9931E-mail: sally.duncan@oregonstate.edu

Other contributors from the PNW Research Station:Pete Bisson, Andrew Carey (retired), Richard Haynes (retired), Gordon Reeves, George Stankey(retired), Fred Swanson, and Jack Ward Thomas (retired)

/Ilk I All

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