Inducting Dysart Woods into the Old-Growth Forest Network are Dr. Brian McCarthy of Ohio University and Joan Maloof, of the Old-Growth Forest Network.
Ohio University’s Dysart Woods, the largest old-growth remnant in Southeastern Ohio, was inducted into the Old-Growth Forest Network on Oct. 10.
The dedication ceremony took place at the trailhead in Dysart Woods, near Belmont, Ohio, and was followed by a hike into the forest.
“In addition to creating a network of forests we are also creating a network of people who care about forests,” says Joan Maloof, the founder and director of the Old-Growth Forest Network. The effort to identify and formally qualify a forest for inclusion in the Old-Growth Forest Network is largely dependent on volunteers.
Dr. Brian McCarthy, Professor of Environmental & Plant Biology and Associate Dean in the College of Arts & Sciences, has been a valuable volunteer supporter of the Old-Growth Forest Network and instrumental in helping Dysart Woods to be included in the Network.
Dysart Woods, an Ohio University land laboratory, is 455 acres in total and includes a central tract of 50 acres of old-growth white oak-beech-tulip tree forest surrounded by a mixture of second-growth forest, old-fields, and pastures. The oldest trees exceed four feet in diameter and have been dated to well over 400 years old.
This is the only known remaining remnant of the Mixed Mesophytic Forest type located in Ohio, and one of only several in the entire central Appalachians. The property is owned and managed by Ohio University, principally for long-term forest research.
Dysart Woods is now the 11th old-growth forest in Ohio inducted into the network. Ohio currently has the greatest number of forests in the network in the United States.
Dysart Woods in the fall
About the Old-Growth Forest Network
The mission of the Old-Growth Forest Network is to connect people with nature by creating a national network of protected, mature, publicly accessible forests. The goal is to preserve at least one forest in every county in the United States that can sustain a forest, estimated to be 2,370 out of a total of 3,140 counties. The network ’s program works to identify forests for the network, ensure their protection from logging, and inform people of the forest locations.
Dysart Woods was chosen as Belmont County’s representative in the network. With the inclusion of Dysart Woods, the network will have more than 80 forests. The full list of forests may be viewed at www.oldgrowthforest.net. The network also educates about the extraordinary ecological benefits of old-growth forests, and speaks out regarding immediate threats to specific ancient forests.
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