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Discover the Value of Old-Growth Forest

discover the value of old growthWe hear a lot about how valuable old-growth forests are for wildlife, but what makes them such great places for animals? Once you know that, you can mimic those same traits in your own woods.

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Restoring Old-Growth Characteristics

This overview from the University of Massachusetts discusses the importance of old-growth forests and introduces ways to make your woods more like old-growth.


25 Animals of Older Forests

What kinds of animals live in old-growth forests? Although eastern US forests lack old-growth dependent species, many kinds of wildlife do prefer deep, interior woods with more old-growth traits such as large trees with cavities.

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Thin Around My Legacy Trees

Thin Around My Legacy Trees

Perhaps the best known visual signs of old-growth forests are their truly enormous trees. You can accelerate large tree growth in your woods by finding your healthiest “legacy trees” and removing competing trees around them so the big trees can grow faster.

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Find Snags and Cavity Trees

Find Snags and Cavity Trees

Tree cavities and dead trees are important wildlife habitats that are often missing in many woodlots. Locate these features in your woods to find out if you have enough of these wildlife havens.

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Create Snags with Girdling

Create Snags with Girdling

If your woods are short on snags (standing dead trees), you can create some of this valuable wildlife habitat by girdling trees. Girdling kills a tree while leaving it standing so it can become a snag.

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Do a Patch Cut

Do a Patch Cut

True old-growth forests have greenery at every level from the forest floor to the top of the canopy. You can start some new growth on the ground using small patch cuts, which remove every tree from an area less than an acre.

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