In the 19th century, the forests that surrounded some of Canada’s oldest and most populated cities were key to the economics of European settlement and helped lay the foundation for a new country. Now, those same places could become essential to Canada’s future – not through further clearing and development, but by encouraging the trees to grow back. That’s the takeaway from a comprehensive analysis that seeks to optimize the country’s 2 Billion Trees effort… “It’s asking where in Canada are we going to achieve the highest growth rate of trees at the least cost,” said Ronnie Drever, senior conservation scientist with Nature United who led the study… The findings show that the best return on investment are not to be found in the remote boreal wilderness but in diverse pockets of land that are relatively close to the cities and towns that most Canadians call home. [A subscription required to read this article]