Jeff...I like all trees (except Tree of Heaven) but I have issues with the ones that are invasive or aggressive spreaders and have little redeeming value (timber, fuel, fruit, flower and foliage) and compete for space with trees that do. I would much rather see an Oak, Maple, Walnut etc. growing in place of any Mimosa, Pawlonia, Catalpa, or ToH. I look at those as weeds.
Dave
Jeff...I would love to chuck up some ToH and put my "wood beaters" to it, it would be an enjoyable experience. I am sure that it is pretty wood.
I agree that all living things have a place in this world and a reason to be there. Most of the trees that I mentioned have their designated place in other parts of the world. They are exotics here and are hurting the native tree population by their aggressive spreading and lack of natural controls (pests, disease, etc.) A very good example of this is Kudzu, it is a valued plant in it's native home of Japan. They use it for many good purposes like erosion control and even food (the flower nectar makes good jelly). It was brought to the US for use as a erosion control plant, which it does extremely well. But what wasn't figured on was the tenacity of it's tap root. In Japan, where it is native, the winters are much colder than in the southern US, and that prevents the tap root from growing to the great lengths like it does here. Also the plant has some natural insect predators, that aren't present here. Kudzu in the southern US has become almost impossible to control, because it's tap root continues to grow through the winter and provides such an huge food storehouse that even repeated defoliation barely slows the plant down. Studies have found that one of the best way to control Kudzu is to fence in an acre, and let a herd of goats loose to eat on it until they have completely defeated it's ability to form new vegetative growth, that can often take years to accomplish.
Pawlonia is another example. It is a valued timber crop in it's native land where it grows slowly and produces valuable wood. Released in the US, it doesn't grow as slowly, and it's value as timber isn't as good. It has very few natural predators to keep it's growth in check and is very tolerant of poor soil conditions (the reason it was used in the first place, to help reclaim strip mines) so it has started to take over space where native plants could grow, especially in the Smoky mountains. The native plants that are displaced by the Pawlonia all have a reason to be here, according to the grand plan, they are pieces of the puzzle of life, and are being replaced by a piece that doesn't fit from a different puzzle.
Dave (hopping of his soapbox now)
