RECOMMENDED READING

With huge swaths of Eastern forests up for grabs, The [Nature] Conservancy moved quickly to protect 700,000 acres. But what will become of the woodlands that didn’t make the cut?
By Colin Woodard

Eastern Forests link

To make matters more complicated, the federal budget for conservation acquisition has been cut to the bone. For 2007, the president has requested just $85 million for federal land purchases through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which finances additions to national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and other lands. As recently as 2002, the budget was $446 million—more than five times as much.