Most public policy discussions on forest restoration tend to focus on federal land issues. However, there are approximately 109 million acres of privately owned forests in the western U.S., many of them in the wildland-urban interface and many in important watersheds. Yet while virtually every state and county land use plan calls for healthy, well-managed forests and watersheds, landowners seeking to restore their forests often face a maze of obstacles. Many of these are not immediately visible to the public or to policy makers but can create significant impediments to management and restoration. One decades-long journey to restore a forested watershed reveals the many hidden challenges landowners face and how state and local governments could help clear the path.