Hartwick Pines is a 49-Acre stand of virgin white pine forest. It has never been logged. It does not look like any forest we are used to seeing. The first thing you notice is the height of the trees. Then there is the total lack of underbrush. The mature, solid canopy above does not let enought light through for anything to grow. Then there is the bumpy surface, caused by trees being uprooted by the wind, then rotting away. This doesn't happen when there are loggers around. But most of all, there is the enveloping soft light.

It occurs to me that there were once 13 million acres of forest like this in Michigan. I am thankful for the 49 acres, but wouldn't it be nice to have - say a few hundred?

The pine stand was donated by the widow of Maj. Edward Hartwick, a prominent Michigan lumberman who was killed in WW I.

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