The Rural Legacy Program provides State funds to local governments and land trusts to purchase easements. Using public funds to take forestland out of productive use is detrimental to local economies and contrary to the stated purpose of the law. Some landowners seek to protect their forest forever by prohibiting logging. Unfortunately, easements that would prevent forest management or the cutting of trees in perpetuity may also prevent needed forest restoration. In the long run they may be detrimental to the health of the forest, and to the biodiversity, water quality, aesthetics, or other noncommodity values that the conveyor of the easement wishes to protect.
Flexibility is essential for meeting long-term goals.
Forests are dynamic biological systems and cannot be preserved in a steady state or protected from effects of human activity. Letting a forest grow may be best for the ecosystem now, but we cannot know now what may be best for the forest 100 years from now. To meet the needs of the future, we must be prepared to accept change. We must avoid restrictions on future management options, including those that might prohibit cutting or removing of trees, if the forest is to truly be preserved for our grandchildren's' grandchildren. All forested land in state forests and parks, wildlife management areas, and natural resource management areas should be managed under professionally prepared Forest Stewardship Plans.