NRC 225 1st Edition Lecture 11 1 Was it nature or nurture or lack thereof was it natural or anthropogenic disturbance that had the dominant influence on the forests of New England and many other areas It was anthropogenic disturbances that had the dominant influence on the forests of New England People were moving from the East to the West and clearing land for farming Eventually logging came into play and many of the forests of New England were cut down for this purpose 2 Natural succession single endpoint Y N Disturbance mechanisms Chronic Acute Natural succession is not a single endpoint because forests can yield different results It is a slow process and disturbance mechanisms can change the endpoint of the forest For example a chronic disturbance to a forest could be a high wind breaking branches of some trees causing an open wound for diseases to get in An acute disturbance would be a hurricane wiping out all the trees in the region 3 List and briefly explain specific examples of the influence of trees and forests as commodities or resources or political symbols on American and world history When people realized that forests were filled with untapped wealth they began industrial logging which drastically changed America As people gained more wealth they were able to invest in more advanced technology leading to the Industrial Age 4 What is the generic cycle of forest change by settlers The generic cycle of the forest change by settlers is as follows people make first contact and begin trading furs with Indians which gave us the confidence to explore out west Then people started farming and clearing acres of land When people realized the land out west was better for certain crops they moved out west and began clearing more land As the Industrial Age allowed us to easily get out West more and more people moved out west and logging began Logging increased rapidly when new technologies came along and acres of forests were destroyed People began to feel the need for conservation 5 What is the fundamental difference between the way Native Americans i e most aboriginal cultures view the forest versus European settlers colonists governments and economic systems Native Americans view their role with the forest as equals They believed they were part of the environment Europeans thought that you should adapt nature to you transforming the landscape to help yourself 6 What were some of the effects of cut and run logging in the late 1800s and early 1900s Cut and run logging brought about new technologies especially as the terrain became more and more difficult to log New technologies that came about were Skyline logging mobile camps and locomotives Railroads played a key role in this type of logging Once railroads were accessible logging could happen anywhere as long as you could get the logs to the train Rivers started to flow less regualry something that they later realized was due to over logging 7 Explain this figure southern New England in detail In the 1700 s the landscape is only shaped by natural disturbances because people tended to live among the trees By 1730 European settlers begin clearing a couple of acres for farming In 1830 the farming rapidly increases and 60 90 of the forests are cleared In 1850 steam boats are introduced making logging even more successful and thus wiping out thousands of acres of land By 1870 the Age of Steel is in full swing and the Transcontinental Railway is finished once again making logging more successful People begin to see the impact logging has had and logging slowly declines there is also a lot less forest to use because most of it is destroyed By 1909 the Catskill Forest Preservation began and allowed the land to recover after seeing the effects that humans had on the landscape In 1970 the forests are decreasing once again but at a much slower rate at a rate of about one building lot at a time 8 What did the Hudson River School paintings communicate to their viewers in the late 1800s and early 1900s What do they communicate to urban and suburban dwellers today painting Kindred Spirits by Asher Durand The Hudson River School painting sparked a lot of curiosity in people No one believed that trees could look that big in the west they thought they were exaggerated They almost served as an advertisement for nature and people wanted to go see them Thus places like the Catskill Mountain House were made for people 9 What made Grandma Moses paintings so unique How did they differ in basic premise or theme from the Hudson River School paintings In other words why do most people really like them and feel good about the scenes that they depict painting The Molding Mill Grandma Moses Grandma Moses paintings were so unique because they showed a symbiotic relationship with nature Unlike paintings from the Hudson River School she showed people living within nature as if people were part of the natural cycle 10 How did art literature tourism technology logging tanning geography and influential people interact and combine with the Catskill Mountain Houses as a focal point to initiate the forest conservation movement Paintings from the Hudson River School made forests a sought out destination for people New technologies such as steam ships and railroads made it easy to get out to places like the Catskill Mountain Houses This also led to the cutting down of hemlock trees for bark for tannery s which led to conflict People began to see the need for conservation and for the first time in our history we see things are not a free for all 11 A novel kind of commerce ruled this land now the U S and Canada from 1600 to 1850 Europeans traded their manufactured goods for the furs of the American Indians People from two different worlds met and their goods and ideas mingled Neither culture was ever the same again Gilman Carolyn 1982 Where Two Worlds Meet The Great Lakes Fur Trade Minnesota Historical Society St Paul 136 pp Describe the key components of the fur trade In what ways did it change forests and people What were the unique features of the North American forest ecosystem that fostered the development expansion and global reach of the fur trade Why did it end or at least diminish in scale The fur trade was a time when settlers where trading with Indians for fur which they sold to Europeans It changed the forests because people began exploring out west and working with Native Americans It changed the Native American s because as we traded with them they