Notebook of a Digital Naturalist

A philosophical exploration of whether ecosystems should have legal rights, prompted by the Idyllwild Environmental Group's challenge to Forest Service logging.

A contentious meeting with the Forest Service over logging 120 ancient trees at Black Mountain reveals the conflict between traditional forestry and modern ecosystem science.

The pile of cut and stacked logs towered thirty feet over our heads as my colleagues and I diligently counted the minuscule rings. Two hundred and fifty rings—more than qualifying this stand as an Old Growth Forest.