Starting in the 1980s, environmental groups and the US government had sharply curtailed logging and grazing on Western public lands, including the 500,000-hectare Coconino National Forest. This was perceived by many as an experimental victory, but it didn't heal the forest, which was unnaturally overgrown with stunted trees. So in 1998, 15 groups formed the Grand Canyon Forests Partnership. They proposed "ecosystem restoration" work on 70,000 hectares around Flagstaff.