National Forest Week: You might be surprised at how little old-growth forest we have
Seeing the forest for the trees
July 8-14 is National Forest Week, so we’ll take a look at our 193 million spectacular acres of wildlands.
The state of our forests
On April 22, 2022, the Biden administration released Executive Order 14072: “Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities and Local Economies.” The executive order directs the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service to inventory mature and old-growth forests and analyze reforestation opportunities, among other measures to ensure the resilience of America’s forests.
An initial national inventory of mature and old-growth forests on BLM and U.S. Forest Service lands was released on April 20, 2023, along with working definitions that provide quantitative measurement criteria for different forest types.Governmental agencies are concentrating on old-growth forests, or the lack of them.
What is old growth?
Early attempts at defining old-growth forests date back to the 1940s, when the term old growth was used to differentiate slower growing, older forests from faster growing, younger forests. The idea was largely based on the diameter at breast height of the largest live trees.
Current old-growth forest definitions recognize that tree species, climate, soil productivity and disturbance history all influence the development of old-growth forests.
You can read a full definition of mature and old-growth forests here.
If you want to help our forests visit: nationalforests.org
Value of old growth
The USDA on the value of old-growth forests:
Ecosystem: They are life support systems — constantly contributing to air, soil, water quality and diverse habitats.
Carbon: Old-growth forests capture and retain climate warming carbon.
Recreation: Old-growth forests stimulate local economies through recreation activities such as hiking, camping and sightseeing.
Connection: They provide opportunities for people to connect to the land through hunting, gathering and fishing.
Community: They offer a sense of lace and community and provide beauty, peace and wonder.
Graphics source: Barnett K, Aplet GH and Belote RT (2023) Classifying, inventorying, and mapping mature and old-growth forests in the United States.
National forests by the numbers
Managed by the U.S. Forest Service, our National Forests host 170 million visits every year.
Visitor spending pumps $13.5 billion into our economy annually.
500 million approximate acres of private, state and tribal forests on which the Forest Service supports sustainable management
27 million annual visits to ski areas on national forests
7.2 million acres of wetlands
36.6 million acres of wilderness
400,000 acres of lakes
277,000 heritage sites
158,000 miles of trails
57,000 miles of streams
10,000 professional wildland firefighters
9,100 miles of scenic byways
5,000 miles of wild and scenic rivers
At least 5,100 campgrounds
154 national forests
122 ski areas
328 natural pools to swim in
98% of wildfires are suppressed within the first 24 hours they are detected
50% reduction in the number of bats broken during Major League Baseball games due to the Forest Service research
20% of America’s clean water supply provided by the national forests and grasslands
20 national grasslands
13 scientists awarded the Nobel Prize for their work with the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
9 national monuments
1 National Historic Site (Grey Towers)
1 Woodsy Owl
1 Smokey Bear
*As of November 2013
Sources: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Park Service, National Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Forest Foundation