While efforts were made in the past to preserve remaining tree octopus habitat, these were met with resistance by the timber industry, which has traditionally viewed the tree octopus as a nuisance, both because the octopuses favor the valuable, moss-shrouded trees of old growth forests—pitting conservation needs against lucrative sources of lumber—and because octopuses hiding among felled trees often gummed up sawmills and stained pulp vats with their ink.