In 1994, Barbera was a dying forest, with timber smugglers and poachers playing havoc with its sylvan wealth. The Government was at its wit's end trying to contain the growing menace, thanks to the nexus between the lower level forest department officials and the looters. And then the CRPF stepped in and the story was turned on its head. Now with a company of the force guarding this reserve forest for the last eight years, in what has been described as a unique environment protection initiative in the State, it is the smugglers and the poachers who are on the run. The records speak for the CRPF's achievements in Barbera, one of the most fascinating retreats of nature in Orissa State today.