action. On April 1 of this year, the organization launched the “Plant a Billion Trees Campaign” to restore and plant one billion trees in the Atlantic Forest. According to Picone, efforts to date are working. “We’ve finally turned the corner, and people are starting to realize that there are economic benefits to leaving the forest standing instead of cutting it down.”

Stephanie Meeks (above) is acting CEO of The nature Conservancy. The group has more than a million members and works in all 50 states and more than 30 countries to protect the world’s habitats and wildlife. Opposite: Frilled coquette hummingbirds in the Atlantic Forest; a river at the guaraquecaba Carbono projects in Brazil, supported by The nature Conservancy.

Beyond Brazil

The Nature Conservancy’s efforts to protect the world’s forestlands go well beyond Brazil’s borders.

The Nature Conservancy, headed by CEO Stephanie Meeks, is the leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters. Since its founding in 1951, it has protected more than 117 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers.

The Pacific Northwest is another key target. East of the Cascade Mountains, in Washington, so-called “dry forests” are being better managed, and protected from development—and from fire.

“Dry forests have become severely overgrown due to historic prevention