Old Growth & Community

Old growth trail. Photo Brett Baunton

Safeguarding a Northwest heritage

We work to protect our remaining old-growth forests and help younger forests on their way toward becoming old growth. We keep a watchful eye on publicly owned forests in the Northwest, particularly our national forests. We've encouraged the Forest Service to adopt responsible management and ecological restoration, driven by the most thorough scientific research, for the vast expanses of even-aged, plantation conifer forests in the Northwest.

Communities, collaboration, and jobs in the woods

Healthy, older forests go hand-in-hand with healthy, prosperous communities. Conservation Northwest was one of the first conservation groups to recognize the power of community collaboration and ecological forest restoration, tools that help protect our forests.

National forests and old growth

There is a reason why we keep a watchful eye on our region's national forests: In them are found most of the quality, large expanses of forest remaining in the West. These forests harbor the richest remaining pockets of America's wildlife.

Mature and old-growth forests support a wide diversity of plant and animal life. Healthy, wild forests and the rivers that form in wilderness are a source of healthy trout and salmon and pure drinking water. Old-growth forests offer people of all walks of life opportunities for recreation, enjoyment, and enrichment.

Washington state forests and old growth

State-managed public forests also harbor older forests and wildlife, though not much old growth. Of westside Washington state-owned forests, a scarce 6% of old growth remains. For Washington forests east of the Cascades Crest, we don’t know how much is left.

The Department of Natural Resources says it hopes to restore 10-11% of the old growth on state forests, yet much more is needed to support Washington’s wildlife and growing human population. Overall, Washington is still losing older forests to logging.

We're working to protect the old-growth forest that remains around the state, both on the national forests and off.