The main obstacles to accomplishing comprehensive conservation of forested areas in the United States arise from the structure of institutions that were put in place during a period when this country seemed to offer an endless bounty of natural resources. In the context of such abundance, State Departments of the Natural Resources were charged with both “protecting” our natural resources and allocating rights to them as a means of filling local coffers. Today, county revenues in Western Maryland remain substantially dependent on revenues from timber leases, and the same outdated institutional structure persists at the national level.