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Explore the geography and historical significance of Wisconsin's timber industry, the range of wood products and manufacturing centers, and the impact of water flow on vegetation. From vast conifer forests in the north to hardwood trees in the south, discover the transition zone and tensions in the state's timber industry history. Learn about the conservation practices introduced to protect the valuable timber resources, including the sustainable approaches of the Menominee Indians and government-led reforestation initiatives. Witness the ongoing efforts to preserve the state's natural heritage and balance industry with conservation.
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WI Lumber Industry! Geography and historical significance of the WI timber industry. Wide range of wood products and their manufacturing centers. Direction of water flow – benefit
Vegetation • Vegetation – plant cover • Vast forests of conifer (softwood evergreen)trees in the north. • White pine being the most notable • Some hardwood trees • Prairies (few trees), savannas (grassland with trees), and forests of deciduous (hardwood trees) in the south. • Oaks and maples • Tensions zone • Transition area from deciduous trees in the south to mainly conifer trees in the north
Industry • In the state’s early years, logging was the largest/most famous WI industry. • Lumber barons (entrepreneurs dominated the industry)were made fabulously wealthy. • Lumber (wood used as building material) encouraged the northward extension of rail lines and the establishment of milling and manufacturing centers.
Collapse • Some of the previously forested regions have been logged (cut), resulting in fewer or smaller trees today. • Much of the northern third was left clear. • State instituted conservation practices to ensure that some forests could grow back.
Timber Conservation • 1800s industry used extremely wasteful practices in harvesting and processing timber. • Clear-cut regardless of their quality • Milling process wasted huge amounts of sawdust. • Fire/waste => 40% of timber resources never reached sawmills. • Left behind huge amounts of dry wood and brush piles, which often caught fire in times of drought. • Peshtigo Fire in 1871
Conservation continued… • Menominee Indians • Established their own timber industry in 1854 on their reservation. • Instead of clear-cutting, they used sustainable practices • Cut only a portion of their timber at a time, allowing it to grow back before it was cut again. • Today, the tribe’s logging and milling industry is world famous.
Conservation continued… • 1930s – state and federal governments began to adopt conservation practices. • Established state parks • Regulated timber harvests in state and national parks. • Initiated reforestation (seedling planting) projects • Few patches of old-growth white pine still stand in WI • Cathedral Pines (Oconto County) • In Lake Superior, some firms are attempting to harvest old white pine submerged near the mouths of rivers and selling the high-quality wood at high prices.
