Ohio: A good way to explain what’s wrong about the industrial notion of a healthy forest
The Southern Ohio District of the Church of the Brethren has chosen to conduct a timber sale at Woodland Altars Outdoor Education Center in northern Adams County. Literally three generations of children from all over Ohio have visited Woodland Altars not just to study nature, but to leam many of life’s lessons there: how to treat your fellow human beings, how to give something back to your community, how to tolerate differences in others, how to use critical thinking skills to evaluate yourself and your surroundings. Before returning home, every child-camper responded to a series of questions about their experience including “What will be your favorite memory of Woodland Altars?”
A common response was often “walking under the big trees” or “hiking through the beautiful forest.” One of my favorite memories is watching a nest of baby grey squirrels emerge from the same knot hole in the same huge white oak every year I worked there. I visited there last year and was pleased to see squirrels emerging from the same knot hole in the same huge tree – 26 years later. Some would call that tree diseased and in need of cutting. Tme perhaps on a tree farm or a piece of private property where managing the forest resource is a primary goal. The squirrels, I suppose, would call it home. The wide-eyed children who watched it every spring called it “a miracle,” “funny,” “amazing” and, of course, “awesome.” The word awesome is overused nowadays but 1 think it might be just the right word here. Woodland Altars, owned by the Church of the Brethren, used to be a sacred place where children could stand in awe of our unbelievably beautiful and complex world. Some places are just more valuable with the trees standing, Woodland Altars Outdoor Education Center is one of them. http://www.peoplesdefender.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=3&ArticleID=128797&TM=51084.86
The very special 350 acre oak-hickory forest at Woodland Altars is being logged of the 2,500 biggest trees, leaving mostly very small ones. The logging is going quickly and, once cut, no one will ever see such a forest there again. It will take 25-100 years – if ever – to replace the 75-150 year-old trees being cut now. Everything about the forest character will change, from a mature oak forest, to a damaged, recovering baby maple forest.
Woodland Altars is special in Ohio because it is a relatively large, older, and intact example of the imperiled Mixed Mesophytic part of the eastern temperate forest, itself a threatened world biome. State and national forests in Ohio are even less special than Woodland Altars because they are younger, more fragmented and more disturbed by commercial logging and prescribed fire burning activities. The next few weeks may be a last chance opportunity for people to see some of the remaining big trees at Woodland Altars. Logging will stop in April for the summer school camp program, but will resume in the fall if there are any marked trees left to cut. Call Woodland Altars at phone 957-588-4411 to schedule a camping or other visit. Barbara A. Lund, West Union
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I am sickened by this…and I am sad to say this is the first I have heard about this. In 1987 I started going to Serpent Mound, I am a healer, intuitive and spiritual teacher, and at that time had a tv show and we filmed the Harmonic Convergence gathering there. That was also the beginning of renting the wonderful chalets and ranch house for my retreats and for personal get aways…..I n 1988 I purchased 16 acres that backed up into Serpent Mound and owned this until a few years ago when I sold it to the Buckeye Trail group….Several times a year for years we stayed at and explored Woodland Altars…I am in the process of possibly buying land again near the mound and was looking up Woodland Altars number to stay there and came upon this article…if the Church needed money why didn’t they try and sell the whole property to someone who would be a true guardian of this sacred place…we own nothing and are here to protect and preserve..it will detract from many people wanting to stay there. I am praying for all of the precious wild life that will be affected as well…..