On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 20:30:44 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

The message
from Ann contains these words:

I can cut down any tree I want on my property. As I should be able
to. You go ahead and live in your controlling environment, I promise
I won't move next door to you. And thankfully most of New England
feels as I do.

I suppose that depends whether you view yourself as the sole owner
the land you bought, or just the latest in a long line, the current
custodian who will one day hand it on to another by death or sale or
inheritance.

I am the current owner of my land. I decide what will happen while I
own it.

I have aerial photos of my land that go back 70 years. During the
interim it has been field, forest, and thanks to me, field again.
Which way should it be? That is decided by the owner.

What if the tree is many hundreds of years old, or a "champion" of its
species, or an extreme rarity, or a special landmark of the
neighbourhood? Does someone who pays a mortgage on the tree's patch of
soil for a few years, acquire an inalienable right to remove something
very rare or special?
The owner decides what is special. To each as he sees fit.

People are transient, so are their decisions. The forest is patient
and will do what forests do.

JMHO

John