This American Land

Forest Homes For Bats, Defenses Against Flooding,

Private landowners in Pennsylvania work with government support to provide critical forest habitat for threatened populations of bats. Along the Meramec River near St. Louis, residents try to break the costly cycle of flooding, cleaning up and re-building by adopting more natural solutions to flood mitigation. Managing forest plantations in Florida, landowners use prescribed fires to reintroduce a natural process that results in healthier ecosystems for wildlife as well as better forest and ranching operations. Researchers are studying ways to make commercial forests more productive and sustainable, including using slow-release fertilizers with less impact on the environment.