A difficult question remains unsolved for our foresters: what to do with the beavers? Is this diligent tree feller and expander of rivers the scourge of forest owners? Or is it a rarity in nature, a vitally important and expensive symbol of our northern forests? In our present Estonian nature evidently both.

Closest to the truth is that we have not learnt to cope with the beavers that have returned to our forests. But we must learn. We must do this, Government officials as well as each of us on our own.

And the time has arrived to begin to establish a forest. All this needs spending but it will be richly repaid in the future. One solution is of course that we fetch plants and seeds from a forest nursery, but for smaller areas cheaper and from nature’s point oif view more appropriate solutions can be tested.

What will be the forest of your future does unfortunately not depend on your own wishes only. Nature’s particular traits have to be carefully reckoned with. The soil, the movement of water and the annual changes in water level determine from which tree species a strong and healthy forest will consist. The characteristics of soil and water are vital factors in determining the formation of the underwood vegetation.