There are constructive ways of improving the environment. Personally, deforestation makes me sick, but there is this principal called "property rights" that I happen to believe in.
The land I own never got cleared completely like everything else around, and now we have replanted trees on what was cleared with a mix of trees to avoid creating a monoculture. We have created new wetlands and worked with state and federal government programs to create habitat for geese and pheasants (which we never hunted BTW) and we are now working on a butterfly habitat program. We work with state biologists to actively manage the land for the benefit of the wildlife.
How about you?
You are doing great work, Doc, to be commended. Certified Carbon Negative is a seriously big deal. Many 'eco resorts" think if they put up some solar panels they are "protecting the environment". But then at night they run diesel generators to keep their guests cool. You have more in common with Edward Abbey and the Earth Firsters than you realize.
On our coastal property, we have 3 houses and a boat dock, lotsa forest, creeks, wetland and open savanna. And limestone caverns. All our power & water comes from the sky. Jaguars occasionally eat our watchdogs (they like puppies best). But the jaguars were here first so we leave them alone and keep our dogs on the porches at night. Howler monkeys call, parrots flock. Blue Morpho butterflies. Tapir and otters. Bad snakes. Tree frogs.
Yes, property rights are important. We all are free to do what we want with our land. It is our choice to cut trees or not. Plant orchards and gardens, or not. On our land we choose to leave the forest intact along with the creatures in it. But we have added fruit orchards, gardens, and 250 teak trees.
Our neighbor is clear cutting his mature hardwood hills. When his crew recently "strayed" onto our land with their chainsaws and D6, we had an armed confrontation. Sometimes, that is what it takes. Now they avoid our boundaries. We won't monkey wrench their equipment unless they stray again.
In the late 1800s the British logged this coastal area heavily. The forest has grown back. All 5 of Central America's big cat species live here in harmony with their ecosystem. As you know, when an ecosystem can support its large predators, then it is healthy. It is my goal that, when I am done here, the offspring of those jaguars and ocelots are still eating the offspring of our watchdogs. I'll stay on the porch.