OLD GROWTH AND CATHEDRAL STATE PARK

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1 Name: Date: Ever hear of old growth? It sounds a bit nasty. But an old growth forest isn t nasty at all. It s just a forest that s very, very old. As you might guess, not too many trees have made it to a ripe old age in the 21 st century United States. When European settlers first came to America, they needed wood for homes and tool handles and fires, and space for their fields. There were enormous trees practically everywhere. Most of the Northeast was one giant forest. The settlers started cutting, and cutting, and cutting some more. It took a few generations, but eventually, as the colonies turned into the United States, and settlers kept coming and building and burning, almost all the trees that had stood here in 1492 were gone. Not that the country was a big cornfield: The settlers had planted some trees as they cut, and new trees had also sprung up on their own. They could finally get some sunlight with the old trees out of the way. Still, even with access to sunlight and room to grow, the new trees weren t coming as fast as the land needed them. If lumberjacks had clearcut all the trees at once, even the young ones, rain would sometimes wash the topsoil away, making it harder for anything to grow back. People eventually began making rules about replacing trees as they were cut down. But trees grow slowly. Those old growth trees had been growing for hundreds of years. They d gotten huge. Young trees can seem tall, but compared to an ancient tree they re like a foothill beside Mt. Everest. Fortunately, not all of the ancient trees have been cut down. You ve probably heard of the California Redwoods. Maybe you ve seen a picture of a car driving through a tunnel carved in a redwood trunk. Redwoods are the tallest known trees in the world; some are over three hundred feet! If you built a 20-story office building next to an ancient redwood, the tree would be taller. But the redwoods are on the West Coast. What about the rest of the country? If you re anywhere near West Virginia, congratulations. You can visit Cathedral State Park. These 133 acres have a mixed stand of ancient trees that tower up to 90 feet high. Most of the trees are hemlock. They re not as tall as the redwoods, but that s probably not what you ll be thinking when you stare up and up and up at one. Some of these tree trunks are 21 feet around. You d need several friends holding hands to reach all the way around such a trunk. Cathedral State Park is aptly named the trees really do resemble a Gothic cathedral. The wide spaces between the trees are still and quiet, and the giant trunks soar to the sky like pillars, and the high branches form natural arches overhead. Their canopies of leaves, like stained-glass windows, glow above the spacious silence and color the sun abcteach.com

2 Name: Date: Remembering What You Read 1. Why did the settlers cut down trees? 2. Where is Cathedral State Park located? 3. Why might you visit this park, even though the California Redwoods are so much taller? 4. True or false: Cathedral State Park is one of the few areas in the Northeast United States to have any ancient forest today, because trees have never grown as well in North America as they did in Europe. Explain your answer. 5. Do young trees grow better when old trees are cut down? Why or why not? 6. What are some ways the article suggests that Cathedral State Park might remind you of a cathedral? abcteach.com

3 Name: Date: Considering What You Read 1. Do you think the settlers should have left all that old forest, just walked in between the trees and put little cabins in? What if they had cut some trees down, but left large stretches untouched? Or do you like how things worked out: when trees are cut down, new ones are planted? Explain your critiques or ideas. 2. Although most of the old growth in the United States is gone, there are many new trees growing today. Do you think it s important to make sure some of these will grow into ancient trees for your great-great-great-great grandchildren? If not, explain why. If so, explain what you might do to make this happen. 3. Have you ever been inside a Gothic-style cathedral? If not, visit one, or at least look at pictures of an interior. Now imagine those ancient trees towering above you. Do you agree with the article, and whoever named the park, that an old growth forest is like a cathedral? Why or why not? What else might you name such a forest? abcteach.com

4 Name: Date: Going Beyond What You Read 1. How much of where you live was covered in forests 500 years ago? What kind of trees were here? Does any old growth remain? 2. Although Europeans settlers are usually considered to be the primary loggers, some Native American tribes cut trees down too. Find out about a particular tribe s forestry customs. What tools did they use? Why did they do it? Did they just need the wood, or did they think it helped the forest? 3. Although loggers today plant new trees for those they cut, some people think this system has problems. A logger might cut down many kinds of tree, but only plant one kind. This one variety may be great (and likely to be profitable), but what if a tree disease comes that kills that particular variety? Also, these similar trees are often planted in rows, like a cornfield. Aside from looking rather weird, might this regular grid pose other problems to the growth of a natural, healthy, diverse forest? Find out how a local logger plants trees, and whether these practices might need improvement. Visit the site, if possible. 4. Have you ever heard about what happened to all the American elms people planted when they were building towns in the 19 th century? Use your research skills to learn about this abcteach.com

5 Name: Date: Answer Key Remembering What You Read 1. They needed the wood for things like houses and fire. 2. West Virginia 3. Answers vary. 4. False. When the European settlers arrived in the Northeast, they found ancient forests almost everywhere. 5. Yes, because the older trees had blocked the sunlight; however, if all the trees are clearcut, then young trees cannot establish themselves because the topsoil is too easily washed away. 6. The wide spaces between the trees are still and quiet, and the giant trunks soar to the sky like pillars. Their canopies of leaves, like stained-glass windows, glow above the spacious silence and color the sun. Considering What You Read Answers vary. Going Beyond What You Read Answers vary abcteach.com