Nonfiction

The forests of the Oregon Coast Range are part of a vast ecosystem spanning from Northern California to the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. The Pacific temperate rainforest is, acre for acre, better than the Amazon Rainforest at absorbing and storing carbon. If left to grow, the majestic cedars, spruces, hemlocks, and firs can hold carbon for an astonishing 800 years or more. These forests are climate forests. As we work toward stabilizing the climate, there is no technology that can sequester carbon at the scale of maturing and ancient forests. Yet less than 10% of Oregon’s old-growth forest remains. Throughout the Oregon Coast Range, the patchwork scars of ongoing industrial clearcuts and wide-scale liquidation of ancient forests are visible reminders of our limited imaginations…