Ashley Martens stood quietly among the towering Engelmann spruces of the Mount Naomi Wilderness, in the wildflower-filled fields near Tony Grove, inviting a group to take a deep breath, slow down and listen to the trees.
A cool breeze swept through the pines, carrying with it the sharp scent of the forest. On the ground, a carpet of fallen needles crackled with every small movement.
“Sometimes we’re rushing through the forest so fast to get to where we’re going that we forget to take our time and notice the intricate relationships in a forest ecosystem that’s been functioning for hundreds, if not thousands, of years,” said Martens, the Intermountain West regional manager for the Old-Growth Forest Network, “and all the different life that it supports in addition to our own.”
Sunday’s gathering at the trailheads leading into Naomi’s backcountry was just that — a chance to slow down, connect with the forest and show appreciation for its ancient trees. Martens came to celebrate the addition of the Mount Naomi Wilderness and Tony Grove Recreation Area to the national network, collectively making Utah’s second recognized old-growth site.
The designation doesn’t add legal protection, but it does raise awareness — and often, that’s just as powerful, Martens said.
The trees “can tell when we admire and appreciate them,” Martens said. “There’s a sort of reciprocity that happens because we’re alive on this planet together.”
Only about 5% of old-growth forests — those that have grown for hundreds of years without major disruption and provide important homes for wildlife, improve soil and water quality, and store more carbon — remain in the West, Martens said.
Because of that, the Old-Growth Forest Network has a goal to identify at least one old-growth forest in every forested county in the nation. Each site must be open to the public, span at least 20 acres and be protected from commercial logging.
Martens said Tony Grove and Mount Naomi meet these criteria perfectly. Located at more than 8,000 feet, the area around Tony Grove Lake — a gleaming glacial lake — is a high-elevation ecosystem where moist soils keep the air fresh and cool.
Towering old-growth trees that have never been disturbed surround the lake, which has been admired and cherished by people for hundreds of years. Bursts of wildflowers — yellow monkeyflower, pink elephantheads and deep-purple monkshood — draw hummingbirds, butterflies and hikers alike.
The Old-Growth Forest Network will now have a presence at Stokes Nature Center, offering educational activities and scavenger hunts for families visiting Tony Grove.
“This place was celebrated,” Martens said. “This place is a refuge for people to come, especially in the summer heat for hundreds upon hundreds of years.”
The Mount Naomi Wilderness and Tony Grove Recreation Area join Utah’s Red Canyon within the Old-Growth Forest Network. Red Canyon is located in the Dixie National Forest, which spans nearly 2 million acres across the southern part of the state and provides habitat for wildlife such as cougars, bobcats, blue grouse and the Utah prairie dog.
Ecologically, Martens said, old-growth forests offer irreplaceable benefits. Multiple canopy layers and berry-producing shrubs support diverse bird species. Fallen logs become habitat for insects, fungi, reptiles and amphibians. Cavities in old trees shelter nesting animals.
“More and more people will be thinking about the forest in terms of old growth,” Martens said, “which is something that we don’t always consider when we’re outside of the redwoods or the California coast, but there’s actually old growth forests in so many different forms all across the country.”
Jack Greene, a former forest ranger who regularly leads international students from Utah State University on hikes through the area, said that while recognition from the network doesn’t bring new legal protections, it offers something that could be just as meaningful.
“This forest and this mountain range probably has, I would say, more really old trees of different species than most places in North America,” Greene said. “It really does. Socially it is protected, in a sense that if there was any thought of logging this or in some way really altering it, there would be a huge public outcry. So you might say it’s socially protected, as opposed to legally protected.”
