The future of the forest Conservation

The future of the forest
Conservation: Environmentalists who want to preserve old-growth trees in Garrett County could face opposition from area legislators and the DNR.

GRANTSVILLE - Deep in Savage River State Forest - a long scramble and slither from the nearest road - stands a forest so old that its giants were already standing tall at the start of the Civil War.

Here, on a steep slope overlooking the ravine cut by the Savage River, black bears' trails ramble among towering red oaks, white oaks, maple and beech that ecologists say are at least 200 years old. The soft gray of the winter forest is hazed by the green of ancient, moss-covered hemlocks. Velvety red fungi explode from the trunk of a long-dead fire cherry tree, and rare plants poke through a litter of decaying branches.

On a mild winter afternoon, veteran conservationist Ajax Eastman beamed with pleasure as she stood amid one of the few remaining patches of never-logged forest in Maryland. "The last time I was here," Eastman said, "we thought we had just lost it."

In 1997, Eastman and other conservationists gave up a chance to place this tract on a list of state-protected "wildlands" where most kinds of human alteration, including logging and trail-building, are banned. In a last-minute deal, the conservationists agreed to remove the tract in exchange for legislative approval of 25,000 acres of other wildlands throughout the state.

Now a new coalition of environmentalists thinks the time might be right to designate two tracts inside Savage River State Forest as wildlands, off-limits forever to everything but hiking and hunting.

The move has ruffled some feathers in Annapolis, among state land managers who say it's their job to decide what's best for the forest, and among Western Maryland legislators who want to keep state forestland available for logging. And there's a rival proposal to set aside part of one tract as an ecological research site.

But the coalition, led by Robert DeGroot of the Sierra Club, is pushing ahead. "We've probably got as strong a supporter in the governor's office as we could possibly have," he said. "Why wait?"

Sen. Christopher Van Hollen Jr., a Kensington Democrat, has agreed to introduce a bill designating 4,000 acres within the Garrett County forest as wildlands.

The virgin forests provide a glimpse into the Maryland of Colonial times, said forest ecologist Durland L. Shumway of Frostburg State University. "What we have today is very, very close to what the first settlers saw," said Shumway, who wants the state to place 1,000 acres in a research reserve.

Top officials at the state Department of Natural Resources, which owns and manages the forest, say they haven't decided whether to support the wildlands bill.

DNR officials have banned logging on the two tracts, known as "The Savages" and "South Savage Mountain," through 2003, but they say some logging could take place after that. "There's a small area of old growth trees that should be protected," said DNR's Larry Maxim, who manages timber-cutting and other forestry work at Savage River State Forest. "But in the longer term, there are forestry activities planned there."

DNR Secretary J. Charles Fox said last week that the agency is considering the wildlands proposal and other options for protecting the two tracts. "We've made a commitment that we will not timber them [through 2003], and I believe there are some unique values there that may be deserving of special protection," Fox said.

No one knows how much old-growth forest remains in Maryland, but everyone agrees it's a tiny amount. Almost all of the state's forests - like those all over the East - have been cut at least once since Europeans arrived here nearly 400 years ago. All but the steepest and most inaccessible slopes in Western Maryland were logged before the turn of the 20th century.

Portions of the most rugged mountain forests were left alone. Now they harbor a mix of young and ancient trees, said Shumway, who reported finding 1,000 acres worth of old growth on South Savage Mountain. "There are trees in there that are over 400 years old," Shumway said. "We're pretty sure it is the largest contiguous tract of old-growth forest north of the Smoky Mountains."

Maxim believes there are no more than 15 to 20 acres of old forests on South Savage Mountain and none in the Savages. But independent ecologist Daniel Boone, who used to be in charge of the DNR's efforts to protect endangered species and historical sites, said there are several stands of ancient trees in The Savages.

On a December day, Boone and Eastman hiked deep into the area, to the confluence of the Savage and Little Savage rivers. They walked among oaks more than three feet in diameter and at least 200 years old, by Boone's estimate. They paused at a shredded old log, one of many giants lying on the forest floor.

A bear had plucked the wild grapes that grew in the old tree's branches, gobbled the acorns it bore, then ripped apart the log to feast on grubs below the bark.

Oak trees don't reach their maximum output of acorns until they're 125 years old, Boone said, so old oak forests like this one are ideal habitats for bears, wild turkey and other acorn-loving creatures.

The fallen trees have drawn mounds of nutrient-rich soil to the surface with their roots as they toppled, and have created clearings where sunlight enters the forest, encouraging seedlings to grow.

Many dead trees remain upright, providing nest sites for scarlet tanagers, cerulean warblers and other songbirds that are becoming rare because they depend on old trees, Boone said.

The hikers reached the banks of the Savage River, which flowed over tilted beds of sandstone. In side pools, the chill water moved as slowly as smoke on a windless day. Here biologists have found the state's highest density of native brook trout, Boone said. "This is probably biologically the richest of all the Savage River lands," he said.

It's also rich in potentially valuable timber cut from tall old oaks, cherries and other hardwoods. Savage River State Forest is famous for the high-quality red oak it produces, Maxim said. Although timber companies might not want the oldest trees, which might be rotting, adjacent stands that date from the early 1900s could be valuable.

About half the state forest has been placed off-limits for timber-cutting. About 2 percent of the remainder is logged every year, DNR officials said. The timber-cutting generates jobs and provides money for DNR and for Garrett County, which gets a percentage of the revenue.

Republican Delegate George C. Edwards of Grantsville said the state owns nearly 20 percent of the forested land in Garrett County, so local timber companies depend on public lands for their livelihood.

There are two state-protected wildlands in Garrett County, and Edwards said the tracts the environmentalists want to preserve "have nothing any different than the existing areas."

In 1997, Edwards insisted that conservationists trade away some Garrett County wildlands, including The Savages, to pass a statewide wildlands bill. This time, he said, "we could maybe reach an agreement. I'm willing to talk about it, but I'm going to fight to get something back in return."

Richard P. Barton, DNR's superintendent of state forests and parks, said he recognizes that old-growth tracts are worthy of protection. "I have given explicit orders that there is to be no timbering in those areas until they are thoroughly reviewed," Barton said. "They are as protected as I can make them."

Barton said he believes the forest will do better if state experts have freedom to manage it. The wildland designation would prohibit the state from putting out wildfires or spraying the trees with pesticides to fight gypsy moths, he said.

"Wildlands are a good thing. I understand why we want to have that," Barton said. "But too much of that, and we can limit our ability to correct mankind's errors."

Boone counters that natural forces such as fire are good for the forest and should not be kept out. It's folly to think humans can correct past forestry errors, he said - only time and nature can do that. "Folks who are opposed to wildlands call it locking up the forest," Boone said. "In my opinion, it's setting it free. ... If you let it go, it's going to take care of itself."

Whatever the outcome of this year's debate, Barton said no one can guarantee that the old trees will be preserved forever. "Anybody who thinks anything is permanent is dreaming," Barton said. "There's no such thing as permanent protection."