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
The Boundary Waters on Fire
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota's Superior National Forest is just the latest place in North America to be affected by wildfires. Wildfires have been increasing over the last several decades due to numerous factors. Logging, agriculture, land development, inconsistent land management and fire protection, and climate change have all been factors leading to this increase. The ongoing "Camp" fire (the name of the fire, not a campfire) provides us with a real time learning resource on how these fires may occur and spread.
I visited the Boundary Waters and Superior National Forest near Ely and Winton, Minnesota last August, camping for four days just outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. I am heart broken by what I am seeing from this beloved place. My hopes are that no one becomes a casualty of this fast moving fire and that it burns itself out before it causes too great of damage to the forests and property.
To learn more about the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the Superior National Forest, and the Ely, Minnesota region, check out the links below.
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, U.S. Forest Service site
https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/superior/recreation/boundary-waters-canoe-area-wilderness
The Friends of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area
https://www.friends-bwca.org/explore/
Superior National Forest
https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/superior
Ely, Winton, and the Boundary Waters Tourism and Recreation
https://www.ely.org/