This brings to mind a modern irony in people’s land management habits where I live. Our desert has historically been populated by Joshua trees, which look like a hybrid of a tree and a cactus; a tree with rather large branches covered completely in long spiny leaves.
A decade or so ago, the rising housing development had reduced the Joshua tree density to dangerous proportions. So the state and counties got together and wrote a statute that said any new housing development had to include two Joshua trees on each subdivided property.
As expected for developers, their response was to continue clear-cutting and grading over the properties. Then they would contract with someone to bring them two Joshua trees to replant so they would meet the statute.
Of course, there being no “Joshua tree farms” about, and there having been such a bounty put on them, all of the replanted trees were supplied by having been dug up illegally from public lands.
Problem is, for all their apparent thorny toughness, Joshua trees are remarkably sensitive to changes in their environment; all the replanted trees promptly died. Homeowners were advised to take pictures of their Joshua trees to confirm they had once been there…

