"Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we cannot eat money" – Cree Indian

"From the remnant old growth groves of the East to the towering fir and pine forests of the Pacific Northwest, our nation’s Ancient Forests are a precious legacy Americans want to leave for future generations.  Preserving Ancient Forests is widely supported by religious groups, businesses and decision makers and the general public is strongly opposed to destroying Ancient Forests."

"Old growth forests have captivated the nation’s attention in recent years. From the struggle over the northern spotted owl in the 1980s and early 1990s to the recent efforts by the Chief of the Forest Service to update federal old growth policy, the fate of these special places commands our attention. Decades of unsustainable logging on federal lands have left once vast old growth forests fragmented and rapidly dwindling. According to a 1995 study by the US Department of Interior’s National Biological Service, less than 5% of the lower 48 states’ original old growth forests remain. Most of this is concentrated on publicly owned lands in the Pacific Northwest."

"Despite measures to reduce the rate of old growth logging to protect endangered species such as the spotted owl and wild salmon, the federal government continues to allow the liquidation of much of the last remaining publicly owned old growth forests."1