LOGAN – The Tony Grove Recreation Area and the Mount Naomi Wilderness are being inducted into the Old-Growth Forest Network during a ceremony at the backcountry trailhead on Tony Grove Lake Road at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 27th, 2025. This honor will recognize the two areas in Logan Canyon for their beauty and biodiversity.
The Old-Growth Forest Network is a national network in the U.S. that recognizes and protects old-growth, native forests where people of all generations can experience biodiversity and the beauty of nature. The organization locates and designates one protected forest in every forested county in the United States that can sustain a native forest. To achieve their goal they identify forests for the Network, ensure their protection, and inform people of the forest locations. They claim to be building not only a network of forests, but also an alliance of people who care about forests.
Mount Naomi Wilderness includes a 44,523-acre wilderness area located within the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest between the Logan River and the Utah-Idaho state line.
The public is invited to attend the brief ceremony with remarks by Bridgerland Audubon Society and Old-Growth Forest Network staff. The ceremony will be followed by a 30-minute relaxing forest bathing activity with the Old-Growth Forest Network.
Forest bathing is a term that refers simply to participants immersing themselves in the atmosphere of the forest.
Trained forest therapy guides will help participants engage in activities that help them experience the natural environment with all their senses.
The ceremony will take place at the Tony Grove Lake Recreation Area and Mount Naomi Wilderness Trailhead located 19 miles from Logan on US Highway 89. From the turnoff to Tony Grove Lake, drive about 7 miles. Free parking is available at the backcountry trailhead below the campground. Additional parking may be available for a fee at the Tony Grove Lake Day Use Area at the end of the road.
Prior to the dedication on Sunday, the Old-Growth Forest Network will give a presentation about their work and how Utah volunteers can help at the Stokes Nature Center at 11:00 am – 12:00 pm on Saturday, July 26, as part of their Canyon Conversations Series. All are welcome.
The Tony Grove Recreation Area, as well as the entire Mount Naomi Wilderness, are the 2nd locations to be recognized in the state of Utah for outstanding old-growth forest qualities and will join more than 300 forests nationwide recognized in the Old-Growth Forest Network. The Network’s goal is to identify and ensure the preservation and recognition of at least one forest in every forested county in the United States, creating a roadmap of family-friendly hikes that showcase the beauty, complexity and diversity of our nation’s oldest forests.
Hilary Shughart of the Bridgerland Audubon Society said there’s nothing cooler than the breathtaking expanse of rich blue sky, densely forested mountain sides, the sparkling-blue lake, and endless fields of colorful wildflowers hosting butterflies and hummingbirds.
“From the eye-catching bright yellow Monkeyflower to the charming pink miniature Elephantheads, and by way of the distinctive, helmet-shaped deep purple flowers of Monkshood, this mountain meadow ecosystem is abuzz with intricate entertaining features and rich folklore,” she said.
For more information, contact Hilary Shughart, board president of Bridgerland Audubon Society; https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/; or, Old-Growth Forest Network Intermountain West Regional Manager Ashley Martens at 208-883-4998 or ashley@oldgrowthforest.net.