The Forest Behind The Timber: Paul Koberstein On Old Growth, Wildfire & Why How We Build Matters
The Forest Behind The Timber: Paul Koberstein On Old Growth, Wildfire & Why How We Build Matters
- Paul Koberstein has reported on the forests of the Pacific Northwest for approximately 40 years and is based in Portland, Oregon.
- The great North American temperate rainforest stretches roughly 2,500 miles north of San Francisco into Alaska, holding some of the largest trees in the world.
- A 2025 US executive order on timber production declared an "emergency" covering more than 112 million acres of national forest.
- The move to rescind the Roadless Rule threatens nearly 59 million acres of forest that had been protected since 2001.
- During Australia's Black Summer, 38 pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) events erupted in a single season, punching smoke into the stratosphere where it can circle the globe for months.
- Pyrocumulonimbus fires are now appearing along the Spain–Portugal border, hurling burning embers miles ahead of the fire front in what Koberstein calls "a hurricane of embers."
- Koberstein co-authored "Canopy of Titans: The Life and Times of the Great North American Temperate Rainforest" with Jessica Applegate, arguing old-growth forests are as critical as wetlands or coral reefs.
“We have a solution that is already here. It’s already doing the work that needs to be done. And all we have to do is let them complete the job.” Paul Koberstein
Photo by Alex Haraus
He has spent forty years reporting on the forests of the Pacific Northwest — and he is convinced they may be the most powerful climate technology on Earth.
Environmental journalist Paul Koberstein, co-author of Canopy of Titans: The Life and Times of the Great North American Temperate Rainforest, makes a deceptively simple argument: the oldest, biggest trees are not scenery, and they are not merely a timber reserve. They are among the most effective carbon-storage systems on the planet — and they are already running.
The book began as an investigation and became a celebration. Stretching some 2,500 miles north of San Francisco into Alaska, the great North American temperate rainforest holds some of the largest trees in the world and an immense capacity to draw carbon out of the air. The older a tree gets, the more it stores, and the more it keeps taking in every single day.
That reframes the whole climate conversation. We must stop burning fossil fuels, Koberstein insists — but that alone won’t undo three centuries of carbon already in the atmosphere. Only trees can do that. The machine exists. It is running. All we have to do is let it finish the job.
“These are the trees that we should protect — the old trees, the big trees, the trees that store the most carbon.” Paul Koberstein
In this episode of Constructive Voices, Jackie De Burca speaks with Paul about old growth and carbon, the difference between a forest and a plantation, the rapid dismantling of a century of US forest protection, wildfire and the violent “fires that make their own weather,” the misinformation flowing from the timber industry — and the question every builder should ask before specifying timber: what forest paid the price?
Listen here
In this episode
Jackie and Paul explore why old forests deserve to be treated as critical climate infrastructure — and why protecting them is as much a political and communication challenge as an ecological one. They discuss:
- why the oldest, biggest trees are our best natural defence against climate change
- what the great North American temperate rainforest is, and why it matters far beyond its own region
- why a plantation is not a forest — on carbon, biodiversity and water
- how recent US policy is dismantling more than a century of forest conservation
- the eye-watering cost of the plan to thin 112 million acres — and what it means for democracy
- why “wildfire prevention” can be industrial logging in disguise
- pyrocumulonimbus: the fires so violent they punch smoke into the stratosphere
- why these fires now reach Spain, Portugal and the Mediterranean
- the symbiosis between salmon and trees
- the timber industry’s “plant three for every one we cut” messaging — and what it leaves out
- what the construction sector must ask about the timber it builds with
- why technological carbon capture won’t save us — but forests already are
“They’re not forests, they’re really just crops.” Paul Koberstein
Paul Koberstein Constructive Voices Podcast Cover
Why this conversation matters
This episode is about far more than trees.
It is about power, extraction, communication and what we choose to value. Koberstein’s work asks a direct question: if we protect wetlands and coral reefs as critical natural systems, why not the old-growth forests that store more carbon than almost anything else on land?
Instead of spending fortunes to invent a carbon-removal machine that barely works, we could protect the proven one already standing around us. Instead of clearing old forests and calling the replanted crop a “forest,” we could take our timber from tree farms and leave the giants to keep working. Instead of selling industrial logging as fire safety, we could protect the old stands, thin the plantations, and harden the homes of the millions who live in wooded areas.
A century of conservation, unravelling fast
Koberstein does not reach for measured language when he describes the current direction of US forest policy. He calls it a dismantling of more than a century of progress, unfolding at an alarming rate — a 2025 executive order on timber production, an “emergency” determination covering more than 112 million acres of national forest, and the move to rescind the Roadless Rule that had protected nearly 59 million acres since 2001. The roads, he says, are the tell: they are the first step in opening an intact forest to everything that follows.
“It’s definitely more than just an attack on our forests. It’s an attack on democracy.” Paul Koberstein
Fires that make their own weather
One of the most striking parts of the conversation is Koberstein’s account of pyrocumulonimbus — pyroCb for short — wildfires so violent they generate their own weather systems, punching smoke and ash into the stratosphere where it can circle the globe for months. They spawn fire tornadoes that shred forests rather than merely burn them. During Australia’s Black Summer, 38 erupted in a single season. They now appear along the Spain–Portugal border too, hurling burning embers miles ahead of the fire front — “a hurricane of embers” that can take whole communities down.
The question for the built environment
Mass timber is being celebrated as a low-carbon future for construction — and it can be. But Koberstein’s argument sits underneath that promise as a necessary caution. “Renewable” can mislead if it hides what is actually happening in the forest. A young plantation does not hold the same carbon, provide the same habitat, or regulate water the way an old forest does. The deeper question for anyone specifying timber is not whether to build with wood, but what forest paid the price for it.
“All we have to do is protect these trees.” Paul Koberstein
About Paul Koberstein
Paul Koberstein is an environmental journalist based in Portland, Oregon, where he has reported on the forests, rivers and politics of the Pacific Northwest for some forty years. He is co-author, with Jessica Applegate, of Canopy of Titans: The Life and Times of the Great North American Temperate Rainforest — an investigation into the world’s longest temperate rainforest and its role as a natural defence against climate change.
His work brings an investigative bent to environmental reporting, digging into the stories — and the misinformation — behind forest policy, the timber industry and the climate crisis.
About Canopy of Titans
Canopy of Titans profiles the great North American temperate rainforest: where it is, how big it gets, and what it can do for the climate. It makes the case that the oldest forests are among the most effective carbon-storage systems on Earth — at least as important as wetlands or coral reefs — and that protecting them is one of the most powerful, and most overlooked, climate solutions available to us.
Find out more about Canopy of Titans
Old-growth forests are among the most effective carbon-storage systems on Earth, and protecting them may be the single most powerful climate solution already running, argues environmental journalist Paul Koberstein on Constructive Voices. Drawing on forty years reporting the Pacific Northwest and his book Canopy of Titans, Koberstein warns that a 2025 US executive order, an "emergency" designation covering 112 million acres, and moves to rescind the Roadless Rule protecting nearly 59 million acres are dismantling more than a century of forest conservation. He distinguishes real forests from plantations, exposes "wildfire prevention" as cover for industrial logging, and explains pyrocumulonimbus fires now reaching Spain and Portugal. For the construction sector championing mass timber, his challenge is direct: before specifying wood, ask what forest paid the price.
What is the Great North American Temperate Rainforest?
It is a temperate rainforest stretching some 2,500 miles north of San Francisco into Alaska, holding some of the largest trees in the world. According to Paul Koberstein, it has an immense capacity to draw carbon out of the air, making it one of the most powerful natural climate defences on Earth.
Why are old-growth trees considered the best climate defence?
The older a tree gets, the more carbon it stores, and the more it continues to take in every day. Koberstein argues that the oldest, biggest trees are among the most effective carbon-storage systems on the planet — a proven climate technology that is already running.
What is the difference between a forest and a plantation?
A plantation is essentially a crop, not a forest. As Koberstein puts it, "They're not forests, they're really just crops" — they do not hold the same carbon, provide the same habitat, or regulate water the way an old forest does.
What is a pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) wildfire?
A pyrocumulonimbus, or pyroCb, is a wildfire so violent it generates its own weather system, punching smoke and ash into the stratosphere where it can circle the globe for months. They can spawn fire tornadoes and, during Australia's Black Summer, 38 erupted in a single season.
How is US forest policy changing under recent decisions?
Koberstein describes a rapid dismantling of more than a century of conservation, including a 2025 executive order on timber production, an "emergency" determination covering more than 112 million acres of national forest, and the move to rescind the Roadless Rule that had protected nearly 59 million acres since 2001.
What was the Roadless Rule and why does it matter?
The Roadless Rule had protected nearly 59 million acres of US national forest since 2001. Koberstein says roads are "the tell" — they are the first step in opening an intact forest to logging and everything that follows.
Why does Koberstein criticise the timber industry's "plant three for every one we cut" message?
He argues the messaging leaves out crucial context: newly planted trees do not replicate the carbon storage, biodiversity or water regulation of the old forests they replace. A young plantation is not the equivalent of the ancient forest that was cut down.
What question should the construction sector ask before specifying timber?
Koberstein urges builders to ask, "What forest paid the price?" While mass timber can be a low-carbon construction option, the term "renewable" can mislead if it hides whether the wood came from a tree farm or from old-growth forest.
Can technological carbon capture replace forests?
Koberstein argues no — technological carbon-removal machines barely work, while forests are a proven carbon-storage system already operating at scale. Rather than investing fortunes in inventing new technology, he says we should protect the natural system already standing.
What is the relationship between salmon and trees?
Koberstein highlights a symbiosis between salmon and trees as part of the temperate rainforest's interconnected ecosystem, illustrating how protecting old forests supports broader climate and biodiversity systems beyond carbon storage alone.
