Celebrating An Old-Growth Forest by Moonlight
A Recap of the Kurtz Woods State Natural Area Recognition Ceremony by Nick Sanchez, Network Manager
On February 5th, community members gathered to watch the Snow Moon rise over Kurtz Woods State Natural Area to celebrate and welcome the forest into the Old-Growth Forest Network. The 45-acre natural area is owned and managed by the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust (OWLT) and is characterized as a ‘southern mesic forest’, including impressive old-growth sugar maple and American beech.
A blanket of snow covered the forest floor, cloaking the pending springtime wildflower display of hepatica, bloodroot, wild leek and spring beauty. The edge of the woods looked like many others, a wall of branches forming the hard edge separating the wild from the suburban backyards. Kurtz Woods is an island in a sea of receding farmland making way for suburban development just a half hour north of Milwaukee. OWLT is working hard to preserve and care for the remaining islands, corridors and connections to core natural areas, working with the community to take special care of this rare old forest.
Families poured out of cars and nearby houses, pulling on their hats and gloves to see the snow moon shine on the sleeping old-growth. We set out on the trails at golden hour, past the birch and oak that thrive on the edge, to follow the luminaries through the forest. Passing the giant kettle hole and climbing the hill, we noticed the forest getting older towards its core. The sugar maples started to look a little more crooked, bark a little craggier, and their tops in their slow motion attempt to twist into knots.
Every forest has its best trees and this well-designed trail offers a front row seat. We compared the value of nearby younger maples to their mother trees and talked about the spiders and bats that might appreciate the protective hollows and flaps of bark that hang over like warped shingles. Frosted polypores decorated the trunks and high-up branches sprung out like the arm of Rosie the Riveter, strong and horizontal and then abruptly turning skyward. The sun setting on the horizon allowed us to see the panoramic of bare, leaf-off silhouettes; tall, sinuous, wider in unexpected places, branches stretching a little further than your average forest. Old forests are asymmetrical by nature offering unmatched visual interest for the curious observer.
The Snow Moon has been rising over this forest for a very long time and will continue to, thanks to the dedicated community and its land trust. Recognition and connection to the other protected old-growth forests across our nation is our human construct, a small tribute to a forest. It’s a promise to celebrate its presence and an open invitation to others to explore, know and appreciate the forest.
