Thinking sustainably.

Sustainability. It's a much bandied-about word these days, and it has as many definitions as it has supporters and detractors. At AMERICAN FORESTS, we define a sustainable ecosystem as one that will remain healthy and thriving for the long term.

There's been a lot of talk about sustainability lately, most notably at the Seventh American Forest Congress, which had just wrapped up as the magazine went to press. At a post-Congress brown bag, staffers talked enthusiastically about learning different viewpoints, participating in a (civil) melding of many disparate minds, and getting the chance to meet some of our members.

What's to come out of the Congress remains to be seen. At AMERICAN FORESTS, we're committed to encouraging and fostering the dialogue that began there. We've included a brief report in this issue (page 8), and next time we'll take a more indepth look at some of the issues raised.

Sustainability was foremost in our minds as we put together this issue, which focuses on riparian forests - ecosystems that scientists have come to realize are key to the health of our waterways, our wildlife, and ourselves.

Riparian forests - those green necklaces that encircle our rivers and streams - control erosion, remove sediment and excess nutrients from runoff and groundwater, and provide shade and cover for fish, aquatic plants, and animals. Karl Blankenship's cover story on page 13 details the efforts underway to save and restore these critical areas that link land and water.

The impacts of winter flooding from Pennsylvania and Maryland to Oregon are still being tallied at press time. Forests reduced by logging and development are being implicated as one reason the flood damage was so extensive and our water quality so diminished. As the floods have shown, tree and forest cover play an important role in the health of our cities.

Need another example? Cast your eye toward Atlanta, where citizens are gearing up - and greening up - for the Centennial Summer Games. Nancy Dawe's "Sprinting Toward Sustainability" on page 22 looks at how Olympic preparations coincide with an environmental rebirth for this historic yet thoroughly modern southern city. But the story doesn't end with the Games' closing ceremonies. Like many cities, Atlanta is growing fast - and as a result growing hotter and less in sync with the natural world.

Working with high-tech computers and geographic information systems technology - and using tree cover and weather data - our urban forestry center has done an urban ecological analysis for Atlanta and its lifeline, the Chattahoochee River. The results - as seen in Gary Moll and Cory Berish's article on page 26 - show clearly the value of tree cover in combating the urban heat island and the importance of maintaining the health of our waterways.

We're sharing the results of our study with the Atlanta Regional Commission and a host of local partners there, and we hope it'll serve as a wake-up call to other cities, too. Without sounding immodest, we think our urban ecological analyses and our CITYgreen software could revolutionize the way communities grow by making it possible to put dollar values on natural resources. And that'll make it easier for citizens to insist those resources be considered in land-use planning decisions.

But we can't just rely on planners to take care of the forests where we live, work, and play. Our Global ReLeaf program, begun in 1988, urged people to "Plant a Tree, Cool the Globe." It's a simplified message, but it gets the point across: Everyone doing his or her part adds up. It's the tenet on which we founded our Global ReLeaf Forests program, which restores damaged public lands through local partnerships. Since 1990, we've planted trees in 61 projects in 32 states - a total of close to four million trees - to protect endangered animals, clean waterways, restore native tree species, and improve recreational opportunities. When you donate to this program, each dollar you give plants one tree - a pretty good return on your investment.

We took the Global ReLeaf program international in 1991, and we're proud to say there are Global ReLeaf partners in 25 countries. Now we're thinking even bigger. Watch these pages for information about becoming part of Global ReLeaf 2000 - our plan to plant 20 million trees by the turn of the century.

Lastly, a personal note. Over the past 102 years, AMERICAN FORESTS magazine has changed quite a bit, but one thing has never changed: its commitment to its readers. You'll see some different things in the magazine over the next few issues as we fine-tune content and design. We're going to try some new ideas while continuing to bring you interesting, informative stories that can help you at work, give you ideas to use at home, or simply entertain you when you find a minute to relax. As American Forests' first female editor, I bring a slightly different perspective but one, I hope, that's just as enjoyable. And I hope you'll let me know how we're doing. Write to me at PO Box 2000, Washington, DC 20013 or email me at [e-mail].