My instinct is that the planned mass sell-off of England's state-owned forests is a big mistake. But would they really be worse off in the hands of private landowners? Is this debate more about a fear of "bad" private ownership than one centred on which model of ownership offers the best conservation practices and guarantees?
T Peters, by email
With the public consultation into whether the coalition government is right to propose selling off England's state-owned woodland starting this week, this issue could not be more pertinent. A huge swell of public opposition to the plans appears to have built up in recent weeks culminating in a YouGov poll published last weekend showing 84% of those surveyed supporting the idea that the woodland should remain in public hands. Internet reaction also suggests vehement opposition is the predominant mood. And dozens of prominent public figures have signed a letter pleading with the government to abandon its plans. The message is clear already, even ahead of the public consultation.
But what the consultation should do is help us to probe this issue in much more detail by moving beyond the understandably emotive "don't let them chop down our trees" reaction that has typified the debate so far. What, for example, is the track record on private ownership of forests? Are they better managed in private hands than by, say, the Forestry Commission? Which fares better when it comes to nurturing a more biodiverse woodland habitat? Will private owners guarantee the public equal, or even better, rights of access to the forests? And, perhaps most crucially, what safeguard does private ownership offer - if any - against development of the forests into, say, housing, retail parks, golf courses and the like, as is a common fear?
This column is an experiment in crowd-sourcing a reader's question, so please let us know your views below (as opposed to emailing them) and I will join in with some of my own thoughts and reactions as the debate progresses. I will also be inviting various interested parties to join the debate too.
• Please send your own environment question to ask.leo.and.lucy@guardian.co.uk.
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