The Tennessean
By Jay Farrell
It’s easy to think of trees as stoic: Stately and serene, the world whips around them in a blur of change and progress. In reality, forests are dynamic forces in the lives of people.
The past year was a special one for trees. When the United Nations declared 2011 the International Year of Forests, it provided a platform for thinking about forests and their role in people’s lives. Rather than remote, mysterious locales, forests are accessible, familiar and important to people across the country. A 2011 voter poll, commissioned by the National Association of State Foresters, showed 67 percent of voters live within 10 miles of forested areas and visit or recreate in them frequently.
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