Guess this is one of those times, John, when one can’t see the forest for the terms.

Obviously, they conjure different meanings, depending on your viewpoint. A timber industry forester would likely have a different viewpoint than an environmentalist.

But you asked about the latter so we asked Dominick DellaSala, a forest ecologist who heads the local World Wildlife Fund office.

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"Old-growth forests would be characterized by trees in a certain age class that have features not found in tree plantations," he said. "For example, large live and dead trees, logs on the forest floor and a variety of tree species make up an old-growth forest."

An "ancient forest" includes old-growth but is generally regarded as having never been logged, he said.

This forest primeval would have been used by American Indians but not disturbed by logging, he said.

"But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s old-growth," he said. "It could be coming back from a fire."

However, even a burned forest would have large, standing dead trees that provide shade, erosion control and nutrients for the young trees, he noted.

A "legacy forest" is another term used to describe forests that were around before European settlement, he said, noting that could include old-growth and ancient forests.

"It’s a term that has been used to describe large blocks of forests free of logging or roads," he said. "Generally, these are roadless areas, which can include significant portions of old-growth and ancient forests as well as younger forests that are recovering from fire."

Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to youasked@mailtribune.com.