By Michelle Robbins

What's the best gift we can give the environment in 2003? How about a breather?

A friend of mine used to say that we need people at the extremes so we can find a place to work in the middle. I've been thinking about her words lately and wishing there were more people at work in the middle of the mess that is our environmental policy of late.

The climate toward the natural world around us is becoming increasingly polarized, and trees are at the heart of the battle. We can't seem to agree on what's the best way to deal with the wildfires that rage annually, what to do about the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, or even what to do about an oak that sits in the way of "progress"-and the guy who's sitting in it-in Santa Clarita, California (see Clippings, page 27).

There is a natural suspicion eminating from both sides of the aisle in these matters, and that's understandable. What's also easily understandable is that trees are a critical part of a healthy ecosystem and therefore a healthy population. We need to start from that point and begin finding ways to build consensus. In other words, it's time to step up to the middle.

Contributing Editor Jane Braxton Little profiles a good example of that kind of consensus building in the aptly named "A Light in the Forest" (page 29). Those efforts, by the Ponderosa Pine Forest Partnership, are restoring health to Colorado's woods.

Anyone who says trees are an inconsequential part of our economic equation hasn't been running the numbers. Time after time studies have shown that trees in our cities can reduce our costs for power plants, lessen erosion, and hold stormwater in check. All this and they add value to our homes, fruit and nuts to our pantries, and shade to our hammocks. And they can contribute to mental and physical health and safer neighborhoods.

American Forests estimated last year that America's cities were suffering from a deficit of more than 634 million trees. When you think of all the benefits our leafy neighbors provide, doesn't it seem like the only fiscally conservative thing to do is to advocate for this particular form of "deficit spending"?

At American Forests we've tried to do our part to lessen that national tree deficit by planting in both urban and rural locations. And we're celebrating a pretty hefty milestone-the planting of our 20 millionth Global ReLeaf Forest tree. We chose Los Alamos as the site to plant that symbolic tree in part because we have been inspired by the work our local tree-planting partner, Tree New Mexico, and one of our Wildfire ReLeaf partners, the U.S. Forest Service, have done there.

We asked local resident-and Hollywood heartthrob-Val Kilmer to join us. And that was even before we found out he's distantly related to Joyce Kilmer. author of what is, of course, one of our favorite poems: the one that begins, "I think that I shall never see, a poem so lovely as a tree."

The Los Alamos planting was also attended by representatives of another of our longtime tree-planting partners, retailer Eddie Bauer, as well as our Historic Tree Nursery director Jeff Meyer.

We sent photojournalist Tim Wright to Los Alamos this fall to see for himself the changes that have taken place since that devastating fire in 2000. His interesting story begins on page 38.

As 2002 rolls into 2003, you can be sure American Forests will not take a breather from its commitment to keep working on behalf of trees and forests. Like Dr. Seuss' Lorax, we need people to speak for the trees. The environment needs a breather from all the posturing. This year, let's help it get one. AF

Michelle Robbins is the Editor for American Forests.[TOP]