To be old growth, a forest must contain trees more than 250 years old. Seattle's Seward Park has them, though many of its specimens are "only" in the 200-year range. But the Western Hemlocks are dying, the sword fern too.
How to protect them, to understand and prevent their demise? How to keep this "Magnificent Forest," as it's called, as dark, mysterious and magical as it is now? Researchers are working on it. And yesterday, we did our part: we looked, we marveled, we stayed on the trail.
