Obviously forests supply us with wood and paper products, and livelihoods. They also control soil erosion, store and cycle nutrients, regulate the water flows in our streams and rivers, and moderate our climate. Forests are trees and birds, shrubs and rodents, fungi and insects, lichens and bears, flowers and salamanders and more. They are solar-powered, self-sustaining communities of life with built-in pest control and fertility systems, that have an inherent capacity to renew themselves. However, our forests, and the rivers that flow through them, can be rendered dysfunctional and spartan if we fail to be good stewards. There are disturbing signs that this is the direction we are headed if we do not alter course. Low impact forestry is our best hope to sustain the ecological health of our forests while continuing to make a living from the resources they can provide.