A Wilderness Society Web feature story decries the outrageous attacks on public wild lands which were jammed through in the recent federal budget bill. I am struck by the stark contrast between the strident anti-nature sentiment  present in the U.S.

In 1911 something very important occurred for American forests. The Weeks Act was introduced by and named for Massachusetts Representative John W. Weeks. Before this legislation, forests in the East were privately owned — and for the most part were mismanaged, unprotected and damaged from poor logging practices and development. The forests had declining water quality and were at risk of large wildfires, erosion and flooding.