North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said a series of environmental directives and goals he initiated to protect and restore forests and wetlands in the state will help counter climate change and aid the economy. Cooper signed an executive order on Monday that in part sets statewide targets for governments and private land-protection groups by 2040 to both “permanently conserve” 1 million acres of forests and wetlands and to restore 1 million new acres of similar lands. The governor also wants 1 million new trees planted in urban areas by 2040. Cooper’s office called the executive action the most significant by a governor to protect the state’s ecosystems since then-Gov. Jim Hunt’s “Million Acre Initiative” for land preservation was announced in 1999. …Among other items, the order from Cooper also directed state agencies to use plants and seeds in landscaping projects that are native to the Southeast, with a preference for North Carolina-native plants.