Stand in awe before a towering Douglas fir in an Oregon forest, and you might believe you’re experiencing the majesty of old growth. But according to environmental educator Ross Reid, what most of us consider impressive forest landscapes are merely shadows of what once existed.
In an archived episode of the Peak Northwest podcast, Reid, who is known for his presence on social media as “Nerdy About Nature,” explains why our perception of forests has been fundamentally altered by what we’ve lost.
“It’s this concept known as shifting baseline syndrome where we’re limited in what we think is normal based on our experiences,” Reid said on the podcast. “The people who are living in this part of the world a hundred years ago had a radically different perception of the forest around them versus the one we have now.”
Generative AI was used to summarize a recent episode of the Peak Northwest podcast. This story was reviewed and edited by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
This psychological phenomenon, where each generation accepts a more diminished version of nature as “normal,” has profound implications for conservation efforts, Reid said. If we can’t recognize what we’ve lost, how can we work to protect or restore it?
Reid offered tangible examples of the differences between second-growth and old-growth forests that go beyond just tree size.
“Pit mound topography is a concept in an old growth forest where you have bigger, older trees falling over naturally ... and you end up with a really undulating bit of terrain,” Reid said. “A lot of the forests we have in the Pacific Northwest, especially the second growth ones, you walk around, it’s fairly easy to walk off trail because it’s all kind of flat.”
Throughout the episode, Reid explained how old-growth forests create unique habitats that are impossible to replicate in younger stands. For instance, bears in British Columbia rely on hollowed-out cavities in old Western red cedar trees for denning — structures that take centuries to form.
The conversation reveals how industrial forestry has not just changed how forests look, but fundamentally altered their ecological function. Second-growth forests managed for timber production lack the structural complexity, genetic diversity, and ecological relationships that develop in forests allowed to mature naturally over centuries, Reid said.
For anyone who loves hiking through Pacific Northwest forests, the interview offers a new lens through which to view familiar landscapes. Reid challenges listeners to look beyond their initial impressions of big trees and green canopies to recognize the subtler signs of ecological complexity that distinguish truly ancient forests from their younger counterparts.
Listen to the full episode here:
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