Don Brunell - Reforest forests not farmlands

When Congress reconvenes next month, lawmakers will consider costly climate change legislation that includes a massive tree planting program. The plan, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), calls for reforesting 18 million acres of farmland, an area about the size of West Virginia.

The theory is correct – the trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and produce oxygen. And, because trees require less fertilizer and pesticides, proponents say water quality would improve as well. The only problem is where they plant the trees.

Congress would pay people to plant trees and...