As a casual observer, this is entirely plausible. Living in a single location for six decades, changes to an environment can take place ever so slightly and unless one reflects back objectively, one might miss the obvious. This region held very little deciduous vegetation hense the carboniferous forests struggled along barely regenerating after forest fires. Today, alders, willows and birch seem to sprout up quickly providing food and footing for the hardier spruce and fir.

unfortunately reforestation of temperate areas does not seem to be adequate to sequester the massive amounts of atmospheric CO2 required to return the planet to what has been determined a "climate safe" level (350 ppm). reforestation and biochar technologies applied in the tropics have the potential to do this.

also, by stopping the military of the United States of America from its illegal wars (read occupations) we would be removing the planet's greatest single (as an organization) fossil fuel consumer and polluter.