This letter is in response to the letter entitled Greens don’t get it (The News, Dec. 27).
The point to get is that once an ancient forest or forest remnant is gone, the entire plant, bird and animal community that it supported is gone too.
The time it takes for an old growth community to develop is measured in millenia.
For example, Douglas firs can grow for over 1,000 years, die and then continue to provide habitat for wildlife for another 300 years.
Yellow cedars can live for over 1,800 years and continue to provide habitat for another 600.
Along with these venerable conifers other trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, lichens and fungi have developed a unique plant community that supports myriad wildlife dependent on this mature forest.
To compare old growth forest to a rash of younger trees (often grown in monoculture, for 100 or 200 years ‘til the next cut) is like comparing a riparian meadow to a lawn.
Fortunately, for those who wish to understand why old growth is so special, there is a great read, Wildlife Trees in British Columbia (Lone Pine, ISBN-10:1-55105-071-4) available locally.
This informative, colorful, and enjoyable book will move the intelligent reader from calling out “crazy” to calling out “protect.”
Lynne W. Brookes
Errington