The Environmental History of Black River Country

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The Environmental History of Black River Country

• Aaron Stephenson

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Beginnings

• Established in 1818 as a small sawmill and
  trading post
• Unique location
• Wood brothers
• expedition 1839
• Subsequent purchase and platting by Spaulding
• Mormons

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Setbacks

• Lack of labor
• Inadequate equipment
• Transportation problems

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The Railroad

• Western Wisconsin Railroad, 1868
• Attraction of farmers
• Expansion of lumbering away from river

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River Crossing, Market Place

• Cross-river trade
• Lowest possible place on river to bridge with
  local expertise
• Railroad spurs into forest
• Farming expands into hills

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End of Lumber Boom

• 1905 abrupt ending
• Land sold cheaply to homesteaders
• WWI wheat boom
• Subsequent collapse of farming on thin soils east
  of river
• Silver lining berries

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The Depression and the CCC

• Redevelopment of cutover district
• Replanting of native forests
• Establishment of parks and protected forests

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Government Bail-out

• Federal buy-out of failed farms east of river,
  gifted to state
• Establishment of
• Black River State Forest
• 67,000 acres
• Jackson County Forest
• 120,000 acres

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A Working Forest

• Sustainable-use lumbering overseen by DNR and
  County Forestry Dept
• Protected Environmental Areas
• Recreational Areas
• ATV, Snowmobile, Skiing, Swimming, Fishing

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New Dynamic Tourism

• Arrival of Interstate 94 in 1964
• Vast majority of tourists from suburbia
• Twin Cities
• Southeastern Wisconsin
• Northern Illinois
• 200,000 visitors in 1970s, 300,000 visitors in
  1990s

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Downside

• Development of riverbanks as locations for
  vacation homes
• Interruption of game species habitats from
  vacation home development and increased forest
  trail traffic has angered local residents

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Human-managed wilderness

• Eastern half of county virtually devoid of
  residents
• Most of countys population lives in the west
  half, but many work in the east half
• Trade dynamic between farmers and forest-workers
  still exists

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Black River Country

• Symbiotic relationship between eastern forest and
  western farms, with City of BRF in the middle