Added to my list entitled “I Never Thought of That” is this poster, below. I saw it at a ranger station while traveling through Oregon, and thought it was a message worth spreading.
Carving your initials into a tree seems so romantic. Young love, immortalized. B.A. + C.L. with a heart around it. People will gaze upon it and know your love is true, right?
Unfortunately, removing the bark from a tree can reduce its ability to transport needed nutrients throughout its system. It can introduce pathogens and invasive insects. It causes the tree to divert precious energy toward wound repair. At the very least, it results in ugly scar tissue.
It also will encourage others to take part in the same kind of vandalism, thus increasing the damage. Because people are, let’s face it, stupid. And they sure do love to leave their marks, even if it means destroying that which was already beautiful.
So, please, if you want to immortalize your love, how about planting a tree instead of causing scar tissue and potential death? Now there’s an idea…
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The View from a Drawbridge 
Give a tree a hug.
Yes! Every chance you get!