About Island Press Island Press is the only nonprofit organization in the United States whose prin cipal purpose is the publication of books on environmental issues and natural resource management We provide solutions-oriented information to profes sionals, public officials, business and community leaders, and concerned citi zens who are shaping responses to environmental problems. In 1994, Island Press celebrated its tenth anniversary as the leading provider of timely and practical books that take a multidisciplinary approach to critical environmental concerns. Our growing list of titles reflects our commitment to bringing the best of an expanding body of literature to the environmental com munity throughout North America and the world Support for Island Press is provided by Apple Computer, Inc., The Bullitt Foundation, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Energy Foundation, The Ford Foundation, TheW. Alton Jones Foundation, The Lyndhurst Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Joyce Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Pew Global Stewardship Initiative, The Rockefeller Philanthropic Collaborative, Inc., and individual donors. lEAS1rlEl~N (Q> lLlD>-(Gr lR10Y~V1LJH[ JP(Q> l~lES1rS lEA§1rlEJ~N (Q) lLJD)~(Gr J~(Q)~V1rJH[ JF(Q) J~lE§1r§ Prospects for Rediscovery and Recovery Edited by Mary Byrd Davis Foreword by John Davis ISLAND PRESS Washington, D.C. • Covelo, California Copyright© 1996 by Island Press All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without per mission in writing from the publisher: Island Press, 1718 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20009. ISLAND PRESS is a trademark of The Center for Resource Economics. Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint the following previ ously copyrighted material. Chapter 4 is based on material copyright© 1995 and published by Ecological Society of America: "Possible Ecological Mechanisms for Loss of Vernal Diversity in Logged Eastern Deciduous Forests." Chapter 7 includes an excerpt from "Mterlife" by Matthew Murrey, copyright© 1994 Matthew Murrey. Chapter 16 is copyright © 1994 State of Minnesota, Department of Natural Re sources. Reprinted with permission. No copyright claim is made on chapter 17, a work produced by an employee of the federal government Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Eastern old-growth forests: prospects for rediscovery and recovery/ edited by Mary Byrd Davis; foreword by John Davis p. em. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-55963-408-1 (cloth).-ISBN 1-55963-409-X (pbk.) 1. Old growth forests-East (U.S.) 2. Forest ecology-East (U.S.) 3. Forest conservation-East (U.S.) I. Davis, Mary B. SD387.043E27 1996 333. 78' 4--dc20 96-904 CIP Printed on recycled, acid-free paper @ Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 Co][lllt<en.lts Foreword xi John Davis Preface XV Mary Byrd Davis Part I Introduction Chapter 1 Definitions and History 3 Robert Leverett Chapter2 Extent and Location 18 Mary Byrd Davis Part II Biological and Cultural Values Chapter 3 Using Lichens to Assess Ecological Continuity in Northeastern Forests 35 Steven B. Selva Chapter4 Biodiversity in the Herbaceous1.ayer and Salamanders in Appalachian Primary Forests 49 Albert J. Meier, Susan Power Bratton, and David Cameron Duffy Chapter 5 The Importance of Old Growth to Carnivores in Eastern Deciduous Forests 65 Michael R. Pelton vii viii Contents Chapter 6 Functional Roles of Eastern Old Growth in Promoting Forest Bird Diversity 76 J. Christopher Haney and Charles P. Schaad! Chapter 7 Old-Growth Spirituality 89 Michael Perlman Chapter 8 Old-Growth Forests: A Native American Perspective 101 Standing Woman (Cherokee) and Steve Comer (Mahican) Part III Identification Chapter 9 Black Growth and Fiddlebutts: The Nature of Old-Growth Red Spruce 113 Charles V. Cogbill Chapter 10 Old-Growth Forests of Southern New England, New York, and Pennsylvania 126 Peter Dunwiddie, David Foster, Donald Leopold, and Robert T. Leverett Chapter 11 Old Growth in the Great Lakes Region 144 Lee E. Frelich and Peter B. Reich Chapter 12 Central Mesophytic Forests 161 James R. Runkle Chapter 13 Old-Growth Oak and Oak-Hickory Forests 178 Peter S. White and Ricky D. White Chapter 14 Old Growth in Southeastern Wetlands 199 J. Merrill Lynch Chapter 15 Longleaf Pine Forest, Going, Going, ... 210 D. Bruce Means Part IV Preservation and Restoration Chapter 16 Identification and Protection of Old Growth on State-Owned Land in Minnesota 233 Kurt A. Rusterholz Chapter 17 National Forests in the Eastern Region: Land Allocation and Planning for Old Growth 245 Lucy E. Tyrrell Contents ix Chapter 18 The Nature Conservancy's Preservation of Old Growth 274 Kathy Seaton Chapter 19 Cook Forest State Park: Reflections of a Preservationist 284 Anthony Eaton Cook Chapter 20 Landscape Heterogeneity of Hemlock-Hardwood Forest in Northern Michigan 291 Margaret B. Davis, Timothy E. Parshall, and James B. Ferrari Chapter 21 The Restoration of Old Growth: Why and How 305 Stephen C. Trombulak Chapter 22 Tree Rings and Ancient Forest History 321 David W. Stahle Chapter 23 How Much Old Growth Is Enough? 344 Robert Zahner Afterword: Future Old Growth 359 Bill McKibben Glossary 365 Contributors 369 Index 375