140-Protecting Old Growth Trees with Greg Herringer

YourForest

What better way to learn about Old Growth and Big Trees then to talk to a guy who thinks about nothing else!? Greg Herringer spends his work time finding big trees, talking about big trees and creating programs to protect big trees. He also spends his free time going on expeditions to find more big trees. This guy is THE Big Tree Guy! We try to answer the question, how do we protect big trees in a world that need wood fiber? Greg sees a path forward.

Resources

Greg Herringer

Old Growth Deferrals

Special Tree Protection Regulation

Big Tree Registry

Quotes

33.20 - 33.25: “Too many people confuse hearing and listening as the same thing and they are entirely different.”

Takeaways

Personal and professional passions (04.24)

Greg is a Forest Technologist at British Columbia Timber Sales. He is passionate about preserving large tree ecosystems and was part of the 80s-90s revolution to protect old growth on Vancouver Island.

Tree tools (08.22)

Greg explains the tools used to extract a sample from the trunk of the tree and extrapolate the findings to learn more about the age of the tree based on the visible growth rings.

Planting by the rules (11.26)

Greg had a decade-long career as a tree planter during which he began developing a curiosity for big trees. He feels positive about the special tree protection regulation the government has passed along with the BC old growth program to protect large trees from being harvested.

A sustainable and holistic approach (16.15)

Based on his work with many universities, Greg believes a fundamental shift is coming in how harvesting forests is viewed by the new generation of forest professionals, including forging partnerships with First Nations.

A century is a blip for a tree, but a lifespan for humans (19.28)

Greg shares people's reactions on his tours of old-growth forests. He encourages people to slow down and “experience the old-growth forest as it should be”, including exploring forest bathing.

The human side of forestry (31.20)

Developing personal relations with others is the most important skill in forestry, according to Greg. Understanding what the public wants the forests to be will help guide forest restoration practices for the future.

“The forest isn’t static” (35.19)

Greg discusses the terms of the special tree protection regulation, sharing that the required buffer area around a tree was a compromise between the industry and the ENGOs. He lists examples of some old-growth trees that are still evolving.

Wanted dead or alive (39.35)

Greg points out that the tree protection regulation does not differentiate between live and dead trees because of the value of standing dead trees to wildlife habitat.

What nature really is (42.43)

Greg recounts his trip to Vernon Bay to discover giant trees between 800 and 2200 years old.

When we all come together (01.07.30)

BC Timber Sales has developed a voluntary program in conjunction with Western Forest Products to target the most valuable commercial species for protection.

Stand up for what you believe in (1.17.42)

By following the special tree protection regulations, Greg feels good about acting in line with his morals and ethics.

Land back (1.34.10)

A large portion of the land will be returned to the stewardship of the First Nations to manage according to their traditions and intergenerational expertise.