Forests not only capture the atmosphere’s excess carbon dioxide, but also store vast quantities of it. Biologists and foresters from Tufts and Harvard universities  say that “proforestation”— retaining and protecting already-established mature forests — is more efficient and economical than reforestation. Conservationists in southern Illinois are proposing a new kind of national park, or “climate preserve,” that would help stanch climate change by protecting mature forests from logging.

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John Wallace, conservation activist and co-founder of Shawnee Forest Defense, views logging site at Bean Ridge in Shawnee National Forest; Thebes, Illinois. © Randall Hyman