Effective conservation of old-growth ecosystems will work best if it considers their varied ecology.
The United States is a large country that--even if you only look at the contiguous 48--covers almost a thousand Level VI ecoregions, each one unique. Many people won't recognize anything beyond basic biomes, like "forest" or "wetland", and even among those who are familiar with old-growth forests, the idea of an old-growth prairie or desert may be surprising.
This is why I get frustrated with bureaucratic attempts to "solve" ecological problems. The most well-known is probably Trump's suggestion that we just "rake" the forest (no, Finland doesn't actually do that.) But the problem with having politicians in general in charge of legislation regarding complex ecosystems and their denizens is that they generally don't have enough knowhow to understand the parameters and needs of a given location, or why it's important to preserve that place as it is.
Moreover, decision-makers have a tendency to place the claims of industry officials from logging and mining companies as being of equivalent authority as scientists who have spent decades studying how a given ecosystem works within a localized ecoregion. Sure, a logging exec knows how to make money from trees, and they may understand something about tree farming, but they rarely know even a fraction of what an ecologist knows about why trees can't just grow in isolation--at least not if you want them to be healthy. And when you put people who have zero experience in a given field in charge of the federal department overlooking management of that field? There should be a requirement that cabinet members have relevant training and experience, as with any other job. (Knowing how to cut down trees or how to sell them does not mean you know how a forest works.)
At a time when our government here in the US is swiftly defunding scientific research, it is more important than ever that those of us who are either professional scientists, citizen scientists, or other advocates educate others on the basics of ecology. We need to ensure that the existing body of research is preserved, and advocate for increased funding. Otherwise we're just going to end up with more and more federal decisions being made in full ignorance of established science, and with profit as the only priority.
