Join us for the Redbud Chapter March meeting \u201cThe where and why of North Georgia\u2019s
\nold-growth forests and champion trees,\u201d with Jess Riddle, Executive Director of Georgia ForestWatch.<\/p>\n
The forests of today\u2019s North Georgia may seem normal, but a visitor from the 1800s might wonder where all the big trees are. Forest giant champion trees can be found many places outside the confines of old growth forests.<\/p>\n
While most surviving old-growth forests in north Georgia do not resemble the stereotypical cathedral groves of giant trees, the easily overlooked stands of weather-beaten trees provide exceptional wildlife habitat, record valuable scientific data, and offer management lessons.<\/p>\n
Jess Riddle studied tree climate-growth relationships while earning a MS degree in ecology at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. He earned a BS in multidisciplinary plant ecology from Furman University. Since joining Georgia Forest Watch in 2001, he has documented old-growth forests in north Georgia\u2019s Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests and has nominated over 40 Georgia state champion trees. He is the author Georgia\u2019s Mountain Treasures: The Unprotected Wildlands of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests.<\/p>\n