Fact Sheet

Deforestation and Old-Growth Forests

What It Means

Deforestation is what happens when loggers cut down most of the trees in our forests. Large areas of our forests are being cut down because the government is letting loggers cut down trees from public lands – lands that the government keeps for all of us, including you and me. Logging has occurred since the late 19th century in the Pacific Northwest, and since the colonial times across the country – and continues today. So far, old-growth forests have been reduced to only 10% of their original range!

Everybody likes trees, and we don’t like to see them disappear. Also, trees help un-do other environmental damage. For example, oxygen emitted by trees helps balance pollution from our cars and factories. The trees of old-growth forests provide a habitat (the scientific word for home) for hundreds of other plants and animals, some of which can only live in old-growth forests. The streams and rivers in old-growth forests are also home to many species of salmon during part of their life, and these fish die when logging pollutes their water. Finally, there are some trees that we also use for our own use – such as the Pacific Yew tree, which has bark that helps treat some kinds of cancer. Scientists suspect that other plants in old-growth forests may also have anti-cancer chemicals, but we’ll never know if loggers continue to destroy those forests.

What Is Old-Growth Forest?

An old-growth forest has trees which are very large and hundreds of years old. The kinds and sizes vary by location, but here’s one common definition. An old-growth forest contains:

Two or more tree species with a wide range of ages and tree sizes.

Six to eight Douglas fir or other coniferous (pine cone) trees per acre, at least thirty inches in diameter (across the width) or at least 200 years old.

A multi-layered forest canopy.

Two to four standing dead trees (called snags by the experts) per acre at least twenty inches in diameter and at least fifteen feet tall.

At least ten tons per acre of fallen logs, including at least two log sections per acre that are at least twenty-four inches in diameter (across the width) and fifty feet long.

What Is Environmental Defense Doing?

Environmental Defense has helped Pacific Yew trees from being disposed of by loggers who couldn’t use their wood. Environmental Defense also convinced the government to start a Pacific Yew conservation program so that the trees could be used to help people with cancer. We are also advising paper companies to use more post-consumer content paper and also to use other raw materials aside from trees. Post-consumer content means that the product you are buying was made from paper that has already been used and then recycled. (Some recycled paper is paper that was only recycled by the factory after it was made but never used by any consumers.) In addition, we encourage people to share information more on computers and less on paper. Environmental Defense often reminds the government of ways to help save the trees. Every day, there are scientists and lawyers working to keep the loggers from cutting down all the trees. They often remind people in our government that deforestation makes many more bad things happen than just losing trees.

What Are the Alternatives to Clear-Cutting?

Some producers are using materials made with higher post-consumer content, and find that it is cheaper than using wood from trees. Other producers create "tree farms" where they plant trees for the purpose of cutting them down again for wood. In the American Northwest, some paper mills have decided that the old-growth forests are worth keeping: one mill is using a two-step process in which it turns logs to "veneer" and then the "veneer" to lumber – which makes the wood stronger than the trees in the old-growth forests! Another mill is using smaller, newer logs instead of the old-growth trees. Some industries are trying to use alternatives to wood for construction (such as aluminum beams) instead of wood beams when possible.

What You Can Do

Tell your parents, family and friends not to buy products made of rare wood. By definition, rare woods means that there are certain kinds of wood which are hard-to-find because there are fewer trees to make that wood. Learn more about timber consumption in the United States.
Purchase environmentally friendly paper and reduce the amount you use by writing on computers, picking up the phone, and recycling. Learn about environmentally preferred paper.
The public lands are yours and mine. Every year, your parents pay taxes so that the land is protected for you to visit. It is this same land that is now at risk. If you don’t like deforestation, you can write to your Congress member. You can also start an Earth Club at school, ask your friends to write letters, and share your information about how recycling saves trees.
Visit an old-growth forest near you. Take a tour of the Amazon Rainforest.
The best thing for everyone to do is recycle. The more you recycle, the more post-consumer content you are providing to save trees.

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Environmental Defense | 2001