Oaks can easily reach 200+ years (I have one huge red oak approaching this age on my 85 acres). I also have a 4' diameter black walnut reight behind my house. I have noticed that it doesn't produce the nuts that younger trees do, but it sure is impressive. Some dead limbs on it, but how can I possibly cut down a tree that was probably established when my house was being built in the 1870's? Of course, none of it is "old growth". I may be out of my mind, but when this tree falls, it deserves to fall where it wants.
These forests sustained themselves and their human inhabitants for tens of thousands of years. Only when Europeans arrived was "management" necessary.
Of course, now we have to deal with exotic invasives such as autumn olive, honeysuckle, garlic mustard, ailanthus, etc. All of these threaten the diversity of the forest, and do require some amount of management.
In Ohio, we lost almost all of our old growth (except Dysart Woods). A coal company wanted to mine under the forest, potentially disrupting groundwater flows, and there was huge legal battle. Look up news on it to see how our courts favor the short-term extraction of coal over the existance of one of the last old-growth eastern hardwood forests...