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Source: https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/20332
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

<p>The source, <a href="https://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-6a4kql" rel="noreferrer">Commoners of the New Forest</a> referenced by @Liam in his answer to the question <a href="https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/questions/20312/how-do-you-become-a-new-forest-commoner">How do you become a New Forester Commoner?</a> implies that for the New Forest to become a mature forest would be a bad thing.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>It is vital that the tradition of commoning is maintained, as without
  the [grazing] stock, the forest would soon become a very different
  place. The ponies and cattle are the ‘architects’ of the land, feeding
  on the gorse and brambles that would otherwise become overgrown.</p>
  
  <p>Without this grazing, the scrub would develop into mature forest,
  reducing the ecological value of the area and affecting the
  recreational activities visitors enjoy across the forest today.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I understand why it is beneficial to keep brambles in check, and although I have never encountered <a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/gorse" rel="noreferrer">gorse</a>, it sounds unpleasant to walk through.  </p>

<p><strong>But what do the authors of this article mean when they say a mature forest would reduce the ecological value of the area and affect (presumably reduce) the recreational value of the land?</strong>  Although I am not religious, religious is the only word I can find to describe the experience of hiking through a mature forest.</p>