---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [W]hat have we done with our forests?…"
description: "\"[W]hat have we done with our forests? Chopped them, and burned them, and wasted them; and now almost the last of the great stands of timber are here on..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e4/madison-grant-57932_beauty_w-hat-have-we-done-with-our-forests-chop_3116956.jpg"
---

#  \[W\]hat have we done with our forests? Chopped them, and…

![“&#91;W&#93;hat have we done with our forests? Chopped them, and burned them, and wasted them; and now almost the last of the great stands of timber are here on the Pacific slope. We are in the center of the best of them. Probably nowhere on earth does there exist a forest to compare in continuous grandeur…” quote by Madison Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e4/madison-grant-57932_beauty_w-hat-have-we-done-with-our-forests-chop_3116956.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e4/madison-grant-57932_beauty_w-hat-have-we-done-with-our-forests-chop_3116956.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e4/madison-grant-57932_beauty_w-hat-have-we-done-with-our-forests-chop_3116956.jpg)

> “\[W\]hat have we done with our forests? Chopped them, and burned them, and wasted them; and now almost the last of the great stands of timber are here on the Pacific slope. We are in the center of the best of them. Probably nowhere on earth does there exist a forest to compare in continuous grandeur and unqualified beauty with the Redwoods that are found along the Eel River and to the north.”

[Madison Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-grant/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote laments the destruction of ancient redwood forests, highlighting their unique beauty and the tragedy of their loss.

**In simple terms:** Forests are being destroyed despite their irreplaceable value.

Key Takeaway

Protect remaining old‑growth forests.

Themes

environment conservation loss beauty

Mood

somber reflective

Type

advocacy environmental

When to use this quote

- policy advocacy
- educational campaigns
- eco‑tourism
- forest management

Key Concepts

ecosystem services heritage sustainability

Questions to Reflect On

- What actions can balance economic needs with forest protection?
- How can we raise public appreciation for ancient ecosystems?

A Different Perspective

Preservation may conflict with economic interests and development pressures.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests/) [Grandeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandeur/) [Hats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hats/) [Pacific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacific/) [Redwoods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/redwoods/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/)

## Related quotes

> [Agriculture is the #1 source of deforestation. By some estimates it accounts for 80% of the forests chopped down in the tropics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramez-naam/agriculture-is-the-1-source-of-deforestation-by-some-estimates-it/)

[Ramez Naam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramez-naam/)

> [I gotta go home and feed my eels. They're not electric, but I have a plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/i-gotta-go-home-and-feed-my-eels-they-re-not-electric-but-i-have-a/)

[Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/)

> [It is very strange that men should deny a Creator and yet attribute to themselves the power of creating eels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/it-is-very-strange-that-men-should-deny-a-creator-and-yet-attribute/)

[Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/)

> [To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/to-stand-at-the-edge-of-the-sea-to-sense-the-ebb-and-flow-of-the/)

[Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/)

> [How index-learning turns no student pale, Yet holds the eel of science by the tail!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-index-learning-turns-no-student-pale-yet-holds-the-eel-of-science/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> [“He leans over and puts the radio on. It’s Jason Donovan’s ‘Sealed With A Kiss’. ‘I love the music they play up here in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-burgess/he-leans-over-and-puts-the-radio-on-it-s-jason-donovan-s-sealed-with/)

[Gemma Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-burgess/)

> [If God did not exist, he would have to be invented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-god-did-not-exist-he-would-have-to-be-invented/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Love is a slippery eel that bites like hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/love-is-a-slippery-eel-that-bites-like-hell/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is an absurd one. What is most repellent in the System of Nature - after the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/doubt-is-not-a-pleasant-condition-but-certainty-is-an-absurd-one-what/)

[Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/)

> [Take every gain without showing remorse about missed profits, because an eel may escape sooner than you think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/take-every-gain-without-showing-remorse-about-missed-profits-because/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I have caught some big eels in New Zealand, where the climate is very similar to Scotland. But they grow to around five feet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/i-have-caught-some-big-eels-in-new-zealand-where-the-climate-is-very/)

[Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/)

> [Life isn't all fricasseed frogs and eel pie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-isn-t-all-fricasseed-frogs-and-eel-pie/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I am not eccentric. It's just that I am more alive than most people. I am an unpopular electric eel set in a pond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/i-am-not-eccentric-it-s-just-that-i-am-more-alive-than-most-people-i/)

[Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/)

> [The apartments are made for eels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-fukunaga/the-apartments-are-made-for-eels/)

[Cary Fukunaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-fukunaga/)

> [ “You \[demagogues\] are like the fishers for eels; in still waters they catch nothing, but if they thoroughly stir up the slime, their fishing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/you-demagogues-are-like-the-fishers-for-eels-in-still-waters-they/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

## More by Madison Grant

> [We are interested in stifling the sale of this book. We believe that this can be best accomplished by refusing to be stampeded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-grant/we-are-interested-in-stifling-the-sale-of-this-book-we-believe-that/)

[Madison Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-grant/)

> [The intelligence and ability of a colored person are in pretty direct proportion to the amount of white blood he has, and … most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-grant/the-intelligence-and-ability-of-a-colored-person-are-in-pretty-direct/)

[Madison Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-grant/)

> [Africa north of the Sahara, from a zoological point of view, is now, and has been since early Tertiary times, a part of Europe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-grant/africa-north-of-the-sahara-from-a-zoological-point-of-view-is-now-and/)

[Madison Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-grant/)

> [Mistaken regard for what are believed to be divine laws and a sentimental belief in the sanctity of human life tend to prevent both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-grant/mistaken-regard-for-what-are-believed-to-be-divine-laws-and-a/)

[Madison Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-grant/)

> [Where the environment is too soft and luxurious and no strife is required for survival, not only are weak strains and individuals allowed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-grant/where-the-environment-is-too-soft-and-luxurious-and-no-strife-is/)

[Madison Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-grant/)

[Explore all 6 Madison Grant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-grant/)

## More Beauty quotes

> [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/)

[Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/)

> [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/)

[John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/)

> [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/)

[Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/)

> [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/)

[Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/)

> [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/)

[Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/)

> [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/)

[Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/)

> [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/)

[Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/)

> [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/)

[Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/)

> [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/)

Tumblr

> [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/)

[William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/)

> [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/)

[Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/)

> [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/)

[Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/)

[Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "[W]hat have we done with our forests? Chopped them, and burned them, and wasted them; and now almost the last of the great stands of timber are here on the Pacific slope. We are in the center of the best of them. Probably nowhere on earth does there exist a forest to compare in continuous grandeur and unqualified beauty with the Redwoods that are found along the Eel River and to the north.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Madison Grant"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-grant/w-hat-have-we-done-with-our-forests-chopped-them-and-burned-them-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Beauty"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-grant/w-hat-have-we-done-with-our-forests-chopped-them-and-burned-them-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e4/madison-grant-57932_beauty_w-hat-have-we-done-with-our-forests-chop_3116956.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e4/madison-grant-57932_beauty_w-hat-have-we-done-with-our-forests-chop_3116956.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e4/madison-grant-57932_beauty_w-hat-have-we-done-with-our-forests-chop_3116956.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“[W]hat have we done with our forests? Chopped them, and burned them, and wasted them; and now almost the…” — Madison Grant",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Madison Grant",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-grant/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "[W]hat have we done with our...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-grant/w-hat-have-we-done-with-our-forests-chopped-them-and-burned-them-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-grant/w-hat-have-we-done-with-our-forests-chopped-them-and-burned-them-and/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
