Originally, the goal was to plant 300,000 trees in Maple Ridge, cleansing the air while restoring the natural forest.

But so far, Ecosystem Restoration Associates, of North Vancouver, is stuck at 75,000 and trying to make sure those get off to a good start.

The company signed a deal in 2005 in which it would use District of Maple Ridge land to plant thousands of Douglas fir, hemlock and cedars to restore damaged habitat in parks, riverside areas – even school grounds.

In return, ERA sells the carbon dioxide sequestration benefits of those trees to companies that want to offset their overall output of carbon dioxide.

Thanks to that first agreement with Maple Ridge, the company has been able to expand, go public, and this fall, will start projects in Berwundi, Senegal and Rwanda, CEO Robert Falls told council.

The original goal in 2005 was to start something that would have “ripples around the world,” he said.

“It’s becoming a reality as we expand our program into Africa.”’

In the Lower Mainland, the program started in Maple Ridge then expanded to Mission and Langley.

The program started in 2006 with the goal that 300,000 trees would be planted in Maple Ridge.

But three years later, that number has been stalled at less than a third of that.

Access to private land in Maple Ridge which could offer more areas for restoration has limited the number of trees planted. One reason for that is that covenants, or agreements between landholders and the provincial government on protecting those lands, requires permission of both parties in order to access the property.

But ERA will start contacting and seeking permission for that access.

Another reason is that trees can’t be planted in conservation areas until they become publicly owned. That doesn’t happen until an area is developed and conservation areas are created, explained parks and recreation general manager Mike Murray.

He said he wants to check the contract with ERA to ensure the full 300,000 are planted.

As well, a new way of arranging covenants could give the municipality more access, said district environmental planner Rod Stott.

Coun. Linda King, though, said landowners should be calling ERA to have their properties restored and replanted – at no cost.

“In that case, we want to figure out a way for people to know that it could happen.”

Perhaps rules around covenants need to change, said Coun. Al Hogarth.

“As long as you’ve got invasive species there, it’s just going to be choked out.”

Most of ERA’s work this year has been clearing away shrubs and invasive plants that have grown back since the trees were first planted, Falls pointed out.

“We’re just really thankful to the district for letting us try this program on here and work out some of the challenges,” he said.

One of those challenges came last year when ERA chopped down about 300 alder trees in the North Alouette Greenway. According to a district news release last year, those trees were replaced with “3,600 Sitka spruce, western red cedar and cottonwood seedlings, which are deep rooted, long-lived species, reflective of the original forest logged off of the area in the 1930s.”

Falls said more trees than ERA had planned were cut down, leading to complaints.

In response, ERA airlifted out the debris and replanted the area, which a year later is now waist-high with trees and shrubs.

“We have 75,000 trees in the ground that we didn’t have in 2006. I applaud your efforts and look forward to the next 75,000,” said Daykin.