Old-growth forests in West Michigan: Why are they rare?

Have you ever heard of an old-growth forest?

There's a good reason if you haven't — it's because there aren't many of them left on Earth.

Old-growth forests make up less than 5% of the forests in the country, a few of which are in West Michigan.

In Ottawa County's Aman Park, there is an old-growth forest with lots of trees — all ages and sizes.

“Those largely make up the old-growth forests that we have today,” said Richard Kobe, chairperson of the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University.

Kobe is a forest fanatic.

“My background in research is in forest ecology — and I’m very interested in how forests will change over time,” Kobe said.

Kobe adds that the old-growth forests are rare because at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, most of them were cut down during the boom of Michigan's lumbering era.

“The forests are rare because of our history of interacting with the landscape,” Kobe remarked.

Few old-growth forests escaped the clear cuttings and can be visited today.

But, Kobe reminds us "that doesn’t mean that they’ve never been touched by humans.”

Old-growth forests are not only nature's version of a holy grail — they provide a very important benefit: carbon.

More than half of Michigan is covered in forests, with 45% of the forests located in the Upper Peninsula despite the UP only being 29% of Michigan's land mass.

So, what makes old-growth forests special, besides their rarity, is that they have never been subject to the lumber industry and many of the trees have been around for hundreds of years.

They make for a pretty good walk in nature, too.

To visit other old-growth forests nearby, besides Aman Park, you can head to Duncan Park in Ottawa County, Flower Creek Nature Reserve in Muskegon, and Otto Nature Preserve in Oceana County.

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