To the editor:
My name is Robert T. Leverett. Below are some of my credits.
- Cofounder of the Native Tree Society
- County coordinator for the Old-Growth Forest Network
- Senior advisor to American Forests on the National Champion Tree Program
- Coauthor of the Sierra Guide to Ancient Forests of the Northeast
- Chair of Massachusetts DCR’s Forest Reserves Science Advisory Committee
- Cofounder and President, Friends of Mohawk Trail State Forest
I’d like to call to your attention to the leadership role of Patrick White, Chair of the Stockbridge Select Board, in championing the old growth in Ice Glen and securing recognition and getting treatment for the ancient hemlocks and mature white ash trees there. As you all may know, the Glen is a priceless ecological relict of forests past with historical ties to the Mohican Nation and even literary figures like Herman Melville.
Over the years, we’ve carefully mapped out the areas of old growth and mature second growth, and I will attest that both are exceptional natural resources of which we can be proud. However, our remaining isolated forested gems like Ice Glen don’t protect themselves. They are always vulnerable to direct and indirect negative influences, often of human origin. Alien invasives like the hemlock wooley adelgid, elongate hemlock scale, and the emerald ash borer and native pests like hemlock looper represented terminal threats to the Glen’s trees that have lived between 200 and 400 years. Treating them was not an option, but we needed a leader, and Patrick White rose to the occasion.
Over the course of 30 years, I’ve taken many groups and individuals through the Glen on interpretive walks. Also while gathering data (e.g. measuring a tree), people have stopped and inquired to what I was seeing or doing. When I explained to them what a special forest Ice Glen possessed, I could see their faces light up and often one or more would state that they always knew the place was truly special. But then came the insect pests and the days were numbered for those ancient trees. Time to save them was limited. A leader was needed, and Patrick White proved to be that person. All of us who value these original forest remnants are grateful to Patrick and want to call everyone’s attention to his leadership in saving the ancient trees of the Glen.
Bob Leverett
Florence, Mass.
