North Country History with Rob Burg
Your podcast on the Forest History of the Great Lakes Region. The forests of the Great Lakes have been home to people for centuries and have provided great resources and wealth, shelter, food, and recreation for many. But in the wake of these uses, the region has been environmentally damaged from deforestation, fire, and erosion, and are still recovering to this day. I will be your guide for exploring the forests and sharing stories of the forests and the people who have called them home.
About Rob Burg: Hi! I'm an environmental historian specializing on the forest history of the Great Lakes Region. I am a mostly lifelong Michigan resident and studied at Eastern Michigan University for both my undergraduate degree in History and graduate studies in Historic Preservation. My 35-year professional life has mostly been in history museums, including the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, the Michigan History Museum, and the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer. I began my environmental history career with managing both the Hartwick Pines Logging Museum and the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum for the Michigan History Museum system, directing the Lovells Museum of Trout Fishing History, archivist for the Devereaux Memorial Library in Grayling, Michigan, and as the Interpretive Resources Coordinator for the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer in Grand Island, Nebraska. I am proud that the first person to ever call me an environmental historian was none other than Dr. William Cronon, the dean of American Environmental History.
North Country History with Rob Burg
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.