From "Notes From a Subterranean Library in Oregon," a compilation of Ray Peat's newspaper letters and columns, compiled by T3Uncoupled (2023). Originally published 1988.

Ray Peat, "Impact unknown", p. 58

According to your recent article, the chief of the U.S. Forest Service says he doesn’t know what ancient trees are. Many people would acknowledge that we really don’t know very much about the ancient trees and how they relate to the world around them, but almost any educated person would believe it is not proper to destroy something which you don’t understand. Foresters are not educated to serve the interests of humanity in general, or to work for the good of the biosphere, or even for the U.S. national interest; rather, they are trained to serve the interests of the corporations which use trees. The true environmental impact of cutting ancient trees is not fully known, and can’t be known until better research is done. It would be reasonable to have a moratorium on cutting ancient forests, while research continues. Forests of ancient trees are the greatest concentration of biomass anywhere on earth. An ancient forest often has 100 times more biomass than a “young and productive” forest. The forest biomass is not inert, like a coal deposit, but contains a large quantity of exchangeable water, which allows a forest of giant trees to stabilize humidity, temperature and even precipitation and climate in general. In areas which have long recorded history, it is clear that deforestation has greatly increased the frequency of droughts. Oregon and California are now beginning to experience what has happened earlier in other areas, including Africa, India, and Russia. The same destabilization which produces droughts can also increase the frequency and intensity of flooding. Taking short-term profits at the expense of long-range viability should no longer be an option. We need new public institutions with a broader view of the stewardship of resources.