Old Growth Forests: What They Are, Why They’re Important, and Opportunities for Management

Old growth forests can be defined as forested ecosystems which have developed somewhat independently over a long time, usually at least several centuries. In addition to being beautiful demonstrations of how forests naturally grow and develop, old growth forests are incredibly valuable for our landscape. Join Ethan Tapper, the Chittenden County Forester, for a discussion of old growth forests. Ethan will discuss what old growth forests are like (it may surprise you!), why they should be important to us, and what our role may be in helping develop new old growth on our landscape.

In addition to allowing forests to grow and develop into old growth on their own, new research has highlighted opportunities to manage forests actively to become more like old growth forests sooner than they would naturally. Combined with an ecological forestry approach, this presents an opportunity to manage forests while increasing biodiversity, resiliency and overall health. Ethan will discuss opportunities for employing this approach across Vermont’s landscape.

This webinar will be hosted on the Microsoft Teams platform. You will receive instructions and a link to join the webinar in an email after registering online. We recommend setting up Teams in advance and joining a few minutes in early.