Thank you so much first of all for trying it. BELIEVE ME, I know it is a rough draft. A week is a short amount of time and I am very new to the game making scene. So your feedback is IMMENSELY appreciated and literally a pick-me-up since I was worried no one would even try my game.
I really agree with your input, there needs to be streamlining. After trudging through the rules writing, I agree that some mechanics simply need to be cut out or tweaked. I did originally want the players to build the forests as well, but it seems that is clunky and you are correct, no skill or player decision really involved in that part of the game. The whole point of the game is to prevent the forests from degrading due to negative kelp points from urchins or crabs.
I like the thought of having humans play a bigger role, this would drive home the "save the environment" hook. And no worries, I am a biology teacher hooked on the idea of making ecosystem micro games so I am in it for the long haul so I will keep working at it. But my games only get better if people try them and give me feedback, so THANK YOU AGAIN.
Also, sorry about printing it... that could be another reason why no one played it. It was my first attempt at a print and play and I had NO IDEA how to make one... I should give gimp a try. Right now I use Inkscape. I like Inkscape, but it sounds like it is not friendly to print.