The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which runs the 23,000-acre reserve northeast of Houston, Texas, sponsored the quarter-million dollar project with support from Dell Inc., Travelocity, NBC Universal, Environmental Synergy Inc., a reforestation company based in Atlanta and The Conservation Fund, a nonprofit based near Washington, D.C.

Twelve species of Texas native hardwoods are now growing in what was a cattle grazing pasture until the land was purchased in 2007 by the refuge. Planting more trees, which never seems like a bad idea, helps take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, while making a small chink in global deforestation, gives critters more habitat and will be appreciated by those who experience the new forest for years to come.