However, for the benefit of those readers who do not know Alabama well, about two-thirds of the surface area is under tree cover. And, surprising to most people, is the fact that most of the land is in private ownership. This combination of factors, extensive forestation and private ownership, tend to make land stewardship a personal matter. Landowners take personal interest in profits made from land uses as well as interest in how the land is managed from aesthetic and intergenerational perspectives. Considerable attention in the past was devoted to how poorly land was managed in Alabama.
Problems still exist.
However, today almost anyone may see that things have changed. Before closing this note, I need to make a correction from the last issue. I stated that if no agreement is reached at that time, the whole process starts again. That is incorrect. Negotiators may continue to extend the process until there are results all parties accept.