Editor's Note

Trees Foundation
September 2, 2008


Landowners everywhere are faced with a plethora of issues in stewarding their land, be it urban, suburban, or rural. Many of these issues present opportunities for landowners to live lighter on the land, thereby reducing their ecological footprint. A land-based stewardship ethic applied across a matrix of private lands can provide the connectivity needed to allow the greatest opportunity for sustainable plant and animal communities to thrive, including the human community.

Local organizations are partnering with private landowners to restore endangered species, save parched rivers, recover native streamside forest, and much more. These voluntary collaborations are demonstrating the power of the individual and community to contribute to meaningful landscape-level ecological recovery. With the uncertainty that progressing climate change will bring, management of an individual's lands for public trust resource benefits becomes even more important.

Water, wildfire, and wildlife--especially imperiled salmon, are the specific aspects of landowner stewardship that our Partners focus on in this issue. Each article explains the direct impact rural and suburban private land practices can have on the landscape, and the tremendous potential for ecological and social benefit when small landowners alter their management practices, as these authors demonstrate. In this issue the authors discuss their successes and offer tools for individual and collaborative action.


This article can be found online at www.treesfoundation.org/publications/article-322

Forest & River News is produced by Trees Foundation. For more information contact:
Trees Foundation
P.O. Box 2202, Redway, CA 95560


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