Researchers Study in the Land of the Giants

In a place called Barney Spring, Ecological Restoration Institute researchers are wading through a sea of waist-high ferns to study among the giants in a rare, old-growth forest. Ecologists have been predicting the disappearance of most old-growth ponderosa pines within our lifetime. In the West, where the forests have been heavily logged and much younger trees now crowd the landscape, old-growth pines almost can be considered an endangered species. But on the Mogollon Rim south of Flagstaff, these vulnerable giants still live in abundance. "It's humbling to look up at these trees. You feel so small," said Northern Arizona University forestry graduate student Eryn Schneider. "Many of these trees are 150 feet tall or taller, the upper range of ponderosas in this region." But despite their impressive height, it's their more impressive age that has researchers so interested. "Some of these trees easily could be 400 years old. Maybe 450," said ERI Executive Director Wally Covington. This particular tract of land, once owned by a railroad company, is now the private property of contractor Warren Smith. Somehow it has dodged the ax of loggers and the burn of catastrophic wildfire. It now serves as a 160-acre window into the past, the kind of window Covington and other ecologists have always wanted to peer into. "To have these old-growth trees as kind of the anchor for restoring natural biodiversity, natural beauty and the wildlife habitat of the area is really unique," he said. It's unique for researchers trying to reconstruct what the forest looked like before pioneers arrived and began making changes to the ecosystem through activities such as logging, grazing and fire suppression. "When you have a stand where you can actually look back far enough to see what it was before settlement, it's really helpful in establishing what a healthy system should look like," said Schneider. This summer, Schneider is identifying every old-growth tree out there. By recording the age, the number of pre-settlement trees per acre and their pattern on the landscape, she's hoping land managers will be able to use this information to recreate the natural forest structure and restore the ponderosa pine forest to a healthy condition. "I just fell in love with this property," said Smith. "I feel so blessed that such an area still exists where you can see what the forest would have been like before logging and before fire damage." But Smith knows this area may not exist as it is for long. Last summer's Taylor Fire came dangerously close to his land, torching and destroying many tall trees nearby. That sparked his attention. Since then, Smith has invited researchers out. He's learning what young trees to remove and how to clean up a century's worth of matchstick-like pine needles so these old giants can thrive and once again live with fire. Bonnie Stevens is the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University Program Director for Public Education and Information.