On Friday, October 6, the Beech Forest, located in Provincetown, will be formally inducted into the national Old-Growth Forest Network. To celebrate the dedication of this protected forest, a ceremony will be held at the Beech Forest trailhead at 11 am and Old-Growth Forest Network’s Northeast Regional Manager, Sarah RobbGrieco, will present a plaque to the park. Following the ceremony, Dr. Stephen Smith, the park’s Plant Ecologist, will lead a short trail walk.
“The Beech Forest has long inspired many generations, including the late poet, Mary Oliver,” said Superintendent Brian Carlstrom. “The trail is a wonderful respite for those who seek to immerse themselves in nature and take in the sights, sounds, and smells of a forest that has been left uninterrupted for hundreds of years. We are thankful for this special recognition from the Old-Growth Forest Network.”
The Beech Forest offers a glimpse of the original arboreal landscape of Cape Cod. When the Mayflower landed in the early seventeenth century, much of the Cape was covered in pine-oak forests and groves of hickory, red maple, birch, and beech trees. Over the next two hundred years, settlers cleared nearly all of these forests. Due to Beech Forest’s low-lying position, it was spared from logging and is the sole remnant of beech forest on the Cape.
The mission of the Old-Growth Forest Network (OGFN) is to connect people with nature by creating a national network of protected, mature, publicly accessible, native forests. The organization’s 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. OGFN’s program works to identify forests for the Network, ensure their protection from logging, and connect people to these properties to experience old-growth forests. OGFN also educates about the extraordinary ecological and human wellness benefits of old-growth forests, and speaks out regarding immediate threats to specific ancient forests. The full list of forests in the Network may be viewed at www.oldgrowthforest.net.