Quote:
Originally Posted by John Dallas
We have a stand of vjrgin white Pines in the lower peninsula which is roughly half way between Ed Norman and me. Called HARTWICK PINES. Now a state park, but all the big Pines are gone - struck by lightning, high winds or disease. The park is now progressing to the final stage of a climax forest. It is now covered with young maples. In another 100 years it should renamed HARTWICK MAPLES
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John, you point out some things about forests over time that we often forget -- they evolve and change their composition. Some folks hear the term virgin and they think of the giant sequoias. Not always the case. Back in my younger days, I trekked to the top of a mountain in Giles County, Virginia to see the virgin hemlocks there. I was surprised to find twisted, stunted, and very short trees. They were "virgin" because no one wanted their lumber. In the Missouri Ozarks along the Jack's Fork River, there are virgin cedars, incredibly old, growing from the cliff faces. They were too stunted and too difficult to get to. All are spectacular in their own way.
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