Introducing North Country History

In this premier episode of North Country History with Rob Burg, you will meet me, environmental historian Rob Burg, learn of my love of the forests of the Great Lakes region, and why I think there are important stories to be told about these forests. The forests were home to numerous nations of indigenous North American people for centuries. It was the forests that held the wealth of furs that brought European trappers and traders to the Great Lakes in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. The lumber industry made a giant impact on the Great Lakes forests in the 19th century and this great industry supplied the necessary materials to build a nation. This brought great wealth to the lumber districts in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin in the United States, and also to Ontario, Canada. However with this wealth also came environmental devastation that the region is still recovering from, more than a century later. Following the lumber era, reforestation and conservation have taken root, and this has led to an abundance of forest recreation.  

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