Mitigation means to alleviate in force or intensity. Examples include:
■ Making sure that the forest-derived products you buy are made from
100% recycled materials
■ Buying from companies that have a commitment to reducing deforestation
through forest-friendly policies
■ Making sure that, if you are buying products made from virgin forests,
they bear a seal of sustainable forestry certificationPRESERVATION
Preservation means to keep. An example is:
■ Land trusts are private, nonprofit organizations that actively work to
conserve land by undertaking or assisting in land or conservation
acquisition, or by stewardship of such land. An example is the Land Trust
Alliance.REMEDIATION
Remediation means the act or process of correcting a fault or deficiency.
Examples include:
■ Cleanup from the 1989 Exxon Valdez Alaskan oil spill
■ Cleanup from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which affected the
Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Coast of the United StatesRESTORATION
Restoration is returning something to its former good condition. Ecosystem
restoration involves management actions designed to facilitate the recovery or
reestablishment of native ecosystems. A central premise of ecological restoration
is that restoration of natural systems to conditions consistent with their
evolutionary environments will prevent their further degradation while
simultaneously conserving their native plants and animals. Examples include:
■ Removing a dam, which will allow the return of native fish to a river
■ Removing a harmful, invasive species from a riparian environmentU.S. Forest Service
Forests account for about a third of the land in the United States, the largest of
any land use category. Out of the 747 million acres of U.S. forest land, two-
thirds (500 million acres) are nonfederal.
The Forest Service was established in 1905 as an agency of the U.S. Department