A 2 New England's Forest Landscape

2
New England's Forest
Landscape
Ecological Legacies and Conservation
Patterns Shaped by Agrarian
History
David R. Foster
Brian Donahue
David Kittredge
Glenn Motzkin
Brian Hall
Billie Turner
Elizabeth Chilton
A
fter a r e g i o n w i d e t w o - c e n t u r y p e r i o d of deforestation a n d a g r a r i a n
expansion, the dramatic reduction in agriculture in N e w England
d u r i n g t h e past 150 years g e n e r a t e d a w a v e of l a n d - c o v e r c h a n g e . F o r e s t cover
i n c r e a s e d from less t h a n 3 0 % t o m o r e t h a n 7 5 % i n m a n y regions. D e s p i t e s u p p o r t i n g o n e o f t h e d e n s e s t h u m a n p o p u l a t i o n s i n t h e nation, N e w E n g l a n d i s
a m o n g t h e m o s t heavily forested regions in t h e U n i t e d States. T h e story of this
r e m a r k a b l e l a n d s c a p e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n is o n e of r e c o v e r y of n a t u r e , t h e legacy of
past events i n t h e d e t a i l s o f m o d e r n e c o s y s t e m s , and o p p o r t u n i t y m a t c h e d b y
c h a l l e n g e for c o n s e r v a t i o n .
T h e r e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of forest e c o s y s t e m characteristics p r o g r e s s e d unevenly,
with c o m p o s i t i o n a l , structural, a n d functional attributes exhibiting different lags
in d e v e l o p m e n t . In all c a s e s , however, t h e m o d e r n distribution of v a s c u l a r plant
species, levels of forest b i o m a s s , a n d soil s t r u c t u r e , c h e m i s t r y , a n d fertility a r e
strongly c o n d i t i o n e d by legacies of a v a r i e d l a n d - u s e history. T h e scale a n d
g r a i n of this l a n d s c a p e c o n d i t i o n i n g is c o n t r o l l e d by t h e physical e n v i r o n m e n t a l
t e m p l a t e (e.g., t o p o g r a p h y , glacial geology, soils), g e o g r a p h i c a l location relative to
44
New England's Forest Landscape
45
population c e n t e r s , a n d t h e specific c u l t u r a l traditions of t h e r e g i o n a l p o p u l a t i o n ,
which varies i n subtle fashion. I n general, however, t h e b r o a d p a t t e r n h a s b e e n
for a h o m o g e n i z a t i o n of ecological c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s at t h e site scale (resulting from
uniformity in l a n d use) a n d at t h e r e g i o n a l scale (resulting from b r o a d - s c a l e s i m i lar c h a n g e s in l a n d u s e a n d l a n d cover), a n d for t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of a m o r e p a t c h y
and h e t e r o g e n e o u s s t r u c t u r e c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a b r u p t e c o l o g i c a l discontinuities at
a l a n d s c a p e scale (resulting from t h e s m a l l - g r a i n e d a n d p a t c h y l a n d o w n e r s h i p a n d
land-use pattern).
T h i s c h a n g i n g l a n d s c a p e c o n d i t i o n and p a t t e r n has g e n e r a t e d distinctly different a p p r o a c h e s to c o n s e r v a t i o n a n d m a n a g e m e n t , largely d r i v e n by i n d i v i d u a l
value s y s t e m s a n d t h e extent to w h i c h t h e legacies a n d lags a r e not only interpreted but a l s o i n t e r p r e t e d correctly. E a c h of t h e s e e m e r g i n g traditions in c o n servation is b a s e d on different attitudes t o w a r d t h e h i s t o r y of a g r a r i a n transition
and yields c o n t r a s t i n g m a n a g e m e n t strategies a n d e c o l o g i c a l c o n s e q u e n c e s . F o u r
major traditions m a y be identified: (1) a p r e s e r v a t i o n i s t a p p r o a c h in w h i c h either
the forest l a n d s c a p e is r e a d as n e a r n a t u r a l a n d therefore w a r r a n t i n g c o m p l e t e
protection, or a " r e w i l d i n g " a p p r o a c h is t a k e n t o w a r d t h e s e c o n d a r y forest a n d
its developing n a t u r a l a t t r i b u t e s — r e p r e s e n t e d by t h e w i l d l a n d s a p p r o a c h a n d t h e
approach seen i n c o r e a r e a s i n T h e N a t u r e C o n s e r v a n c y ( T N C ) m a t r i x forest;
(2) an ancient n a t u r a l l a n d s c a p e a p p r o a c h in w h i c h specific habitats a n d s p e c i e s
a s s e m b l a g e s a r e i n t e r p r e t e d as relicts or d e s c e n d a n t s of p r e - E u r o p e a n l a n d s c a p e s ,
m a i n t a i n e d p r e h i s t o r i c a l l y b y f i r e a n d N a t i v e A m e r i c a n activity a n d w a r r a n t i n g
active fire restoration a n d m a n a g e m e n t t o d a y (this is a major a p p r o a c h to u n c o m mon and high-priority grassland, shrubland, heathland, and savanna adopted by
T N C , t h e N a t i o n a l P a r k S e r v i c e , a n d H e r i t a g e P r o g r a m s ) ; (3) a cultural l a n d s c a p e
a p p r o a c h i n w h i c h t h e u b i q u i t o u s legacies o f E u r o p e a n l a n d u s e a r e r e c o g n i z e d ,
and the m a i n t e n a n c e a n d restoration of specific cultural l a n d s c a p e s a n d s p e c i e s
a s s e m b l a g e s [e.g., such as t h o s e m e n t i o n e d in (2)] a r e s o u g h t by m i m i c k i n g or
reintroducing intensive traditional agricultural practices such as sheep grazing and
m o w i n g (which is a n e w p e r s p e c t i v e a d a p t e d by r e g i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s a n d p a r a l leling E u r o p e a n c o n s e r v a t i o n practice); a n d (4) a r e s o u r c e - b a s e d a p p r o a c h that
seizes o n t h e great a n n u a l w o o d i n c r e m e n t i n this r e g i o n t o a r g u e for i n c r e a s e d
extraction, w h i c h i s t h e w o r k i n g l a n d s c a p e a p p r o a c h that m a y well p r o v i d e b e n efits to (1) a n d (3).
T h e landscape of New England has undergone one of the most remarkable
histories o f t r a n s f o r m a t i o n w o r l d w i d e . O n c e extensively c o v e r e d with m a t u r e a n d
o l d - g r o w t h forest, t h e l a n d w a s c l e a r e d for a g r i c u l t u r e , r e m a i n i n g forest a r e a s
w e r e cut extensively for d i v e r s e w o o d p r o d u c t s , a n d then, n e a r l y as rapidly as
it w a s cleared, t h e forest r e b o u n d e d in extent a n d m a t u r a t i o n after t h e r e g i o n a l
d e c l i n e in a g r i c u l t u r e . T h i s story is n o t u n i q u e in world history, as o n e c a n find
r o u g h l y c o n t e m p o r a n e o u s histories e l s e w h e r e i n t h e e a s t e r n U n i t e d States a n d
p o r t i o n s o f n o r t h w e s t e r n E u r o p e , a n d a n even g r e a t e r l a n d s c a p e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i n
the Y u c a t a n p e n i n s u l a after t h e c o l l a p s e o f t h e M a y a n e m p i r e . I n N e w E n g l a n d
there is a r i c h n e s s of scientific a n d historical d e t a i l s that offer g r e a t insights i n t o
major e c o l o g i c a l , social, a n d c o n s e r v a t i o n a l q u e s t i o n s . I n this c h a p t e r w e e x p l o r e
this h i s t o r y a n d its h u m a n a n d e c o l o g i c a l c o n s e q u e n c e s , b e g i n n i n g a p p r o x i m a t e l y
46
Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
5 0 0 y e a r s before E u r o p e a n arrival. W e c o m b i n e social, biological, a n d physical science p e r s p e c t i v e s to a d d r e s s a series of b r o a d f u n d a m e n t a l a n d applied
questions:
• W h a t a r e t h e major physical, social, a n d biological drivers of c h a n g e a n d
how have these interacted through time?
• W h a t a r e t h e e c o l o g i c a l r e s p o n s e s a n d c o n s e q u e n c e s of t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l
c h a n g e s that h a v e o c c u r r e d ?
• H o w have t h e s e historical d y n a m i c s c o n d i t i o n e d or c o n s t r a i n e d s u b s e q u e n t
h u m a n activity a n d e c o l o g i c a l d y n a m i c s ?
• H o w c a n c o n s e r v a t i o n a n d n a t u r a l r e s o u r c e m a n a g e m e n t i n t e g r a t e this h i s tory of e c o l o g i c a l a n d social c h a n g e into effective m a n a g e m e n t strategies?
• W h a t social, e c o l o g i c a l , a n d c o n s e r v a t i o n issues e m e r g e f r o m this
h i s t o r i c a l - e c o l o g i c a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h e region's h i s t o r y ?
Study Region
T h e H a r v a r d Forest study focuses o n t h r e e n e s t e d study regions: t h e N e w E n g l a n d
region, t h e state of M a s s a c h u s e t t s , and, in a few c a s e s , subregions in c e n t r a l or
c o a s t a l M a s s a c h u s e t t s (Fig. 2.1A). T h e state of M a s s a c h u s e t t s is t h e c e n t r a l focus
b e c a u s e it c a p t u r e s m u c h of t h e physical, biological, a n d c u l t u r a l v a r i a t i o n of
N e w E n g l a n d . It p r o v i d e s a c o n v e n i e n t scale for e x a m i n i n g i m p o r t a n t c u l t u r a l
and e n v i r o n m e n t a l p r o c e s s e s , a n d yet r e p r e s e n t s a feasible a r e a for d a t a collection
a n d analysis. T h e M a s s a c h u s e t t s study a r e a is also relevant to a n u m b e r of o u r
major r e s e a r c h p r o g r a m s (e.g., t h e H a r v a r d F o r e s t L T E R ; N S F f u n d e d ) , H a r v a r d
University N a t i o n a l Institutes o f G l o b a l E n v i r o n m e n t a l C h a n g e ( D e p a r t m e n t
o f E n e r g y ) , C l a r k University H u m a n E n v i r o n m e n t R e s e a r c h O b s e r v a t o r y ( N S F
funded), a n d t h e R e g i o n a l F o r e s t C o n s e r v a t i o n S t u d y (funded b y T N C , t h e A . W .
M e l l o n F o u n d a t i o n , a n d t h e U S D A ) . I n this w o r k , b r o a d e r r e g i o n a l c o n t e x t s (e.g.,
N e w E n g l a n d , t h e e n t i r e U n i t e d States, o u r g l o b a l setting) a n d m o r e local scales
(e.g., t o w n a n d f a m i l y scales) a r e c o n s i d e r e d w h e n they a r e p e r t i n e n t t o p a r t i c u l a r
issues a n d drivers of c h a n g e .
New England Region
T h e N e w E n g l a n d region ( M a i n e , N e w H a m p s h i r e , V e r m o n t , M a s s a c h u s e t t s ,
C o n n e c t i c u t , a n d R h o d e Island) displays c o n s i d e r a b l e v a r i a t i o n i n vegetation
a n d flora, n a t u r a l d i s t u r b a n c e r e g i m e s , a n d c u l t u r a l history. T h e r e g i o n h a s b e e n
strongly modified b y m a n y e p i s o d e s o f glaciation, a n d l a n d s c a p e p a t t e r n s o f soils,
s t r e a m d r a i n a g e , a n d t o p o g r a p h y have d e v e l o p e d t h r o u g h i n t e r a c t i o n s b e t w e e n
the bedrock geology and the erosional and depositional history of the most recent
glacial p e r i o d , w h i c h e n d e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y 15,000 y e a r s ago. N e w E n g l a n d is a
p r e d o m i n a n t l y hilly r e g i o n o f b r o a d h i g h l a n d s r a n g i n g f r o m 2 0 0 t o 5 0 0 m a b o v e
sea level (a.s.l.), w i t h n a r r o w valleys a n d a few b r o a d l o w l a n d s a n d river valleys that e x t e n d b e l o w 2 0 0 m in elevation. On a b r o a d scale a n d a c r o s s local
New England's Forest Landscape
47
Central Hardwoods-Hemlock
Figure 2.1
(A-C) A map of New England showing state boundaries and scales of
research conducted by the Harvard Forest (A), elevation and physiographic areas (B), and
forest vegetation zones (C) as described by Westveld and the Committee on Silviculture,
New England Section, Society of American Foresters (1956).
landscapes, m u c h o f this v a r i a t i o n o c c u r s t h r o u g h a l t e r n a t i n g valleys a n d u p l a n d s
that trend n o r t h to s o u t h b e c a u s e of t h e s t r u c t u r e of t h e u n d e r l y i n g b e d r o c k .
Physiographic D i v i s i o n s
Major p h y s i o g r a p h i c a r e a s that we have investigated in detail include t h e G r e e n
Mountain U p l a n d s , C o n n e c t i c u t Valley, C e n t r a l U p l a n d s , a n d C o a s t a l L o w l a n d s
(Fig. 2.1B).
The
Green
Mountain
Uplands
extend
the
length
of
New
England.
M e t a s e d i m e n t a r y a n d m e t a v o l c a n i c r o c k s constitute t h e b u l k o f t h e s e u p l a n d s . I n
general, this r e g i o n h a s m o r e p r o d u c t i v e soils a n d therefore a m o r e diverse flora
than the C e n t r a l U p l a n d s , i n c l u d i n g t h e a r e a s u r r o u n d i n g t h e H a r v a r d Forest a n d
the W h i t e M o u n t a i n s .
48
Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
b) Forests - 1 9 8 5
Figure 2.2 (A, B) The central Massachusetts region showing topography and physiographic areas (A) and 1985 forest cover (dark gray) and the Quabbin Reservoir (B). Based
on data from Foster et al. (1998b).
T h e Connecticut Valley s e p a r a t e s t h e t w o large u p l a n d r e g i o n s in N e w E n g l a n d :
the Green Mountains and the Central Uplands. It is underlain primarily by sandstone a n d shale t o t h e south, a n d m e t a s e d i m e n t a r y a n d m e t a v o l c a n i c r o c k s t o t h e
north.
To t h e east a n d n o r t h , t h e Central Uplands c o n s t i t u t e t h e largest p h y s i o g r a p h i c
r e g i o n a n d include t h e W h i t e M o u n t a i n s , with t h e tallest p e a k s i n N e w E n g l a n d ,
a n d t h e intensive study a r e a s o f t h e H a r v a r d F o r e s t L T E R p r o g r a m (Fig. 2.2). T h e
r o c k s of this r e g i o n a r e v a r i a b l e but t e n d to be of m e t a s e d i m e n t a r y a n d m e t a v o l c a n i c origin a n d p r o d u c e acidic soils of low nutrient status.
T h e Coastal Lowlands f o r m a 6 0 - to
1 0 0 - k m - w i d e belt that e x t e n d s f r o m
t h e s h o r e s of N e w J e r s e y to t h e c e n t r a l c o a s t of M a i n e . Relief is g e n e r a l l y low,
t h e b e d r o c k i s h i g h l y v a r i a b l e , a n d t h e c o n t a c t with t h e adjoining h i g h l a n d
a r e a s t o t h e n o r t h a n d west i s t y p i c a l l y a b r u p t . T h e e x t e n s i v e c o a s t a l p l a i n o f
N e w E n g l a n d is largely s u b m e r g e d off t h e A t l a n t i c c o a s t , w h e r e it f o r m s t h e
C o n t i n e n t a l Shelf.
M o r a i n a l a n d o u t w a s h deposits that h a v e b e e n modified b y c o a s t a l p r o c e s s e s
s i n c e t h e last g l a c i a t i o n c o m p o s e t h e a r e a s f r o m C a p e C o d s o u t h w a r d t h r o u g h t h e
islands of N a n t u c k e t a n d M a r t h a ' s V i n e y a r d in M a s s a c h u s e t t s , Block Island in
R h o d e Island, a n d L o n g Island i n N e w York state. T h e s e c o a s t a l a r e a s a r e d o m i n a t e d by s a n d y soils, low elevation, a n d v a r i e d relief.
New England's Forest Landscape
49
S t r o n g g r a d i e n t s i n precipitation, t e m p e r a t u r e , a n d l e n g t h o f g r o w i n g season
a c r o s s N e w E n g l a n d a r e d r i v e n largely b y elevation a n d latitude. M e a n a n n u a l
t e m p e r a t u r e r a n g e s f r o m 11 °C in s o u t h e r n C o n n e c t i c u t to 4 °C in t h e n o r t h e r n
h i g h l a n d s o f V e r m o n t , N e w H a m p s h i r e , a n d M a i n e , w h e r e a s precipitation r a n g e s
from 8 8 0 to 1,250 mm a n d is d i s t r i b u t e d fairly evenly t h r o u g h o u t t h e year.
Forest Vegetation
T h e forests o f this e n v i r o n m e n t a l l y c o m p l e x r e g i o n c a n b e d e s c r i b e d fairly well
by a classification s y s t e m a n d m a p that includes five vegetation z o n e s : s p r u c e fir-northern hardwoods,
northern
hardwoods-hemlock-white
pine,
transition
h a r d w o o d s , c e n t r a l h a r d w o o d s , a n d pitch p i n e - o a k [Fig. 2.1C (Westveld a n d t h e
C o m m i t t e e o n Silviculture, N e w E n g l a n d S e c t i o n , S o c i e t y o f A m e r i c a n F o r e s t e r s ,
1956)]. T h i s m a p a g r e e s well with r e c e n t r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s b a s e d o n tree d a t a
r e c o r d e d by s u r v e y o r s at t h e t i m e of r e g i o n a l l a n d settlement.
Central Massachusetts Subregion
T h e central M a s s a c h u s e t t s area c o m p r i s e s portions of four counties in the northcentral p a r t of t h e state and e n c o m p a s s e s physical, biological, and cultural gradients that v a r y across t h r e e major physiographic regions that differ in relief,
geology, soils, land-use history, and climate. T h e broadest physiographic area is the
Central U p l a n d s (and its P e l h a m Hills subarea) (Fig. 2.2A), w h i c h in n o r t h - c e n t r a l
M a s s a c h u s e t t s is c h a r a c t e r i z e d by n o r t h - s o u t h trending hills and n a r r o w valleys.
T h e acidic b e d r o c k is overlain by thin glacial till on the u p l a n d s and d e e p e r a n d
m o r e level o u t w a s h , alluvial deposits, and p e a t s in the n a r r o w valleys. Soils a r e acid
sandy l o a m s of low nutrient status.
With the exception of developed areas, lakes, and marshes, the Central Uplands
a r e forested, a n d t h e r e a r e few r e m a i n i n g f a r m s . U p l a n d v i l l a g e s w i t h low p o p u l a tion d e n s i t y a r e s c a t t e r e d a c r o s s t h e forested hills, w h e r e a s larger, p o s t i n d u s t r i a l
t o w n s a n d s m a l l cities b o r d e r s o m e o f t h e m a j o r s t r e a m s . T h e Q u a b b i n R e s e r v o i r
(10,000 ha; Fig. 2.2B), w h i c h w a s c r e a t e d i n t h e 1930s a n d n o w p r o v i d e s d r i n k ing w a t e r for a p p r o x i m a t e l y 4 0 % o f t h e M a s s a c h u s e t t s p o p u l a t i o n living i n t h e
Boston metropolitan area, is surrounded by approximately 25,000 ha of land
o w n e d a n d m a n a g e d b y state a g e n c i e s . T h e Q u a b b i n R e s e r v a t i o n f o r m s t h e largest
p i e c e of an extensive, a l t h o u g h loosely affiliated, c o n s e r v a t i o n p a r t n e r s h i p — t h e
N o r t h Q u a b b i n R e g i o n a l L a n d P a r t n e r s h i p — w h i c h i s c o m p o s e d o f state a g e n c i e s ,
nonprofit c o n s e r v a t i o n o r g a n i z a t i o n s , a n d e d u c a t i o n a l institutions, i n c l u d i n g t h e
H a r v a r d Forest. M o s t of t h e l a n d in t h e a r e a a n d , i n d e e d , in N e w E n g l a n d is in
s m a l l p r i v a t e o w n e r s h i p . M u c h o f t h e forested l a n d i s actively m a n a g e d for w o o d
p r o d u c t s a n d is extensively u s e d for diverse r e c r e a t i o n .
To t h e w e s t is t h e C o n n e c t i c u t R i v e r Valley. T h e level to rolling p l a i n s at 30
to 75 m a.s.l. a r e u n d e r l a i n by s e d i m e n t a r y b e d r o c k a n d s u p p o r t level d e p o s i t s of
o u t w a s h , a l l u v i u m , a n d glacial l a k e s e d i m e n t s . Soils r a n g e f r o m excessively welld r a i n e d , s a n d y o u t w a s h to p o o r l y d r a i n e d , silty, floodplain s e d i m e n t s . A series of
b e d r o c k r i d g e s c o m p o s e d m a i n l y of volcanic basalt (traprock) e m e r g e s t h r o u g h
50
Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
t h e valley b o t t o m a n d r e a c h e s a m a x i m u m height of 4 0 0 m a.s.l. Its rich and
fertile soils, level t e r r a i n , e a s e of river navigation, a n d long s e t t l e m e n t history
by N a t i v e A m e r i c a n s a n d E u r o p e a n s h a v e led to a m o d e r n cover of extensive
f a r m l a n d ; c o n c e n t r a t e d u r b a n , i n d u s t r i a l , a n d residential a r e a s ; a n d d i s c o n t i n u o u s forests. I n contrast, t h e t r a p r o c k r i d g e s r e m a i n largely w o o d e d . T h e diverse
e n v i r o n m e n t s f r o m valley to r i d g e t o p s u p p o r t a r e m a r k a b l e a r r a y of u n u s u a l plant
a s s e m b l a g e s . A l o n g with its great c u l t u r a l h e r i t a g e , t h e s e m a k e t h e C o n n e c t i c u t
R i v e r Valley a p r i o r i t y a r e a for state a n d n a t i o n a l c o n s e r v a t i o n .
T o t h e east, t h e C e n t r a l U p l a n d s g r a d e g r a d u a l l y into t h e E a s t e r n L o w l a n d ,
w h i c h is p a r t of t h e extensive C o a s t a l L o w l a n d . T h i s a r e a of hills, gentle relief, and
m e a n d e r i n g rivers set in b r o a d valleys r a n g e s f r o m 40 to 2 0 0 m a.s.l. A c i d i c b e d r o c k i s overlain b y till, b r o a d glacial l a k e s e d i m e n t s , a l l u v i u m , a n d m a r i n e d e p o s its. T h e r e g i o n g r a d e s e a s t w a r d from r u r a l , a g r i c u l t u r a l , a n d forested a r e a s into
t h e densely p o p u l a t e d s u b u r b a n a n d h i g h - t e c h n o l o g y r e g i o n adjoining B o s t o n .
T h e p h y s i o g r a p h i c v a r i a t i o n a c r o s s c e n t r a l M a s s a c h u s e t t s yields subtle g r a d i ents i n e n v i r o n m e n t , history, a n d vegetation. T h e C o n n e c t i c u t Valley a n d E a s t e r n
L o w l a n d h a v e l o w elevations, gentle relief, a n d m i l d c l i m a t e s , with s u m m e r and
w i n t e r t e m p e r a t u r e s that a v e r a g e 2 to 3 °C w a r m e r t h a n t h e i n t e r v e n i n g C e n t r a l
U p l a n d s . I n r e s p o n s e t o this c l i m a t i c variation, s o u t h e r n plant species d e c l i n e
o n t h e u p l a n d s , a n d t h e n o r t h e r n h a r d w o o d s - h e m l o c k forest e x t e n d s s o u t h w a r d
f r o m N e w H a m p s h i r e onto this a r e a o f h i g h e r elevation. Broadly, t h e C o n n e c t i c u t
Valley is lower, h a s m o r e nutrient-rich soils, a n d is m o r e a g r i c u l t u r a l t h a n t h e
Eastern Lowlands.
Precontact Native Land Use in New England
Any consideration of ecology or conservation in the N e w England landscape needs
t o c o n s i d e r t h e l e n g t h y h i s t o r y o f h u m a n activity a n d e n v i r o n m e n t a l c h a n g e . B o t h
h a v e s h a p e d t h e n a t u r e o f t h e l a n d a n d t h e vegetation, a n d b o t h f i g u r e strongly
i n real-world d i s c u s s i o n s a n d d e c i s i o n s c o n c e r n i n g c o n s e r v a t i o n m a n a g e m e n t a n d
restoration.
Despite
a
long
history
of
archaeological,
historical,
and
paleoecological
research, m a n y f u n d a m e n t a l q u e s t i o n s r e m a i n r e g a r d i n g t h e activities o f p r e E u r o p e a n p e o p l e s . A d d r e s s i n g t h e s e q u e s t i o n s p r o v i d e s a b a s i s for extensive interd i s c i p l i n a r y c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h i n t h e H a r v a r d Forest g r o u p . M a j o r issues include
t h e following:
• W h a t w e r e t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l a n d social c o n s t r a i n t s t o t h e size a n d
s u b s i s t e n c e p a t t e r n s o f native p o p u l a t i o n s , a n d h o w did t h e s e p a t t e r n s
vary geographically and temporally?
• To w h a t extent did h u m a n activities, i n c l u d i n g h o r t i c u l t u r e , h u n t i n g , a n d
fire, m o d i f y t h e n a t u r a l e n v i r o n m e n t , vegetation p a t t e r n s , a n d faunal
abundance?
• W h a t is t h e b a s i s for t h e a p p a r e n t d i s c r e p a n c y b e t w e e n a r c h a e o l o g i c a l
d a t a a n d e t h n o g r a p h i c s o u r c e s r e g a r d i n g p o p u l a t i o n size, distribution,
New England's Forest Landscape
51
subsistence p a t t e r n s , a n d ecological i m p a c t s ? C a n t h e s e b e r e c o n c i l e d
t h r o u g h c o m p a r a t i v e m u l t i d i s c i p l i n a r y studies?
• D o e s o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g of p r e - E u r o p e a n ecological a n d cultural p a t t e r n s
assist m o d e r n ecological interpretations a n d c o n s e r v a t i o n p l a n n i n g ?
Initial Colonization
The first p e o p l e to a r r i v e in the N e w E n g l a n d region e n c o u n t e r e d a b o r e a l landscape that w a s d r a m a t i c a l l y different t h a n today. T h e region's oldest a r c h a e o l o g i cal sites d a t e to 11,000 to 12,000 years before p r e s e n t (BP), a few t h o u s a n d y e a r s
after glacial ice h a d m e l t e d a n d large proglacial lakes h a d d r a i n e d ( D i n c a u z e ,
1990). T h e r e t r e a t i n g glacier left l a r g e a m o u n t s of m i n e r a l s e d i m e n t s that filled
river valleys a n d s t r e a m s , a n d as a c o n s e q u e n c e of this a n d a h i g h e r w a t e r table
overall, rivers flowed up to 60 m h i g h e r t h a n they do today. T h u s , m a n y of the
earliest a r c h a e o l o g i c a l sites h a v e b e e n b u r i e d or d e s t r o y e d by postglacial river
down-cutting.
A r c h a e o l o g i c a l e v i d e n c e for t h e s e first p a l e o - I n d i a n s indicates that they w e r e
hunter-gatherers living in fairly s m a l l family g r o u p s ( 2 0 - 5 0 ) w h o m o v e d their
e n c a m p m e n t s to exploit seasonally available r e s o u r c e s .
Plant a n d a n i m a l life d u r i n g this p e r i o d w e r e d y n a m i c i n r e s p o n s e t o deglaciation a n d relatively rapid c l i m a t e c h a n g e ; the forests w e r e d o m i n a t e d by n o r t h e r n
conifer species, such as s p r u c e a n d fir, a n d w e r e i n t e r s p e r s e d w i t h a r e a s of patchy
tundra ( D i n c a u z e , 1990; Foster a n d Z e b r y k , 1993; G a u d r e a u , 1988; G a u d r e a u a n d
Webb, 1985; L i n d b l a d h e t al., 2 0 0 7 ) . C l i m a t i c w a r m i n g a n d a m e l i o r a t i n g c o n d i tions allowed w h i t e p i n e , s p r u c e , fir, a n d t e m p e r a t e d e c i d u o u s trees to m i g r a t e
into s o u t h e r n N e w E n g l a n d a t t h e t i m e h u m a n s w e r e a r r i v i n g i n the region
(McWeeney, 2003).
P a l e o - I n d i a n s a p p a r e n t l y subsisted on a w i d e variety of plants a n d a n i m a l s ,
including c a r i b o u , g i a n t beaver, h a w t h o r n s e e d s , w i l d g r a p e s , a n d m i g r a t o r y b i r d s
(Dincauze, 1990; C h i l t o n , 1999, 2 0 0 2 ; D i n c a u z e a n d J a c o b s e n , 2001). T h e y relied
on stone tools for a variety of t a s k s such as w o o d w o r k i n g , food p r o c e s s i n g , hunting, f i s h i n g , c a n o e b u i l d i n g , a n d w i g w a m c o n s t r u c t i o n .
The Archaic Period
T h r o u g h the A r c h a i c p e r i o d (11,000 to 3 0 0 0 BP) native p e o p l e s c o n t i n u e d to rely
on h u n t i n g a n d g a t h e r i n g , b u t u n d e r greatly c h a n g i n g conditions. T h e e n v i r o n ment a m e l i o r a t e d to t e m p e r a t e c o n d i t i o n s , a n d t h e b o r e a l forests w e r e r e p l a c e d
first by w h i t e p i n e a n d o a k forests, a n d t h e n by a diverse forest of b r o a d - l e a f a n d
conifer species ( D i n c a u z e , 1990; Foster a n d Z e b r y k , 1993).
D u r i n g this p e r i o d , p e o p l e clearly a d a p t e d to diverse subregions: forested
uplands, fertile valley b o t t o m s , rich c o a s t a l e n v i r o n m e n t s , a n d interior w e t l a n d s .
Evidence from m a n y t h o u s a n d s o f a r c h a e o l o g i c a l sites a c r o s s N e w E n g l a n d indicate that p o p u l a t i o n sizes grew, stone tools c o n t i n u e d to p r e d o m i n a t e , a n d social
groups o c c u p i e d s e a s o n a l settlements w i t h i n well-defined h o m e l a n d s . F l u t e d s p e a r
points w e r e r e p l a c e d by a diverse a r r a y of p o i n t t y p e s — s i d e n o t c h e d , s t e m m e d ,
52 Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
c o r n e r n o t c h e d — m a n y of w h i c h exhibit subregional stylistic differences. T h e earliest e v i d e n c e of h o u s e s dates to this p e r i o d , p r e s u m a b l y b e c a u s e e v i d e n c e of
earlier d w e l l i n g s simply h a s not survived. It includes small, r o u n d structures that
m a y have sheltered small, e x t e n d e d family g r o u p s . F r o m a r c h a e o l o g i c a l e v i d e n c e
a n d e t h n o g r a p h i c analogy, activity is i n t e r p r e t e d as c h a n g i n g seasonally, w i t h
large g r o u p s c o m i n g t o g e t h e r for social g a t h e r i n g s a n d to exploit c o n c e n t r a t e d
r e s o u r c e s , but splitting u p into s m a l l e r g r o u p s t o u s e widely d i s p e r s e d r e s o u r c e s
(e.g., large spring fish r u n s vs. s m a l l w i n t e r h u n t i n g c a m p s ) . T h e s e diverse site
t y p e s are well r e p r e s e n t e d in the a r c h a e o l o g i c a l r e c o r d of the region.
M o s t a r c h a e o l o g i c a l sites o f t h e A r c h a i c p e r i o d d a t e t o t h e L a t e A r c h a i c p e r i o d
( 7 0 0 0 to 3 0 0 0 BP), p r e s u m a b l y as a result of an i n c r e a s e in p o p u l a t i o n density as
well as better p r e s e r v a t i o n resulting f r o m the stabilization of the sea level a n d rive r b e d s by about 5 0 0 0 BP. I n c r e a s e d p o p u l a t i o n is also reflected in the size of sites
a n d e v i d e n c e for m u l t i s e a s o n a l u s e o f c e r t a i n sites. A n i n c r e a s e i n b u r i a l c e r e m o nial artifacts m a y p r o v i d e e v i d e n c e for i n c r e a s e d s e d e n t i s m a n d a differentiation
of social r a n k i n g that u s u a l l y a c c o m p a n i e s an i n c r e a s e in p o p u l a t i o n .
I n southern N e w E n g l a n d , p e o p l e o f the A r c h a i c p e r i o d clearly exploited t h e
rich d e c i d u o u s forests t h r o u g h the harvest, storage, a n d c o n s u m p t i o n of a c o r n s ,
h i c k o r y nuts, b e e c h n u t s , a n d chestnuts. T h e y c a r v e d d u g o u t c a n o e s from holl o w e d - o u t t r e e s . E v i d e n c e exists of fishing in interior rivers a n d lakes, shellfish
collecting, the h u n t i n g of d e e r a n d other terrestrial a n i m a l s , a n d the collecting of
h u n d r e d s of plant species for food, m e d i c i n a l u s e s , a n d o t h e r p u r p o s e s .
Indigenous Horticulture
E v i d e n c e s u p p o r t s the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of a diverse foraging b a s e for N e w E n g l a n d
p e o p l e s . A t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e W o o d l a n d p e r i o d ( 3 0 0 0 t o 4 0 0 BP), a r c h a e o logical e v i d e n c e a c r o s s e a s t e r n N o r t h A m e r i c a indicates intensive exploitation of
w e e d y plants that g r o w in d i s t u r b e d soils, particularly goosefoot (Chenopodium
berlandieri), s u m p w e e d (Iva annu), a n d sunflower [Helianthus annuus (Smith,
1992)]. T h e oily, starchy seeds of t h e s e plants w e r e boiled a n d m a d e into p o r r i d g e ,
a n d the species w e r e a p p a r e n t l y modified genetically t h r o u g h selective b r e e d i n g ,
r e p r e s e n t i n g the earliest p h a s e s of h o r t i c u l t u r e . S u p p o r t i n g e v i d e n c e for t h e s e
c r o p s , b e g i n n i n g in 3 0 0 0 BP, includes s o a p s t o n e b o w l s a n d c e r a m i c p o t s , w h i c h
m a d e superior c o o k i n g vessels for t h e b o i l i n g of nuts a n d starchy seeds to m a k e
t h e m palatable a n d digestible.
T h e r e is suggestive, a l t h o u g h inconclusive, e v i d e n c e of forest m a n a g e m e n t w i t h
fire by native p e o p l e s d u r i n g t h e W o o d l a n d p e r i o d ( 3 0 0 0 to 5 0 0 BP) (Johnson,
1996; M c W e e n e y , 1994, 2003). O n e effect of b u r n i n g m i g h t have b e e n the diversification of habitats that w o u l d s u p p o r t a w i d e variety of plants a n d a n i m a l s ,
including b e r r i e s , g r a s s e s , b i r d s , a n d l a n d m a m m a l s (Cronon, 1983).
Mobile Farming and Maize Horticulture
D u r i n g the L a t e W o o d l a n d p e r i o d (ca. 1000 t o 4 0 0 BP), i m p o r t a n t i n n o v a t i o n s
a r r i v e d in N e w E n g l a n d : (1) b o w - a n d - a r r o w t e c h n o l o g y a n d (2) tropical cultigens
New England's Forest Landscape
53
(maize, b e a n s , a n d s q u a s h , w h i c h w e r e originally d o m e s t i c a t e d i n M e x i c o 5 0 0 0
years BP). A l t h o u g h a few sites s u p p o r t i n g m a i z e h o r t i c u l t u r e d a t e to 1000 BP,
the earliest A c c e l e r a t e d M a s s S p e c t r o m e t r y d a t e s o n m a i z e k e r n e l s lie i n the
range of ca. AD 1300 to 1500 (Chilton a n d D o u c e t t e , 2 0 0 2 ) . Until contact w i t h
E u r o p e a n s , m a i z e w a s a p p a r e n t l y o n l y a d i e t a r y s u p p l e m e n t to an o t h e r w i s e
diverse diet ( B e r n s t e i n , 1999; C h i l t o n , 1999, 2 0 0 2 ; C h i l t o n a n d D o u c e t t e , 2 0 0 2 ;
Chilton et al., 2 0 0 0 ) .
A l t h o u g h w e k n o w that m a i z e h o r t i c u l t u r e w a s p r a c t i c e d b y N e w E n g l a n d p e o ples, it m a y not h a v e c o n s u m e d m u c h of their t i m e or energy. After the p l a n t i n g of
maize, g r o u p s w o u l d a p p a r e n t l y d i s p e r s e for 2 to 3 m o n t h s as the m a i z e r i p e n e d ,
to plant, hunt, a n d gather e l s e w h e r e (Cronon, 1983).
W i t h r e g a r d to the interior of this region, the few p o s t m o l d s located on L a t e
Woodland sites a p p e a r to represent short-term w i g w a m - t y p e structures. T h e overlapping p a t t e r n of t h e s e structures a n d o t h e r features, as well as a lack of welldefined m i d d e n s , indicate r e p e a t e d s e a s o n a l u s e of the s a m e locations over t i m e
(e.g., C h i l t o n et al., 2 0 0 0 ) .
T h e e t h n o h i s t o r i c a l literature s u p p o r t s an interpretation of diversity a n d
flexibility in N e w E n g l a n d settlements. In 1674, Josselyn (1988/1674) r e p o r t e d :
"Towns they have n o n e , b e i n g always r e m o v i n g from o n e p l a c e to a n o t h e r for
conveniency of food
I have s e e n h a l f a h u n d r e d of their W i g w a m s together in a
piece of g r o u n d a n d w i t h i n a day or t w o , or a w e e k they have all b e e n d i s p e r s e d "
(p. 91). D u r i n g t h e s e c o n d q u a r t e r of t h e 17th century, J o h a n de L a e t (cited in
Jameson, 1909) said of A l g o n q u i a n p e o p l e living in the H u d s o n Valley: " s o m e of
them lead a w a n d e r i n g life in the o p e n aire without settled habitation
Others
have fixed places of a b o d e " (pp. 105-109). A l t h o u g h it is clear that N e w E n g l a n d
Algonquians w e r e fairly m o b i l e t h r o u g h o u t their history, they w e r e not n o m a d i c .
Rather, g r o u p s and i n d i v i d u a l s w e r e m o v i n g w i t h i n well-defined h o m e l a n d s a n d
among interrelated c o m m u n i t i e s .
W h e n the E n g l i s h a r r i v e d , they likely m i s i n t e r p r e t e d their native p a t t e r n of
mobile f a r m i n g b e c a u s e this lifestyle a n d c u l t u r a l practice w o u l d h a v e b e e n unfamiliar. It also w o u l d n o t h a v e b e e n v i e w e d as a l e g i t i m a t e or p r o p e r u s e of land.
In this light, it is e a s y to see the u n d e r l y i n g justifications for the t a k i n g of Native
American l a n d s — w h e t h e r implicit or explicit (see C h i l t o n , 2 0 0 5 ) .
European Settlement History
The Rise and Fall of Agriculture, and the Fall
and Rise of the Forest
The rise a n d fall of f a r m i n g in N e w E n g l a n d , a n d the c o r r e s p o n d i n g d e c l i n e a n d
recovery of t h e region's forest, is a f a m i l i a r story. D u r i n g the first half of t h e 17th
century, a g r o u p of E n g l i s h settlers established agricultural c o m m u n i t i e s on t h e
coastal plain a n d in the lower C o n n e c t i c u t R i v e r Valley, often on former Native
American village sites. W i t h vigorous p o p u l a t i o n g r o w t h , by the end of t h e c o l o nial period these early t o w n s h a d filled with f a r m s , a n d n e w settlements w e r e
54 Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
s p r e a d i n g across t h e interior u p l a n d s . After the Revolution, a g r e a t w a v e of clearing o c c u r r e d t h r o u g h o u t the region, d r i v e n b y c o n t i n u e d p o p u l a t i o n g r o w t h a n d
e x p a n d i n g c o m m e r c i a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s . F a r m l a n d p e a k e d a t nearly t h r e e q u a r t e r s o f
t h e l a n d s c a p e about t h e m i d d l e of the 19th century, after w h i c h t i m e forest a r e a
b e g a n to r e b o u n d as N e w E n g l a n d a g r i c u l t u r e adjusted to t h e n e w p r e s s u r e s of an
integrated i n d u s t r i a l i z i n g national e c o n o m y . M a r g i n a l p a s t u r e s w e r e a b a n d o n e d
d u r i n g the late 19th c e n t u r y as f a r m i n g intensified, a n d m o r e p a s t u r e s a n d fields
w e r e a b a n d o n e d t h r o u g h o u t the 2 0 t h c e n t u r y a s f a r m contraction c o n t i n u e d . T r e e
g r o w t h p a r a l l e l e d the late e x p a n s i o n of forest cover as w o o d h a r v e s t i n g d i m i n ished. However, since a b o u t 1950, u r b a n d e v e l o p m e n t h a s sprawled o u t w a r d in a
spatial p a t t e r n strikingly s i m i l a r to the earlier e x p a n s i o n of agriculture, initiating
a n e w wave of forest f r a g m e n t a t i o n a n d d e c l i n e that p r e s e n t s a n e w c h a l l e n g e to
conservation.
The Crucial Role of History in Ecology and Conservation
W i t h i n this w e l l - k n o w n story lay t w o sets of questions that have not b e e n well
a d d r e s s e d , b u t are crucial to c o n s e r v i n g the l a n d s c a p e of N e w E n g l a n d today.
O n e set p e r t a i n s to historical ecology, w h e r e a s a parallel set c o n c e r n s e n v i r o n m e n t a l history. T h e first i n q u i r e s into the p a r t i c u l a r p a t t e r n s of land u s e across
the region, h o w t h o s e p a t t e r n s c h a n g e d over t i m e , a n d h o w they s h a p e c u r r e n t a n d
future e n v i r o n m e n t a l conditions. T h e s e c o n d set a s k s w h a t social forces s h a p e d
t h e s e p a t t e r n s a n d drove t h e s e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s , a n d h o w t h e y c h a n g e d t h r o u g h
t i m e . T h e s e q u e s t i o n s are crucial b e c a u s e h i s t o r y m a t t e r s ; we are p a r t of it, a n d
o u r m o d e r n l a n d s c a p e b e a r s its legacies a n d i m p r i n t s . T h e better w e u n d e r s t a n d
past p a t t e r n s of land u s e a n d their c o n t i n u i n g influence on the l a n d s c a p e , the better we can w o r k w i t h t h e s e evolving s y s t e m s to p r o v i d e d e s i r e d ecological c o n d i tions a n d e c o s y s t e m services.
Similarly, t h e way land w a s f a r m e d a n d t h e n a b a n d o n e d i n N e w E n g l a n d w a s
not a simple reflexive r e s p o n s e to outside t e c h n o l o g i c a l a n d e c o n o m i c signals, b u t
a m u c h m o r e c o m p l i c a t e d c u l t u r a l evolution a n d a c c o m m o d a t i o n . R u r a l society
c h a n g e d its e c o n o m i c a n d ecological o r g a n i z a t i o n over t i m e , a n d c o n s t r a i n e d its
behavior in v a r i o u s ways. C o n s e r v a t i o n today m u s t w o r k a c r o s s a c o m p l e x political l a n d s c a p e of public a n d private l a n d o w n e r s h i p that is subject to evolving cultural p r e s s u r e s . To a c c o m p l i s h a n y t h i n g , conservationists m u s t tell a c o h e r e n t a n d
c o m p e l l i n g story: o n e that p l a c e s o u r situation today in the midst of an o n g o i n g
history of e n g a g e m e n t w i t h the land, not outside it. In b o t h cultural a n d ecological
t e r m s , the simplistic c o n s e r v a t i o n m o d e l of defending a p r i s t i n e n a t u r a l l a n d s c a p e
from h u m a n d i s t u r b a n c e h a s little m e a n i n g f u l p l a c e in N e w E n g l a n d . •
Changing Drivers of Land-Use Change
T h e p r i m a r y driver o f l a n d s c a p e c h a n g e i n N e w E n g l a n d h a s b e e n t h e p r o g r e s sive integration of local l a n d - u s e practices into an e x p a n d i n g m a r k e t e c o n o m y .
T h r o u g h o u t four c e n t u r i e s the region h a s u n d e r g o n e a shift from p r o d u c t i o n
for h o u s e h o l d u s e a n d local e x c h a n g e t o w a r d p r o d u c t i o n for larger r e g i o n a l
New England's Forest Landscape
55
c o m m e r c i a l m a r k e t s , p a r a l l e l e d by a shift f r o m c o n s u m p t i o n of local r e s o u r c e s
toward c o n s u m p t i o n of i m p o r t e d r e s o u r c e s . D u r i n g the c o u r s e of this transformation, land u s e h a s m o v e d from h i g h l y diversified to satisfy local n e e d s , to h i g h l y
specialized to i n c r e a s e c a s h i n c o m e , to largely u n u s e d for p r o d u c t i o n b u t valued
instead for residential a n d c o m m e r c i a l d e v e l o p m e n t or e n v i r o n m e n t a l a m e n i t i e s .
The t r a n s f o r m a t i o n h a s b e e n s h a p e d by the r i s e of i n c r e a s i n g l y powerful industrial t e c h n o l o g i e s of extraction a n d t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , a n d the g r o w t h of an affluent
urban a n d s u b u r b a n p o p u l a t i o n . T h e land did n o t simply r e s p o n d t o external market forces in a m e c h a n i c a l fashion. M a s s a c h u s e t t s l a n d o w n e r s played an active
role in developing n e w attitudes a n d o p p o r t u n i t i e s as they e n g a g e d the m a r k e t .
Along t h e way, they o b e y e d or o v e r c a m e v a r i o u s cultural c o n s t r a i n t s , a n d the land
itself c h a n g e d in t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s a n d limitations it p r e s e n t e d . A l l t h e s e factors
conditioned h o w t h e land w a s u s e d .
A l l t h e w h i l e , t h e d o m i n a n t t e n d e n c y for l a n d u s e t o b e d e t e r m i n e d b y shortterm m a r k e t c a l c u l u s h a s b e e n r e s t r a i n e d b y s u b o r d i n a t e b u t strongly held
cultural values that m i g h t be defined as different historical versions of "conservation." T h e s e c o u n t e r t e n d e n c i e s are i m p o r t a n t b o t h b e c a u s e they h e l p e d s h a p e
the l a n d s c a p e i n every p e r i o d a n d b e c a u s e t h e y f o r m the basis o f t h e m o d e r n
conservation m o v e m e n t . T h e y m i g h t b e s u m m a r i z e d a s a g r a r i a n , utilitarian, a n d
romantic. U n d e r s t a n d i n g their h i s t o r y is as i m p o r t a n t as u n d e r s t a n d i n g c h a n g e s
in t h e l a n d itself.
Historical Stages
Colonial Agrarian Economies,
1600-1775
T h e " G r e a t M i g r a t i o n " b e t w e e n 1620 a n d 1640 b r o u g h t fewer t h a n 2 0 , 0 0 0 E n g l i s h
settlers t o N e w E n g l a n d , w h e r e they established agricultural c o m m u n i t i e s along
the c o a s t a l p l a i n of M a s s a c h u s e t t s , R h o d e Island, a n d C o n n e c t i c u t , a n d up the
C o n n e c t i c u t R i v e r Valley. T h e settlers rapidly g a i n e d a strong foothold b e c a u s e
diseases, including s m a l l p o x , r e d u c e d the Native A m e r i c a n p o p u l a t i o n from s o m e
100,000 to a b o u t 10,000, a n d left t h e m in disarray. Thereafter, t h e n e w c o m e r s '
astounding fecundity (doubling in p o p u l a t i o n every 25 years), their aggressive
drive for l a n d a n d r e s o u r c e s , a n d their view of Native A m e r i c a n s as h e a t h e n savages w i t h little m o r a l c l a i m to t h e land b e c a u s e they failed to " i m p r o v e " it e n s u r e d
their e x p a n d i n g control of the region. N e v e r t h e l e s s , resisting native g r o u p s (later
b a c k e d by the F r e n c h from C a n a d a ) k e p t the n o r t h e r n a n d w e s t e r n frontiers of
N e w E n g l a n d a d a n g e r o u s p l a c e until the m i d 18th century. In the m e a n t i m e ,
the s e c o n d a n d t h i r d g e n e r a t i o n s of E n g l i s h settlers filled t h e c o a s t a l region w i t h
farms a n d established the basic a g r i c u l t u r a l p a t t e r n of t h e colonial period.
T h a t p a t t e r n w a s a close a d a p t a t i o n of E u r o p e a n m i x e d h u s b a n d r y to N e w
E n g l a n d soils a n d c l i m a t e . A l t h o u g h it i n c o r p o r a t e d e l e m e n t s of the Native
A m e r i c a n ecological s y s t e m — e x i s t i n g settlement sites a n d planting g r o u n d s ;
cultivation of p u m p k i n s , b e a n s , a n d m a i z e ; low-lying m e a d o w s of native g r a s s ;
a b u n d a n t fish, g a m e , a n d b e r r i e s ; a n d a forest rich in w h i t e o a k , hickory, a n d
56
Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
c h e s t n u t — i t s f u n d a m e n t a l o r g a n i z a t i o n , t h e close integration o f tilled c r o p s a n d
livestock, w a s E n g l i s h . T h e p a t t e r n o f m i x e d h u s b a n d r y revolved a r o u n d p r o d u c i n g a w i d e r a n g e of a g r i c u l t u r a l a n d a r t i s a n a l g o o d s for local e c o n o m i e s organ i z e d a t t h e h o u s e h o l d a n d c o m m u n i t y levels.
T h e P u r i t a n s w e r e e n t e r p r i s i n g a n d not averse t o p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h e m a r k e t
a n d e c o n o m i c i m p r o v e m e n t — a s long a s t h e y did not b e c o m e t o o "worldly." T o
m a i n t a i n their a c c u s t o m e d level o f m a t e r i a l c o m f o r t , they i m p o r t e d textiles, m e t a l w a r e , sugar, r u m , a n d tea, a n d e n g a g e d in a b r o a d A t l a n t i c t r a d i n g n e t w o r k that
focused o n e x p o r t s t o t h e s u g a r islands o f t h e W e s t I n d i e s , i n c l u d i n g f i s h , ship
t i m b e r , p i n e m a s t s , o a k b a r r e l staves, p i n e l u m b e r , a n d cattle. C o m m e r c i a l p r o duction w a s h a m p e r e d by t h e h i g h cost of i n l a n d t r a n s p o r t : It cost less to ship an
iron pot f r o m L o n d o n t o B o s t o n t h a n f r o m B o s t o n t o Worcester, M a s s a c h u s e t t s .
N e w E n g l a n d , w i t h its l o n g w i n t e r s a n d stingy, acidic soils, never d e v e l o p e d a
staple e x p o r t c r o p like V i r g i n i a t o b a c c o , S o u t h C a r o l i n a rice, o r P e n n s y l v a n i a
w h e a t . B e y o n d that, N e w E n g l a n d w a s settled b y m i d d l i n g f a m i l i e s w h o lived i n
tight, religious c o m m u n i t i e s a n d w e r e less i n t e r e s t e d i n m a x i m i z i n g i n d i v i d u a l
w e a l t h t h a n in g a i n i n g a solid e c o n o m i c i n d e p e n d e n c e , p r o v i d i n g a c o m f o r t a b l e
subsistence, a n d settling t h e i r m a n y offspring successfully i n t h e c o m m u n i t y . A s
a result, t h e s e y e o m e n p r o d u c e d s e c o n d a r i l y for outside m a r k e t s , but p r i m a r i l y
for h o u s e h o l d c o n s u m p t i o n a n d t r a d e w i t h n e i g h b o r i n g f a r m e r s and a r t i s a n s such
a s b l a c k s m i t h s , c o o p e r s , a n d t a n n e r s . I n this way, t h e e c o n o m i e s o f N e w E n g l a n d
t o w n s g r e w m o s t l y " w i t h i n t h e m s e l v e s , " filling with f a r m s that g e n e r a t e d a s m a l l
surplus for e x c h a n g e ( D o n a h u e , 2 0 0 4 ) .
T h e s y s t e m o f h u s b a n d r y that d e v e l o p e d t o f i l l t h e s e n e e d s v a r i e d regionally,
but i n c l u d e d t h e following basic e l e m e n t s : tillage, m o w i n g , p a s t u r e , o r c h a r d , a n d
woodland. Most farmers possessed these in similar proportions, arrayed upon the
l a n d s c a p e in s i m i l a r w a y s .
T i l l a g e w a s not t h e m a i n u s e of a g r i c u l t u r a l land, but it w a s n e c e s s a r y for
s u b s i s t e n c e a n d therefore w a s p r a c t i c e d b y v i r t u a l l y all f a r m e r s . L e s s t h a n
10% of m o s t t o w n s w a s p l o w e d in any given year: 10 a c r e s / f a r m or less. I n d i a n
c o r n a n d r y e w e r e t h e p r i n c i p a l b r e a d g r a i n s . Little w h e a t w a s g r o w n e x c e p t i n
the C o n n e c t i c u t Valley, a n d little w a s c o n s u m e d except b y t h e w e a l t h i e s t N e w
E n g l a n d e r s . S o m e barley w a s g r o w n for beer, a l t h o u g h apple cider b e c a m e t h e
more c o m m o n beverage. Potatoes, introduced by Scotch-Irish immigrants in
a b o u t 1720, s p r e a d rapidly and b e c a m e a n i m p o r t a n t s u b s i s t e n c e c r o p , d o i n g well
i n p o o r acidic soils. P u m p k i n s a n d b e a n s w e r e g r o w n i n m a n y c o r n f i e l d s , a n d
m o s t f a r m e r s a l s o g r e w a little flax. F a r m w o m e n t e n d e d g a r d e n s that p r o d u c e d
m a n y vegetables a n d h e r b s . T h e N e w E n g l a n d diet g r e w steadily m o r e diverse
a n d nutritionally c o m p l e t e a s t h e g e n e r a t i o n s p a s s e d ( M c M a h o n , 1985).
O n t h e c o a s t a l p l a i n , tillage land f o c u s e d o n s a n d y soils, w h i c h ' w e r e light,
easily w o r k e d , a n d well a d a p t e d t o c o r n a n d rye. I n u p l a n d r e g i o n s d o m i n a t e d
by stony till, f a r m e r s s o u g h t out p a t c h e s of s a n d y o u t w a s h or fairly level sites
f r o m w h i c h stones c o u l d b e m o s t easily r e m o v e d , often a l o n g r i d g e t o p s . T h e latter gave rise to distinctive d o u b l e s t o n e w a l l s with s m a l l stone in-fill, b o u n d i n g
tillage f i e l d s . T h e m o s t intensive tillage w a s u s u a l l y l o c a t e d close t o t h e b a r n s o
that t h e c o r n c r o p c o u l d b e easily m a n u r e d . T h e s e factors, strong k i n s h i p b o n d s ,
New England's Forest Landscape
57
and t h e p r a c t i c e of " t r a d i n g w o r k " for f a r m a n d h o u s e h o l d t a s k s gave rise to a
pattern t y p i c a l o f m a n y N e w E n g l a n d t o w n s : s m a l l n e i g h b o r h o o d s o f f a r m s surr o u n d i n g p a t c h e s of g o o d tillage soil at i n t e r v a l s a l o n g t h e r o a d , with extensive
pastures a n d w o o d l o t s r e a c h i n g b a c k into t h e c o u n t r y s i d e . M a n u r e w a s essential
for c o r n a n d p o t a t o e s , w h e r e a s r y e w a s s e l d o m m a n u r e d a n d w a s often s o w n after
corn o r i n b a c k f i e l d s b r o k e n out o f p a s t u r e . A l t h o u g h m u c h tillage l a n d suffered
some soil erosion, m a n y fields likely improved in fertility over t i m e . G i v e n t h e
thin, h i g h l y l e a c h e d c o n d i t i o n of native s p o d o s o l s , t h e c o n t i n u a l c o n c e n t r a t i o n of
m a n u r e a n d i n c o r p o r a t i o n of plant residues m a y h a v e i n c r e a s e d levels of o r g a n i c
matter a n d n u t r i e n t s i n m a n y h o m e f i e l d s . I f c r o p yields w e r e f l a t o r d e c l i n i n g i n
older t o w n s by t h e e n d of t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d , it w a s p r o b a b l y t h e result not of soil
exhaustion b u t r a t h e r of t h e fact that m a n u r e supplies w e r e i n a d e q u a t e for i n c r e a s ing a m o u n t s of cultivated l a n d .
M o w i n g l a n d p r o v i d e d hay, w h i c h w a s critical t o this m i x e d h u s b a n d r y system, f e e d i n g livestock d u r i n g t h e l o n g w i n t e r a n d s u p p l y i n g m a n u r e t o p l o w e d
land. D u r i n g t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d , hay w a s largely supplied b y native g r a s s e s i n
coastal salt m a r s h e s a n d wet m e a d o w s i n l a n d . T h e s e w e t l a n d s r e q u i r e d considerable h y d r o l o g i c a l m a n i p u l a t i o n t o m a k e t h e m p r o d u c t i v e , a n d t h e y w e r e t r a n s formed to a carefully m a n a g e d r e s o u r c e in m a n y t o w n s . E x t e n s i v e s y s t e m s of
drainage d i t c h e s , s o m e t i m e s c o n n e c t i n g for m i l e s , r e n d e r e d t h e m e a d o w s f i r m a n d
accessible for t e a m s d u r i n g t h e m o w i n g s e a s o n , w h e r e a s d a m s , d i k e s , a n d r o a d
causeways p r o v i d e d h y d r o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l a n d a u g m e n t e d fertilization from n a t u r a l
flooding. Mowing, burning, and grazing, in combination with manipulation of the
water table, shifted t h e c o m p o s i t i o n o f m a n y w e t l a n d s from tree a n d s h r u b d o m i nated to a cover of d e s i r a b l e g r a s s e s a n d s e d g e s . T h e m e a d o w s r e t u r n e d a reliable
yield of r a t h e r c o a r s e hay, a l o n g w i t h r i c h m u c k that w a s c l e a n e d from t h e d i t c h e s
in the fall, d r i e d , a n d c a r t e d to t h e b a r n y a r d or p l o w land.
By t h e e n d of t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d , as t h e d e m a n d for h a y steadily i n c r e a s e d ,
native m e a d o w s w e r e a u g m e n t e d b y u p l a n d p l a n t i n g s o f " E n g l i s h hay," consisting of r e d top, t i m o t h y , a n d r e d clover. T h i s w a s e s p e c i a l l y t r u e in u p l a n d r e g i o n s
where wet m e a d o w s w e r e s c a r c e .
Cattle w e r e t h e p r i n c i p a l stock i n t h e p a s t o r a l N e w E n g l a n d e c o n o m y . M a n y
farms h a d a s m a l l flock of s h e e p (mostly for h o m e s p u n wool), p r o s p e r o u s f a r m e r s
kept a h o r s e , a n d o m n i v o r o u s s w i n e r a n at large in m a n y a r e a s . H o w e v e r , cattle
were t h e e c o n o m i c m a i n s t a y , p r o v i d i n g m i l k (converted t o b u t t e r a n d cheese),
meat, leather, l o c o m o t i o n , a n d m a n u r e . T h e y a l s o s e r v e d a s t h e m a i n c a s h c r o p :
Once fattened o n p a s t u r e , t h e y w e r e d r i v e n t o t h e p o r t s . F a r m e r s i n m o s t t o w n s
kept a s m a l l b e e f h e r d as a n a t u r a l extension of t h e i r h e r d of six or eight m i l k
cows. By t h e late c o l o n i a l p e r i o d , t h e C o n n e c t i c u t Valley, w i t h its g r e a t s u r p l u s of
hay a n d g r a i n , even m a d e a s p e c i a l t y of stall-fattening cattle that h a d b e e n r e a r e d
in s u r r o u n d i n g hill t o w n s ( G a r r i s o n , 2 0 0 3 ) .
P a s t u r e c o v e r e d a n o t h e r q u a r t e r o r m o r e o f m o s t t o w n s . M a n y different l a n d s
were g r a z e d d u r i n g t h e c o u r s e o f t h e s e a s o n , i n c l u d i n g fallow p l o w l a n d a n d
m o w i n g l a n d after t h e h a y w a s r e m o v e d . But t h e g r e a t b u l k o f p a s t u r e w a s found
on r o u g h b a c k l a n d , after it e m e r g e d f r o m t h e forest. D u r i n g t h e 17th c e n t u r y ,
m a n y older t o w n s r a n c o m m o n h e r d s o n u n s e t t l e d o u t l a n d s , i n c l u d i n g w o o d l a n d s
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Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
that w e r e b e i n g g r a d u a l l y h a r v e s t e d o r cleared a n d b u r n e d . A s r e g e n e r a t i o n w a s
s u p p r e s s e d a n d larger trees d i s a p p e a r e d , this c r e a t e d o p e n " w o o d p a s t u r e , " w h i c h
gave w a y to e n c l o s e d p a s t u r e with a few l i n g e r i n g s h a d e t r e e s . T h e s e w e r e s u b s e quently d i v i d e d into p r i v a t e p r o p e r t y a n d settled b y y o u n g e r g e n e r a t i o n s . E u r o p e a n
s o d - f o r m i n g g r a s s e s ( b l u e g r a s s , b e n t g r a s s , a n d w h i t e clover) w e r e s o m e t i m e s
p l a n t e d , but often simply s p r e a d i n t h e d u n g o f g r a z i n g stock. A s f a r m e r s p u s h e d
into u p l a n d r e g i o n s , they d i s c o v e r e d that stony till soils, a l t h o u g h ill-suited for t h e
plow, h a d g o o d w a t e r - h o l d i n g capacity a n d m a d e excellent p a s t u r e . A t t h e e n d o f
the colonial period, pasturage was increasing in most towns.
O r c h a r d s a l s o did well o n soils d e r i v e d f r o m glacial tills, a n d m o s t c o l o n i a l
f a r m e r s g r e w an a c r e or so of a p p l e t r e e s , p r i m a r i l y for cider. C i d e r r e p l a c e d b e e r
as the normal daily beverage throughout N e w England.
W o o d l a n d w a s a l s o critical to local e c o n o m i e s as an essential s o u r c e of t i m ber, fencing, a n d , a b o v e all, fuel, a n d m o s t t o w n s r e t a i n e d significant forest—
a n y w h e r e f r o m 3 0 % t o 5 0 % i n older t o w n s , a n d o f c o u r s e m u c h m o r e i n t h e
y o u n g e r hill t o w n s ( D o n a h u e , 2 0 0 4 ) . W o o d p r o d u c t s w e r e a n initial b y - p r o d u c t o f
forest c l e a r a n c e , but a s r e m a i n i n g forest b e c a m e s c a r c e , w o o d l a n d r o s e i n v a l u e
and w a s h u s b a n d e d . F a r m e r s m o v e d t o w a r d r e n e w a b l e w o o d l o t m a n a g e m e n t —
cutting clean on r o t a t i o n s of several d e c a d e s , w h i c h e n c o u r a g e d strong sprouters
such a s o a k a n d chestnut, a n d m a x i m i z e d p r o d u c t i o n . B e c a u s e there w a s still
a great d e a l of e s c a p e d fire (from its u s e to c l e a r w o o d s , b r u s h , a n d stubble in
fields), pitch p i n e c o n t i n u e d to find a p l a c e in c o l o n i a l w o o d l a n d s , e s p e c i a l l y on
s a n d y soils i n s o u t h e a s t e r n M a s s a c h u s e t t s . W o o d l a n d w a s c o n c e n t r a t e d o n t h e
roughest l a n d — r o c k y hills, s w a m p s , a n d soils t o o d r o u g h t y for g r a i n o r g r a s s t o
thrive. C e r t a i n h i g h l y v a l u a b l e r e s o u r c e s c o u l d not b e quickly r e g e n e r a t e d , s u c h
a s large o a k a n d p i n e t i m b e r a n d w h i t e c e d a r , a n d t h e s e g r e w s c a r c e t h r o u g h
t i m e , but m o s t t o w n s r e t a i n e d a d e q u a t e w o o d r e s o u r c e s .
B y t h e end o f t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d , N e w E n g l a n d s u p p o r t e d a m i x e d h u s b a n d r y
and w o o d l a n d e c o l o g i c a l s y s t e m that w a s r e a s o n a b l y stable. It w a s h e a v i l y slanted
t o w a r d p a s t u r e a n d forest, as befitted t h e r e g i o n ' s soils a n d c l i m a t e . It s u p p o r t e d
a c o m f o r t a b l e p o p u l a t i o n . A set of e c o l o g i c a l c o n s t r a i n t s , w h i c h we m i g h t call
agrarian, w e r e built into this system. On a p r a c t i c a l level, b e c a u s e t h e s e local
e c o n o m i e s h a d to supply a w i d e r a n g e of g o o d s , they t e n d e d to c o n s e r v e a diverse
l a n d s c a p e that i n c l u d e d p l e n t y o f w o o d l a n d . T h e y a l s o lived w i t h i n d e e p l y e m b e d ded social c o n s t r a i n t s : N e w E n g l a n d y e o m e n t h o u g h t less i n t e r m s o f t h e i r o w n
i m m e d i a t e profit t h a n i n t e r m s o f t h e l o n g - t e r m c o m f o r t a n d e c o n o m i c i n d e p e n dence of their f a m i l i e s , a n d they fully e x p e c t e d o n e s o n to o c c u p y t h e land they
were f a r m i n g , a n d o t h e r d a u g h t e r s a n d sons t o settle nearby. T h e c h a r g e that they
wore d o w n their f a r m s a n d m o v e d on to c h e a p e r frontier l a n d is not reflected in
their behavior, w h i c h reveals t h e s a m e f a m i l i e s o c c u p i e d t h e s a m e f a r m l a n d for
generations, often p r o s p e r i n g .
T h e s e y e o m e n a l s o lived w i t h i n tightly k n i t c o m m u n i t i e s i n w h i c h c e r t a i n
norms of behavior w e r e expected, and s o m e resources w e r e m a n a g e d in c o m m o n —
in particular, water. D r a i n a g e a n d flow of wet m e a d o w s by b r o o k s a n d rivers
were carefully r e g u l a t e d , a n d a n a d r o m o u s fish r u n s w e r e z e a l o u s l y g u a r d e d
and integrated w i t h t h e m a n a g e m e n t o f m i l l p o n d s . A l l t h e s e factors p u t limits
New England's Forest Landscape
59
on the way individuals c o u l d readily u s e their land. On the other h a n d , there
were s o m e native ecological e l e m e n t s for w h i c h this a g r a r i a n society h a d little
use, and t h e s e w e r e in steep d e c l i n e — f o r e x a m p l e , wolves, deer, beaver, p i g e o n s ,
old-growth forests, a n d s l o w - g r o w i n g forest t r e e s like h e m l o c k a n d b e e c h . It w a s
considered n a t u r a l that such t h i n g s should be heavily exploited or e l i m i n a t e d
from t h e i m p r o v e d a g r a r i a n l a n d s c a p e . [See C r o n o n (1983) a n d M e r c h a n t (1989)
for a s o m e w h a t different interpretation of N e w E n g l a n d ' s colonial e n v i r o n m e n t a l
history.]
T h e r e w a s o n e a s p e c t of this a g r a r i a n ecological system that w a s not at all
stable: h u m a n r e p r o d u c t i o n . F a m i l y labor w a s extremely valuable o n the land a n d
i n the h o u s e , a n d N e w E n g l a n d e r s r e a r e d large families. A n e m e r g i n g p r o b l e m ,
of c o u r s e , w a s h o w to establish g r o w n c h i l d r e n w i t h f a r m s or trades as the t o w n s
f i l l e d u p a n d only o n e son c o u l d inherit the h o m e s t e a d . T h i s d e m o g r a p h i c p r e s sure led to ecological a n d social stress and a g r a d u a l d e c l i n e in b i r t h r a t e s by the
time of t h e Revolution. It also drove f a r m e r s increasingly into t h e c a s h e c o n o m y
as a m e a n s of giving c h i l d r e n a start in life.
The Market Revolution, 1775-1850
As the generations after the A m e r i c a n Revolution developed n e w u p l a n d t o w n s
across s o u t h e r n N e w E n g l a n d a n d p u s h e d rapidly into t h e m o r e difficult hill
country of M a i n e , N e w H a m p s h i r e , a n d V e r m o n t , they w e r e p a r t of a world
undergoing p o w e r f u l e c o n o m i c a n d cultural c h a n g e . O n the o n e h a n d , i n c r e a s ing p o p u l a t i o n p r e s s u r e in settled regions t h r e a t e n e d m a n y w i t h m a r g i n a l i z a t i o n .
Farm families a n d n e w g e n e r a t i o n s h a d to s c r a m b l e to support t h e m s e l v e s , a n d
they h a d to e n g a g e d e e p e r in t h e c a s h e c o n o m y to a c q u i r e land or b e c o m e e s t a b lished in a trade. At t h e s a m e t i m e , aspirations w e r e c h a n g i n g . F a r m o r e c o n s u m e r
goods w e r e available, a n d m a n y r u r a l p e o p l e w e r e eager t o t a k e p a r t i n the n e w
economy. T h e m a r i t i m e t r a d i n g b o o m a t the t u r n o f the century, the rapid e x p a n sion of m a n u f a c t u r i n g a l o n g N e w E n g l a n d rivers, a n d an i n c r e a s i n g u r b a n p o p u lation p r o v i d e d strong m a r k e t s for f a r m p r o d u c e . I m p r o v e d r o a d s a n d b r i d g e s , a
handful of c a n a l s , a n d (toward the e n d of t h e p e r i o d ) the first r a i l r o a d s cut the
cost of i n l a n d t r a n s p o r t a t i o n .
N e w t o w n s e m e r g e d to a c c e s s w a t e r p o w e r at locations along major rivers as
well a s m i n o r s t r e a m s , a n d m a n y existing t o w n s that h a d b e e n established o n
well-drained hilltops d u r i n g the early agricultural p e r i o d d e v e l o p e d n e w i n d u s trial villages in t h e valleys (Fig. 2.3) ( O ' K e e f e a n d Foster, 1998). T h e lasting
landscape i m p a c t s of t h e m i l l t o w n s followed from their infrastructural d e v e l o p ments, particularly r o a d s , w h i c h w o u l d shape t r a n s p o r t a t i o n a n d land u s e in the
following c e n t u r i e s as the u r b a n i z a t i o n p r o c e s s m o v e d into t h e interior u p l a n d s
(Kulik et al., 1982). W i t h the b u i l d i n g of r a i l r o a d s , t h e cost of t r a n s p o r t i n g heavy,
low-cost g o o d s d e c l i n e d significantly.
Better f a r m tools and i m p l e m e n t s b e c a m e available, a n d c r o p varieties a n d
livestock b r e e d s i m p r o v e d . A l l this c r y s t a l l i z e d by the s e c o n d q u a r t e r of the
19th c e n t u r y in a market revolution. F a r m families b e g a n to shift their focus
to c o m m e r c i a l c a s h sales. T h e o p e n i n g of t h e E r i e C a n a l in 1825, c o n n e c t i n g
60
Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
Figure 2.3 (A) Development of the towns of Barre and Hardwick, Massachusetts, showing the original agricultural town centers on high elevations during the early 18th century
and subsequent creation of 19th-century industrial village centers in the valley bottoms.
Because the best agricultural lands are on the broad upland ridges, and the rivers provided
power for industry, the towns' population centers literally moved downhill through time.
The presence of waterpower and railroads transformed towns during the 19th century.
(B) Although the rural hill town of Petersham shows a population decline as agriculture
waned, the industrial development of Barre and Hardwick allowed their populations to
have a net increase through the mid to late 1800s (based on population data from U.S.
censuses).
L a k e E r i e a n d t h e H u d s o n River, r e d u c e d t h e t r a n s p o r t cost o f food supplies from
the M i d w e s t t o o n e 3 0 t h its p r e v i o u s c o s t ( V a n R o y e n , 1928). R u r a l c o m m u n i ties b e g a n t o m e e t m a n y o f their m a t e r i a l n e e d s t h r o u g h i m p o r t s : w h e a t flour
from t h e W e s t r e p l a c e d c o r n a n d r y e m e a l , f a c t o r y - m a d e c o t t o n a n d w o o l fabrics
r e p l a c e d h o m e s p u n linsey-woolsey, s h o e s f r o m L y n n r e p l a c e d b r o g u e s m a d e b y
a n e i g h b o r h o o d c o r d w a i n e r , c o a l from P e n n s y l v a n i a ( b u r n e d in a m a n u f a c t u r e d
iron stove) a u g m e n t e d f i r e w o o d , s a w n p i n e t w o - b y s (fastened w i t h m a c h i n e - c u t
nails) from M a i n e b e g a n t o r e p l a c e l o c a l o a k a n d c h e s t n u t t i m b e r f r a m e s , a n d
t e a a n d coffee r e p l a c e d h a r d cider a s f a r m e r s b e c a m e sober, c a l c u l a t i n g b u s i n e s s m e n . T h e p u r c h a s i n g o f basic c o m m o d i t i e s b o t h a l l o w e d a n d r e q u i r e d f a r m e r s t o
c o n c e n t r a t e t h e i r o w n efforts on a few m a r k e t a b l e c r o p s , a n d t h e tight social a n d
e c o l o g i c a l c o n s t r a i n t s that h a d b o u n d e d t h e y e o m a n world b e g a n t o dissolve.
F a r m e r s adjusted b y d o i n g e v e r y t h i n g — f r o m e x p a n d i n g t h e i r output o f e s t a b lished crops to trying new specialty crops. Forests c a m e under commercial press u r e t o supply proliferating w o o d i n d u s t r i e s . A l m o s t every s p e c i e s s p a w n e d its
o w n little b u s i n e s s : s p r u c e for t h e m a n u f a c t u r e of l a d d e r s , witch h a z e l for linim e n t , a n d s o forth. R e m a i n i n g w o o d l a n d s w e r e t y p i c a l l y cut o n short r o t a t i o n s .
H o w e v e r , t h e driving force i n t h e c o m m e r c i a l e x p a n s i o n o f a g r i c u l t u r e w a s p a s t u r e a n d h a y for livestock, i n c l u d i n g t h e s h e e p b o o m that swept t h e forest from
m a n y h i l l t o w n s in a g e n e r a t i o n or t w o . B u t j u s t as i m p o r t a n t , t h r o u g h o u t m u c h of
southern New England, was an increase in beef and dairy production.
New England's Forest Landscape
61
T h e s a m e t r a n s p o r t a t i o n revolution t h a t s u p p o r t e d c o m m e r c i a l p r o d u c t i o n also
e x p o s e d N e w E n g l a n d t o the b u r g e o n i n g national m a r k e t p l a c e , b r i n g i n g r u i n o u s
price p r e s s u r e o n traditional a g r i c u l t u r a l c o m m o d i t i e s such a s m e a t a n d g r a i n .
By the 1830s, N e w E n g l a n d s h e e p w e r e u n a b l e to c o m p e t e with flocks r a i s e d on
cheaper land in Ohio and beyond.
E c o l o g i c a l difficulties a b o u n d e d . R a p i d clearing drove forest cover to a low of
perhaps n o m o r e t h a n 2 5 % a c r o s s the region b y m i d century, a n d forest cover i n
s o m e older t o w n s fell t o 10%. T h e r e w e r e n o m o r e f a r m s i n t h e s e t o w n s , b u t t h e r e
was m u c h m o r e c l e a r e d land ( D o n a h u e , 2 0 0 4 ; H a l l e t al., 2 0 0 2 ) . Deforestation
was driven by the strong m a r k e t for firewood a n d o t h e r w o o d p r o d u c t s , c o u p l e d
with t h e ability to ship in l u m b e r , coal, a n d even firewood itself. T h e c o n s e r v a tion of local w o o d l a n d s w a s no longer an e c o n o m i c necessity. R a p i d deforestation led to the p o p u l a t i o n d e c l i n e a n d even extirpation of m a n y native wildlife
species, a n d led ( s o m e h a v e a r g u e d ) to i n c r e a s e d s t r e a m flooding, soil erosion,
and s e d i m e n t a t i o n — a l l subjects w o r t h y of investigation ( B e r n a r d o s et al., 2 0 0 4 ;
Foster e t al., 2 0 0 2 ) . M e a n w h i l e , proliferating m i l l d a m s i n t e r r u p t e d a n a d r o m o u s
fish r u n s , a n d d r o w n e d m a n y o n c e - p r i z e d m e a d o w s (Cumbler, 2 0 0 4 ; D o n a h u e ,
1997).
T h e e x p a n s i o n o f u p l a n d g r a s s p r o v e d u n s u s t a i n a b l e . A b u n d a n t E n g l i s h hay
broke the l i m i t a t i o n s i m p o s e d b y native m e a d o w s , a n d a l l o w e d larger livestock
herds a n d g r e a t e r m a n u r i n g o f plow l a n d s . However, u p l a n d m o w i n g g r o u n d w a s
not r e c h a r g e d by a n n u a l floods, a n d m a n y hayfields suffered rapid d e c l i n e s in
yield. P a s t u r e s w e r e also steadily d r a i n e d of nutrients, a n d c o n t i n u o u s g r a z i n g
e n c o u r a g e d b r u s h y native w e e d s a n d invasive species. M o s t o f N e w E n g l a n d lies
on acidic b e d r o c k , w h i c h stealthily u n d e r c u t s the efficacy of l e g u m e s such as r e d
and w h i t e clover at r e s t o r i n g n i t r o g e n to hayfields a n d p a s t u r e s . It w a s not until
the late 19th c e n t u r y t h a t either t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g or t h e m e a n s existed to apply
lime (and o t h e r m i n e d fertilizers such as p h o s p h a t e ) in sufficient quantity to c o u n teract the d o w n w a r d trend. C o n s e q u e n t l y , b y m i d century, m u c h o f u p l a n d N e w
E n g l a n d — s o laboriously c l e a r e d o f t r e e s a n d s t o n e s — w a s f i l l e d w i t h low-quality
f i e l d s a n d s c r u b o n its w a y b a c k t o forest. T h e l a n d w a s p u s h e d t o greater p r o ductivity t h a n d u r i n g the colonial p e r i o d b y c r e a t i n g a n ecologically p r e c a r i o u s
situation that w a s n o t e d w i t h a l a r m b y m a n y o b s e r v e r s a t the t i m e . T h i s w a s the
l a n d s c a p e that i n s p i r e d the w a r n i n g s o f G e o r g e P e r k i n s M a r s h a n d H e n r y D a v i d
Thoreau ( D o n a h u e , 1999; Foster, 2001).
Concentrated Products,
1850-1920
By the s e c o n d half of the 19th c e n t u r y , the i n d u s t r i a l revolution h a d followed
the m a r k e t revolution, greatly accelerating the t r e n d t o w a r d c o n s u m i n g i m p o r t e d
resources a n d s p e c i a l i z e d f a r m i n g i n N e w E n g l a n d — a n d i n the p r o c e s s , reversing
the trend from extensive to intensive u s e of the land. T h i s w a s the age of rapid
urban g r o w t h , a n d o f iron, coal, a n d s t e a m . N e w E n g l a n d b e c a m e tightly c o n nected to the national e c o n o m y by rail a n d c o a s t a l steamer. T h e introduction of
steam power, first in 1840, b u t m o r e intensively in the early 1860s, fostered t h e
rise of multiple factory c o m p l e x e s that filled in the industrial sections of large
62
Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
cities, such as L o w e l l a n d Worcester. T h e s e factories w e r e s u p p o r t e d by a supply
o f i m m i g r a n t labor f r o m E u r o p e a l o n g with f e m a l e w o r k e r s f r o m t h e r u r a l h i l l
towns ( B a l k , 1944). W i t h t h e i n c r e a s e s i n p r o d u c t i o n a n d p o p u l a t i o n , t h e i n d u s trial cities o f s o u t h e r n N e w E n g l a n d b e c a m e t h e center o f m a n u f a c t u r i n g i n t h e
country.
T h e shift from an agricultural to an industrial e c o n o m y w a s c o m p l e t e by the
b e g i n n i n g of t h e 2 0 t h century. R o a d s w e r e i m p r o v e d , increasing labor mobility and
attracting m o r e industry (Balk, 1944). T h e d r a m a t i c increase in u r b a n - i n d u s t r i a l
p o p u l a t i o n s d u r i n g t h e early 2 0 t h c e n t u r y , e s p e c i a l l y i n B o s t o n , n e c e s s i t a t e d t h e
major i m p o u n d m e n t a n d diversion o f w a t e r from c e n t r a l M a s s a c h u s e t t s . T h e
W a c h u s e t t s and Q u a b b i n r e s e r v o i r s w e r e o p e n e d i n 1908 a n d 1938 respectively,
totaling a c o m b i n e d 4 4 sq. m i . a n d a s s o c i a t e d w i t h m o r e t h a n 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 a c r e s o f
p r o t e c t e d w a t e r s h e d forest ( G r e e n e ,
1981). F o u r t o w n s , with p o p u l a t i o n s that
had all d e c l i n e d significantly d u r i n g t h e p r e v i o u s d e c a d e s , w e r e r e m o v e d for t h e
Quabbin Reservoir.
M a n y r u r a l hill t o w n s b e g a n t o lose f a r m s a n d p o p u l a t i o n d u r i n g this p e r i o d ,
and farm abandonment b e c a m e a c o n c e r n .
But this w a s n o t t r u e r e g i o n w i d e .
Instead, f a r m e r s f o c u s e d e v e n m o r e n a r r o w l y o n w h a t a g r i c u l t u r a l leaders c a l l e d
concentrated
products—high-value,
often
perishable
commodities
for
which
they enjoyed a c o m p a r a t i v e a d v a n t a g e in n e a r b y u r b a n m a r k e t s . T h e v a l u e (and
yield) of f a r m o u t p u t a c t u a l l y i n c r e a s e d — p e a k i n g in M a s s a c h u s e t t s , for e x a m p l e ,
in about 1910 (Bell, 1989; D o n a h u e , 1999). F a r m e r s c o n c e n t r a t e d t h e i r p r o d u c tion on vegetables, fruits, poultry, a n d h a y — t h e last t o o b u l k y for l o n g - d i s t a n c e
t r a n s p o r t , a n d i n h i g h d e m a n d for city h o r s e s . But a b o v e all, N e w E n g l a n d farmers p r o d u c e d m i l k — p e r h a p s four t i m e s as m u c h in 1900 as in 1850. T h e y did
this, paradoxically, w h i l e a b a n d o n i n g m o s t of their p a s t u r e — h a l f of it by 1900,
and t h r e e q u a r t e r s of it by 1920. T h i s w a s a c c o m p l i s h e d by b u y i n g c h e a p feed
grain for their cattle from t h e w e s t e r n states, t u r n i n g it i n t o m i l k — c o n c e n t r a t i n g
its v a l u e — a n d a p p l y i n g t h e a u g m e n t e d m a n u r e t o c o r n silage a n d t h e best h a y
f i e l d s , w h i l e letting e x h a u s t e d p a s t u r e s r e t u r n t o forest. A g a i n , t h e r e w e r e n o t
d r a m a t i c a l l y fewer f a r m s — j u s t m u c h less c l e a r e d l a n d . A g r i c u l t u r e h a d b e c o m e
a t h o r o u g h l y b u s i n e s s l i k e profession, i n t e g r a t e d into t h e n a t i o n a l e c o n o m y a n d
increasingly d i v o r c e d f r o m h o u s e h o l d p r o d u c t i o n a n d local e x c h a n g e . F a r m s w e r e
s u r r o u n d e d by r e b o u n d i n g forest a n d a d e c l i n i n g r u r a l p o p u l a t i o n , r a t h e r t h a n a
vigorous local e c o n o m y a n d majority a g r a r i a n c u l t u r e , a t w i l i g h t a t m o s p h e r e c a p t u r e d in t h e p o e t r y of R o b e r t F r o s t ( B a r r o n , 1988; Black, 1950; W i l s o n , 1936).
A b a n d o n e d p a s t u r e s initially s u p p o r t e d r e d c e d a r , w h i t e p i n e , p a p e r a n d gray
birch, a n d s o m e r e d s p r u c e a t h i g h e r elevations. B e c a u s e m a r k e t s for w o o d p r o d ucts r e m a i n e d r e a s o n a b l y strong, t h e s e n e w forests a n d older w o o d l o t s w e r e frequently cut. A n e w industry, c u t t i n g p a s t u r e p i n e for w o o d b o x e s a n d c o n t a i n e r s ,
provided m a n y hill t o w n s (including P e t e r s h a m , t h e site of t h e H a r v a r d Forest)
with a major n e w a g r i c u l t u r a l sector by t h e late 19th century. By 1920, forest
cover had r e t u r n e d to e n c o m p a s s nearly 5 0 % of t h e l a n d s c a p e , w h e r e it s t o o d at
the end of t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d — a c e n t u r y a n d a half earlier. But it w a s a m u c h
y o u n g e r forest, u n d e r g o i n g d r a m a t i c c o m p o s i t i o n a l c h a n g e s that a r e still evident
today.
New England's Forest Landscape
63
Suburbanization and Agricultural Decline, 1920 to Present
D u r i n g the 2 0 t h century, industrial c a p i t a l i s m evolved from the paleotechnic world
of iron, s t e a m , a n d coal into a neotechnic e r a of oil, electricity, a n d chemistry. T h e
years of World W a r I p r o v e d to be the z e n i t h in M a s s a c h u s e t t s ' s industrial p r o d u c tion. B e t w e e n t h e 1930s a n d 1970s, the golden age of m a s s p r o d u c t i o n for other
industrial regions in the country, s o u t h e r n N e w E n g l a n d e x p e r i e n c e d a p e r i o d of
sustained e c o n o m i c d e c l i n e ( H a r r i s o n a n d Kluver, 1989a). M a n u f a c t u r i n g f i r m s
closed a n d traditional m i l l - b a s e d industries relocated entirely.
B y t h e 1970s, N e w E n g l a n d ' s o n c e - p o w e r f u l industrial centers h a d b e c o m e
m o d e r n - d a y brownfields, w i t h m o r e t h a n 1,100 c o n t a m i n a t e d former industrial
sites i n central M a s s a c h u s e t t s alone ( R i d e o u t a n d A d a m s , 2 0 0 0 ) . T h e 2 3 0 cont a m i n a t e d sites in W o r c e s t e r o c c u p y a l m o s t 2 4 . 3 % of that city's land area, i n h i b iting r e d e v e l o p m e n t of m u c h of the city (Hoover, 2001). T h e c o n t a m i n a t i o n of
former industrial p a r c e l s , a n d t h e liability issues a s s o c i a t e d with their r e d e v e l o p ment, has m a d e c o m m e r c i a l / i n d u s t r i a l a n d n e w residential development i n N e w
E n g l a n d ' s older cities extremely difficult, a d d i n g to the m a n y factors that are
p u s h i n g g r o w t h outside u r b a n a r e a s .
T h e a u t o m o b i l e b e c a m e the s y m b o l o f the age, replacing the railroad a s the
dominant mode of transportation. American agriculture was transformed and
e n h a n c e d i n productivity b y n e w technologies: c h e m i c a l fertilizers a n d pesticides,
hybrid s e e d s , b r o a d - s c a l e irrigation, a n d m e c h a n i z a t i o n . N e w E n g l a n d f a r m ers c o u l d no longer c o m p e t e in this world of large-scale industrial p r o d u c t i o n
and l o n g - d i s t a n c e t r a n s p o r t . T h e m a r k e t for hay collapsed as cars a n d tractors
replaced horses. Fruit a n d vegetable p r o d u c t i o n d e c l i n e d with i n c r e a s i n g land
costs n e a r cities a n d c o m p e t i t i o n from refrigerated p r o d u c e s h i p p e d in from large
growers i n w a r m e r c l i m a t e s . P o u l t r y p r o d u c t i o n c o n s o l i d a t e d t o e n o r m o u s c o n finement facilities in o t h e r r e g i o n s , a n d e v e n t u a l l y — d u r i n g the s e c o n d half of the
c e n t u r y — d a i r y f a r m s w e n t the s a m e way. Consequently, t h e n u m b e r o f f a r m s
and a m o u n t of land in agricultural p r o d u c t i o n d e c l i n e d steadily in N e w E n g l a n d
t h r o u g h the 2 0 t h c e n t u r y [a m e r e 7% of the M a s s a c h u s e t t s l a n d s c a p e is f a r m e d
today ( H a l l et al., 2002)]. As a result, N e w E n g l a n d f a r m l a n d c o n t i n u e d to r e t u r n
to forest, r e a c h i n g a plateau about 1950, since w h i c h t i m e the o n g o i n g e x p a n s i o n
of forest in the h i g h l a n d s h a s b e e n r o u g h l y b a l a n c e d by the loss of forest to develo p m e n t in the c o a s t a l l o w l a n d s (Fig. 2.4). A l t h o u g h older agricultural industries
such as d a i r y f a r m i n g c o n t i n u e to decline, recent d e c a d e s h a v e seen a r e s u r g e n c e
in small-scale o r g a n i c f a r m i n g , often on land p r o t e c t e d by the p u r c h a s e of develo p m e n t rights. A l t h o u g h this t r e n d h a s d o n e little as of yet to stem the overall
slow but steady loss of f a r m l a n d , it d o e s offer s o m e h o p e of r e t a i n i n g a p o r t i o n of
the l a n d s c a p e w i t h i n an e c o n o m i c a l l y viable a g r a r i a n tradition.
S u b u r b a n d e v e l o p m e n t a c c e l e r a t e d w h e n the M a s s a c h u s e t t s e c o n o m y e x p e rienced a r e s u r g e n c e in t h e m i d 1970s. F u e l e d by a venture capitalist c o m m u nity w o r k i n g in collaboration w i t h the universities a n d r e s e a r c h centers in the
Boston area, t h e e c o n o m i c b a s e shifted t o services a n d h i g h - t e c h m a n u f a c t u r i n g .
T h i s e c o n o m i c r e s u r g e n c e a n d its associated l a n d s c a p e c h a n g e took p l a c e in the
eastern half of the state first, d r i v i n g l a n d speculation as it e x p a n d e d w e s t w a r d .
64
Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
State Forest Cover and Population Trends in New England
1650
1700
1750
1800
1850
1900
1950
2000
Year
Figure 2.4 Changes in forest cover in each of the New England states
and changes in population for New England as a whole.
A l m o s t 9 0 % o f t h e h i g h - t e c h g r o w t h i n t h e 1980s w a s l o c a t e d i n t h e t r i a n g l e
b e t w e e n B o s t o n , W o r c e s t e r , a n d L a w r e n c e ( H a r r i s o n and Kluver, 1989a). T h e n e w
e c o n o m y r e k i n d l e d p o p u l a t i o n g r o w t h , this t i m e c e n t e r e d i n s u b u r b a n a n d p e r i u r b a n locations, f i l l i n g i n t h e s p a c e s b e t w e e n old m i l l t o w n s . D u r i n g t h e 1980s,
c o n s t r u c t i o n c o n t r a c t i n g g r e w t w i c e as fast in t h e state as in t h e n a t i o n as a w h o l e ,
a n d residential c o n s t r u c t i o n g r e w four t i m e s as fast, fueled by a h i g h level of s p e c ulation in t h e h o u s i n g m a r k e t ( H a r r i s o n a n d Kluver, 1989b). By t h e t u r n of t h e
2 0 t h century, this e x p a n s i o n h a d m o v e d west o f i n t e r s t a t e h i g h w a y 4 9 5 , B o s t o n ' s
outer r i n g , m a k i n g c e n t r a l M a s s a c h u s e t t s o n e o f t h e hottest real estate m a r k e t s i n
the country and reawakening c o m m u t e r trains from central Massachusetts to the
greater Boston area.
T h e l a n d s c a p e c o n s e q u e n c e s h a v e b e e n large. P e r i u r b a n residential d e v e l o p m e n t , c h a r a c t e r i z e d b y 2 - a c r e residential lots located n e a r major h i g h w a y s a n d
j u n c t i o n s , is i n c r e a s i n g l y c o m m o n to t h e east of Worcester. T h i s p a t t e r n of develo p m e n t , w h i c h reflects a c o n s u m e r p r e f e r e n c e for low-density h o u s i n g n e a r o p e n
s p a c e , h a s d r i v e n a d e c r e a s e in forest cover a n d an i n c r e a s e in land f r a g m e n t a t i o n
d u r i n g t h e past few d e c a d e s (Foster, 1993). F r o m 1971 to 1999, 66,707 ha of forest
a n d 11,648 h a o f c r o p l a n d w e r e lost. D u r i n g t h e s a m e p e r i o d , residential land u s e
i n c r e a s e d b y 69,545 h a a n d c o m m e r c i a l / i n d u s t r i a l u s e i n c r e a s e d b y 12,028 ha.
New England's Forest Landscape
65
T h e " i n d u s t r i a l - s e r v i c e " e c o n o m y transition o f N e w E n g l a n d h a s h a d significant l a n d - c o v e r c o n s e q u e n c e s for c e n t r a l M a s s a c h u s e t t s a n d c e n t r a l N e w
E n g l a n d , s u s t a i n i n g d e c l i n e s in a g r i c u l t u r a l l a n d u s e s a n d r e v e r s i n g t r e n d s in forest r e g r o w t h e s t a b l i s h e d d u r i n g t h e 19th- a n d e a r l y - 2 0 t h - c e n t u r y industrial era.
T h e p o s t - W o r l d W a r II shift to a s e r v i c e - h i g h - t e c h e c o n o m y is l i n k e d to n e w
" r u r a l " p r e s s u r e s f r o m e x p a n d i n g s u b u r b a n a n d p e r i u r b a n settlement.
T h e p a s t c e n t u r y a n d a half h a s s e e n a d r a m a t i c c h a n g e in forest c o m p o s i tion. A b a n d o n e d f a r m l a n d is first d o m i n a t e d by early s u c c e s s i o n a l s p e c i e s such
a s w h i t e p i n e , c h e r r y , birch, a n d r e d m a p l e . S o m e o f t h e s e s p e c i e s d e c l i n e a s
the forest m a t u r e s or e n c o u n t e r s s u b s e q u e n t d i s t u r b a n c e s , b u t o t h e r s persist for
a long t i m e . M e a n w h i l e , s o m e s p e c i e s c o m m o n before t h e a g r i c u l t u r a l transform a t i o n , such as b e e c h , have b e e n very slow to recover. T h i s h a s given rise to
a forest n o t o n l y v e r y different f r o m t h e frequently cut w o o d l a n d s of t h e 19th
century, b u t also distinct in c o m p o s i t i o n from t h e forest of p r e - E u r o p e a n t i m e s .
Suppression of fire in t h e l a n d s c a p e h a s favored s o m e s p e c i e s , such as w h i t e p i n e
and r e d m a p l e , at t h e e x p e n s e of o t h e r s , s u c h as pitch p i n e and w h i t e o a k . E x o t i c
pests s u c h a s c h e s t n u t blight a n d n o w h e m l o c k w o o l y adelgid v i r t u a l l y e l i m i n a t e d
s o m e d o m i n a n t t r e e s f r o m t h e forest canopy. M e a n w h i l e , w o o d h a r v e s t i n g has
d e c l i n e d steadily s i n c e t h e early 2 0 t h c e n t u r y , a l l o w i n g t h e r e c o v e r e d forest t o
grow i n c r e a s i n g l y large a n d m a t u r e .
T h e p r a c t i c e o f c o n s e r v a t i o n h a s a l s o evolved with t h e 2 0 t h c e n t u r y . D u r i n g
the 19th c e n t u r y , l a n d u s e w a s largely d e t e r m i n e d b y m a r k e t forces a n d f a r m e r s '
abilities to r e s p o n d to t h o s e forces, as social c o n s t r a i n t s e m b o d i e d in t h e older
a g r a r i a n o r d e r dissolved. As a result, b o t h f a r m l a n d a n d forest w e r e o v e r u s e d
and d e g r a d e d , i n t h e short t e r m . T h e c o n s e r v a t i o n m o v e m e n t a r o s e i n r e s p o n s e ,
with t w o m a i n b r a n c h e s f i n d i n g t h e i r r o o t s i n t h e f i g u r e s o f H e n r y T h o r e a u a n d
George Perkins Marsh. The romantic branch emphasized the importance of a
direct e m o t i o n a l c o n n e c t i o n w i t h n a t u r e a n d a p p r e c i a t i o n o f n a t u r e ' s w i l d n e s s for
itself, b e y o n d h u m a n c o n t r o l o r utility. T h e m o r e utilitarian b r a n c h e m p h a s i z e d
the s u s t a i n a b l e u s e o f r e s o u r c e s t h r o u g h scientific m a n a g e m e n t . T h e s e i d e a s have
exerted c o n s i d e r a b l e r e s t r a i n t o n l a n d u s e d u r i n g t h e 2 0 t h c e n t u r y , b e y o n d m e r e
e c o n o m i c calculation. T h e y have found expression in t h e acquisition of p u b l i c
forest a n d o p e n s p a c e , t h e p r o t e c t i o n of w e t l a n d s , t h e p r o m o t i o n of s u s t a i n a b l e
p r a c t i c e s i n forestry a n d f a r m i n g , a n d efforts t o p r o t e c t e n d a n g e r e d s p e c i e s .
Today, c o n s e r v a t i o n i n N e w E n g l a n d faces f o r m i d a b l e c h a l l e n g e s i n p r e s s u r e
for l a n d conversion t h r o u g h s u b u r b a n sprawl, as well as t h e c o n t i n u e d influx of
exotic p e s t s , air pollution, a n d t h e l i k e l i h o o d of r a p i d c l i m a t e c h a n g e . But t h e
ideals of c o n s e r v a t i o n a l s o face t h e i r o w n i n t e r n a l conflicts a n d c o n t r a d i c t i o n s ,
w h i c h m i g h t b e alleviated b y historical reflection. T h e r o m a n t i c b r a n c h o f c o n servation is p l a g u e d by w h a t h a s b e e n c a l l e d t h e illusion of preservation, w h i c h
b e g i n s with a b r o a d m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g of h o w " p r i s t i n e " p r e - E u r o p e a n e c o l o g i cal s y s t e m s f u n c t i o n e d , a n d a simplistic w i s h to r e s t o r e t h o s e s u p p o s e d l y stable
c o n d i t i o n s . A desire to " p r e s e r v e " as m u c h of N e w E n g l a n d as possible in a wild,
u n m a n a g e d state is often c o m b i n e d w i t h a refusal to e x a m i n e seriously w h e r e t h e
r e s o u r c e s that s u p p o r t a rich m a t e r i a l life c o m e from. T h e s u b u r b a n d r i v e itself is
an e x a m p l e of this illusion, b e i n g t h e i m p o s s i b l e w i s h to live in an u n d e v e l o p e d
66
Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
rural landscape by means of industrial extraction, a large residential lot, and a
long commute. But the utilitarian branch of conservation is equally guilty of what
might be called the illusion of management. This can be defined as a chronically
weak appreciation of the value of wild nature, combined with overconfidence in
the ability of science to understand fully and control complex ecological systems,
let alone the cultural forces that persist in influencing ecological development in
unpredictable ways.
With an understanding of history, it is possible to imagine how these two attitudes could be combined to create the conditions for successful long-term conservation—especially if some agrarian virtues were revived as well. That is, there is
room in New England for the setting aside of substantial wilderness "old-growth"
preserves, the productive and sustainable management of forests that support a
wide range of biodiversity, and the revival of an agrarian cultural landscape that
provides habitat for open-land species, along with healthy and rewarding human
engagement with the land (Foster, 2002; Foster et al., 2005). Such a landscape
would be ecologically diverse and flexible, and deeply satisfying to many New
Englanders. A better understanding and inculcation of our fascinating and convoluted environmental history might not only improve our ability to design and
"manage" such a landscape in its ecological particulars, but also give us a better
chance of inspiring the cultural ability to pull it off.
Twentieth-Century New England Forest History:
Growth and Utilization
Today, Massachusetts is a forested land. These woods, though, are very different from the ones that dominated the landscape before European settlement.
Although forests have displayed great resilience in the face of human impact and
have reclaimed much of their former ground following agricultural abandonment,
human use of the land, both historical and ongoing, has imposed strong spatial
and temporal signatures on woodlands. In a dynamic fashion, people continue to
react to changes in the forest, and their actions shape the forest of the future.
The Dynamic Extent of Forest
At the beginning of the 20th century, much of New England was dominated by
a relatively young and rapidly growing forest as a consequence of either agricultural abandonment in southern and central parts of the region or large-scale
clear-cutting during the 19th century. In many cases, the forests naturally established on old farmland in the mid 1800s were clear-cut at the onset of the 20th
century. The net effect of these human activities was a thick, brushy woodland
dominated by stump sprouts and rapidly growing species. Patches of more mature
woodland were scattered across perhaps 20% of the landscape (Cogbill et al.,
2002). A small subset of these forests had escaped direct human influence and
were generally located in remote small stands of old-growth and virgin woods
(Cogbill et al., 2002).
New England's Forest Landscape
67
Forest area continued to increase until approximately 1960, at which point
competing land uses progressively reversed this trend, although existing forest continued to grow in stature (Fig. 2.4). By the mid 1990s, despite considerable population and economic growth in much of New England, the prevailing
land use remained forest (59% of Rhode Island, 60% of Connecticut, 62% of
Massachusetts, 78% of Vermont, 84% of New Hampshire, and 90% of Maine).
However, many of these woodlands are small and barely offer more than a shady
area. Spatial analysis of all forest in Massachusetts indicates that if pieces or
fragments of forest smaller than 10 acres are omitted, the total amount of forest declines by 2.5%. If pieces smaller than 50 acres are not considered, the
total amount of forest declines by roughly 7%. The story is somewhat different
in more heavily forested New Hampshire. Exclusion of all forest pieces smaller
than 10 acres reduces the statewide area of forest by only 1%, and failure to
consider pieces 50 acres or less reduces overall statewide area by only 2.5%.
The Massachusetts Audubon Society estimates that the state loses 44 acres of
undeveloped open space per day, resulting in an annual loss of more than 16,000
acres (Steel, 1999).
Forest conversion is only part of the story, however. Interior forest is that part
of the landscape that is free of effects that penetrate in from adjacent nonforest
conditions. Factors such as elevated light and temperature; invasive exotic plants;
higher populations of "generalists" such as gray squirrels, raccoons, skunks,
and blue jays; ranging house cats and dogs; and accumulated lawn debris and
old Christmas trees all occur to a greater degree in the forest around developed
lands. These "edge effects" alter predator-prey relationships and can negatively
affect native plant communities. Some wildlife requires interior forest conditions
free of these edge effects. In a landscape study of 19 rural towns in western
Massachusetts, although total forest declined by only 2% between 1971 and 1985,
the amount of interior forest declined by 6%, 12%, or 21%, depending on an edge
effect distance of 400, 1,000, or 2,000 ft., respectively (Kittredge and Kittredge,
1999). Although Massachusetts is heavily forested, it also has the third highest population density in the nation. Human influences penetrate the woods and
shape its size and extent.
Forest Change over Time
The structure of the woods has undergone great changes through time. In
Massachusetts there has been substantial net accumulation of wood since the
1950s (Fig. 2.5). Since the late 1920s, forest structure has shifted from 80% in
the seedling/sapling size class (Cook, 1929) to roughly 3% by 1998. Larger trees
increasingly dominate the forest, and the brushy expanses of the early 20th century have been relegated to the history books (Hall et al., 2002). With individual
forests accumulating on the order of 2 metric tons of carbon/ha/year, one globally important consequence of this forest growth is that New England (and much
of the eastern United States) serves as a major sink for carbon and offsets some
of the potential increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (Barford et al., 2001;
Pacala, 2001).
68
Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
Net Volume of Growing Stock
Figure 2.5 Net volume of growing
stock (measured in m /ha) of six
New England states from 1950 to
2000. Based on data from USDA
Forest Service (2002).
3
1950 1960
CT
O
MA
1970 1980
Year
• Rl
V
NH
1990
2000
• VT
• ME
Removals/Utilization
At the beginning of the 20th century, an active timber industry produced more
than one hundred million board feet (bd. ft.) of lumber annually for local secondary manufacturing (Steer, 1948). Much of the timber came from white pine stands
that had established on old agricultural lands 50 to 70 years earlier. Harvesting
focused on converting standing softwood timber to cash and operated without any
long-term plan or silvicultural design. Lumber production peaked between 1900
and 1920, and dropped precipitously through the 1930s, when regional forests
entered a period of regrowth after heavy utilization. This heavy cutting generated
a shift in species composition. In southern and central New England, logging
of white pine on old fields initiated a change back toward a more natural species composition of mixed hardwoods (e.g., oak, maple, birch, ash), hemlock, and
white pine (Hall et al., 2002).
By the early 1970s, Forest Service inventories reported average annual growing stock removals of between 0.54 and 0.96 m /ha forest (Connecticut, 0.54 m /
ha forest; Rhode Island, 0.58 m /ha forest; Massachusetts, 0.87 m /ha forest;
Vermont, 0.75 m /ha forest; and New Hampshire, 0.96 m /ha forest), with Maine
considerably higher at 1.69 m /ha forest. By the mid 1990s, annual removal rates
had virtually doubled, indicating the maturation of the timber and emergence
of commercially valuable diameter classes. Despite increased removal rates, the
forest continues to accumulate wood. Average annual net growth exceeds removals in all New England states except Maine by a factor of between 27% (in New
Hampshire) to more than 130% (in Vermont). A recent study in north-central
Massachusetts indicates that from 1984 to 2001, approximately 1.5% of the forest
was harvested annually, in a spatially random pattern of relatively small patches
in which perhaps only 25% of the forest volume was removed (Kittredge et al.,
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
New England's Forest Landscape
69
2003). This pattern of chronic, low-level disturbance is probably representative of
harvesting across much of the Northeast. The forest-processing industries have
undergone similar shifts through time
Ownership
Unlike many wooded regions of the United States that have large state and federal
ownerships or extensive industrial ownerships, most of the New England forest is
owned by nonindustrial private families, individuals, and nonprofit organizations.
One consequence of this ownership pattern is that management decisions
concerning the forests lie collectively in the hands of hundreds of thousands of
individuals. With few local to regional controls, each owner is making relatively
independent and unconstrained decisions. As a result, the New England forest
landscape is strongly susceptible to two transforming influences: land conversion
to nonforested use, and parcelization into smaller ownership units. These processes strongly interact; as increasingly small parcels become difficult to manage,
they often become prone to land conversion.
Over time there have been a growing number of individuals who are responsible for New England forest land. In Massachusetts the number of owners of nonindustrial private forestland increased from 103,900 in 1976 to 235,000 in 1985,
whereas the total area of forest declined slightly. The long-term result has been a
decline in average ownership size from 9.5 ha to 3.6 ha between 1976 and 1993
(Fig. 2.6). Meanwhile, the land is becoming more valuable for development (e.g.,
for residential use) and is increasing only slightly in value for its timber (Fig. 2.7).
Only increasingly wealthy private owners may be able to resist or defy market
trends and financial logic of selling, dividing, or converting their land to a developed use. As ownerships decrease in size, forest landscape functions and values
such as wildlife habitat, hydrologic and nutrient cycling, and outdoor recreation
potential are compromised.
Average Size of Non-Industrial Private Ownership
25
c/> 20 CD
O 15 CD
Q.
10 -
j
New Hampshire — — _
Rhode Island
Connecticut (Between Rl and MA)
5 0
1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994
Year
Figure 2.6 Average size of nonindustrial private ownership,
by state and over time. Data modified from Kingsley (1976) and
Birch (1996).
70
Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
A) Massachusetts Median Household
Income (Current $)
5 5 , 0 0 0
5 0 , 0 0 0
4 5 , 0 0 0
$
4 0 , 0 0 0
3 5 , 0 0 0
3 0 , 0 0 0
2 5 , 0 0 0
1 9 8 0
1 9 8 5
1 9 9 0
1 9 9 5
2 0 0 0
2 0 0 5
Year
B) Standing Timber Value
a;
o
1 4 0
•
1 2 0
•
1 0 0
-
8 0
•
6 0
•
4 0
•
•
D
m
Figure 2.7 (A, B)
Massachusetts median household
income (A) and standing timber
value (B) based on data from
the U.S. Census Bureau, and
SNESPR (Southern New England
Stumpage Price) (2003).
Social/Human
Responses
to
aP
m
X!
O
*
• QO
„
2 0
•
0
•
»
'
o
o
<poO° o
0
IMIM
—1
1 9 6 0
1
1 9 7 0
1 9 8 0
1
1 9 9 0
1
1
2 0 0 0
Year
A White pine [MA]
. Hemlock [CT.RI, MA]
o White pine [CT, Rl, MA] • Red Oak [MA]
Hemlock [MA]
• Red Oak [CT, Rl, MA]
Perceived
Threats
and
Utilization
The conservation context, major issues, and institutional setting for New England
forests have evolved since the early 20th century. In the early 1900s, there were
no environmental regulations in place to protect water quality or wildlife habitat, and the heavy harvest of softwood timber left large amounts of flammable
material, resulting in increased fire frequency and intensity. As early successional brushfields increased on recently cut lands, public concern over forest degradation grew and manifested itself in several ways. Legislation was passed at
the state and national levels to protect forests. The Weeks Act, passed in 1911,
authorized the establishment of eastern national forests for purposes of watershed
protection and resulted in the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont and
the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire and western Maine. In
Massachusetts, the State Forest Commission was created in 1914 and was charged
with acquiring land suitable for timber cultivation and forest reclamation (Rivers,
1998). Today, state forests cover a total of 211,000 acres. The Massachusetts
New England's Forest Landscape
71
Forestry Association promoted the creation of local town forests throughout
Massachusetts and other states, and in 1913 legislation was passed that authorized communities to own and manage their forests (McCullough, 1998). By the
1960s, 147 of 352 Massachusetts communities had town forests, totaling more
than 43,000 acres (McCullough, 1998).
State legislation was also passed to protect forests through regulation. In 1914,
the Massachusetts Slash Law required timber harvesters to leave slash in a condition that would not promote the spread of fire (Rivers, 1998). In 1945, the Forest
Cutting Practices Act was passed in Massachusetts (Rivers, 1998).
In addition to public sector conservation actions, many private organizations were started in response to forest and environmental degradation. The
Massachusetts Forestry Association began in 1897, in response to clear-cutting
on Mount Greylock, the state's highest peak (Rivers, 1998), and similar associations were founded in other New England states (e.g., Connecticut Forestry
Association in 1895, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests in
1901, Forestry Association of Vermont in 1904) (King, 1998). The Massachusetts
Audubon Society was founded in 1896, with an original interest in protecting
birds and their habitat (Fox, 1998), and the New England Forestry Foundation
was founded in 1944 to promote forestry to the thousands of nonindustrial private forest owners. The foundation sought to demonstrate good forestry practices
and advocated the use of private consulting foresters to encourage sustainable
management.
The early 20th century initiation of organizations and regulations to "protect
forest" has evolved with newly perceived threats. During the past 20 years, distress over forest conversion to other uses has led to the strategic application of
tools like easements to stem and focus the tide of widespread development and the
overall loss of open space. Ironically, the perceived threat of forest destruction in
the early 1900s was largely an illusion. History has shown forests to be resilient to
hurricanes, fire, and harvest (Foster et al., 1997; Hall et al., 2002). In contrast, the
development threat of the late 20th century is a new and different agent of change.
State agencies and conservation groups have responded and are now buying private
land, or the development rights to the property in the name of biodiversity (EOEA,
2001). Even the New England Forestry Foundation and conservation organizations
like TNC actively pursue easements as a means to protect "working forest." Forest
regulations have shifted from an emphasis on physical damage, to provision of tax
breaks as incentives to landowners to retain their land in forest use (DEM, 2003).
Although the New England forest has transformed greatly during the past century,
so, too, have the human institutions and tools dedicated to its protection.
Future
Two parallel messages emerge from a 20th-century review of New England forest use and change: both the forest itself and corresponding human institutions
have evolved in response to diverse stimuli. Perceived threats to forest have initiated public and private efforts at protection. These in turn have influenced forest
72
Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
trajectories. Public forests originally established to prevent deforestation are now
oases from development and valued open spaces for recreation and revitalization. The large watershed of the Quabbin Reservoir was purchased to provide
clean water for metropolitan Boston, but it currently serves as the largest and
most intensively harvested public ownership in southern New England (Barten
et al., 1998) and acts as an "accidental wilderness" (Conuel, 1990) that provides a
diverse landscape for wildlife, natural processes, and human leisure. Land protection activities have curtailed the development rights on an increasing amount of
private forest, and regulations have influenced harvest practices.
Future forest and societal interactions are conjectural because of the complexity of private landowner patterns and the unpredictability of social and environmental concerns. It is unlikely that governments will be able to buy a significant
portion of this land, although there may be better prospects for the purchase of
development rights. Furthermore, it is improbable that land-use zoning and regulation, implemented at the local level by hundreds of different volunteer boards in
an environment that favors private rights, will stem the tide of forest conversion
in the face of increasing population, affluence, and mobility. The future of the
forest will result from the cumulative actions (or inactions) of tens of thousands
of individuals, whose decisions in turn will be influenced by their relative affluence, seemingly unrelated external economic factors, and their attitudes about
their land. Only if these grassroots inclinations can be marshaled into a regionwide passion for land conservation will it be possible to retain a majority of New
England forest on the land (Foster et al., 2005).
Studies of private owner attitudes in New England reveal that aesthetics, wildlife habitat, recreation, privacy, and a place to live are overriding goals for ownership that far outweigh timber revenue (e.g., Belin, 2002; Birch, 1996; Kingsley,
1976; Rickenbach et al., 1998). Finley and Kittredge (2006) indicate that landowners do harvest, but at a relatively moderate intensity level. This chronic, and
random disturbance may homogenize forest conditions and species composition
(Cogbill et al., 2002; Fuller et al., 1998), and may create forests dominated by red
maple, which commonly increases with light harvest (Abrams, 1998).
The future extent, distribution, and composition of the forest will result in
large part from the decisions private owners make about their land. Decisions
about land protection made by agencies and conservation organizations will also
exert a lasting effect, especially on the character of large blocks of forest. The
success of these groups depends in part on the way they approach private owners, and the receptivity of the message. Golodetz and Foster (1997) showed that
land protection during the 20th century in central Massachusetts was haphazard
and opportunistic. Conservation can have a more significant impact, and be more
cost-effective, if these measures are applied in a more strategic and meaningful
way (Forman 1995).
How the New England forest transforms in the coming century will depend
on the pressures brought to bear by an increasing human population, a variety
of external ecological factors such as climate change and invasive species, and
the cumulative effects of an increasingly large and dynamic population of private
owners.
New England's Forest Landscape
73
The Ecological Consequences of New England's History
For more than 300 years, changing land-use activities have interacted with natural
environmental and disturbance processes to generate major changes in the New
England landscape. In the modern landscape, the legacies of this history shape
ecological patterns and processes, condition ecosystem response to ongoing and
future disturbances and stresses, underlie current dynamics in plant and animal
populations, and provide the environmental context for ongoing human activities. More important, the nature of these historical effects on ecological patterns
varies with spatial or ecological scale. For example, at any scale the composition and structure of modern vegetation are substantially different than they were
before European arrival. However, at some spatial scales, including the site scale
and subregional scale, land-use history has served to homogenize the natural patterns, whereas at a landscape scale a more patchy and heterogeneous condition
has resulted.
Vegetation Response to Land-Use History
Across New England, the intensive utilization of wood products, coupled with the
history of deforestation, reforestation, and other anthropogenic impacts, including burning and drainage, have produced major changes in forest composition
and structure when compared with the forests first encountered by Europeans.
Although forests per se have been highly resilient to repeated intense disturbances, there has been a shift toward more fast-growing, early successional, and
shade-intolerant species (e.g., paper birch, red maple, white pine, and formerly
chestnut) and a decline in long-lived mature-forest species (e.g., beech, hemlock,
spruce, and yellow birch). Structurally, there have been accompanying declines
in average stand age and an increase in the extent of even-age forests. Across the
region, this substantial shift in species composition apparently has not been associated with major changes in species distributions or the geography of major forest zones. At a regional scale, major vegetation patterns are largely controlled by
strong, broad-scale climatic variation, tied to latitude and elevation, and the basic
patterns witnessed hundreds of years ago appear to hold in the modern landscape.
Thus, in a consideration of the presettlement forests, Cogbill et al. (2002) identified a regional pattern composed of distinct distributions of northern and southern
tree species that met in a fairly well-defined tension zone stretching across northcentral Massachusetts. In their interpretation, this tension zone has been relatively
stable through to the present despite notable shifts in temperature (+1.40.°C) and
the intervening period of land-use history.
In contrast, at the subregional scale, for example across the Connecticut Valley
to upland transition in central New England, it appears that the striking broadscale variation in forest composition at the time of settlement, with oaks predominating at lower, southern localities and beech and hemlock dominating in the
cooler northern higher areas, has disappeared as a consequence of land-use history. In this case, vegetation patterns were associated with fairly subtle climatic
74
Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
gradients. The imposition of a broadly similar land-use history across this subregion served both to shift and to homogenize forest composition. Across the region
today, red maple, oak, birch, pine, and hemlock are distributed in a rather uniform
pattern. Although species abundances exhibited strong, significant relationships
with climate variation at the time of settlement, only a few weak relationships are
detected in current distributions. One complicating, though intriguing, factor in
this history is that the trend toward a more regionally homogeneous forest composition was actually initiated by climate changes approximately 550 years ago
(Fuller et al., 1998). Thus, the observed shifts are evidently a consequence of the
interaction between environmental change and human activity.
At a landscape scale, across hills, valleys, and township-size (i.e., 10 x 10 km)
areas, land-use history has clearly created a more patchy and heterogeneous pattern of vegetation. On this scale, abrupt shifts in vegetation cover, species composition, and forest age and size are strongly tied to such factors as the specific
land-use type (e.g., woodlot, pasture, tillage), the date of field abandonment or
last harvesting, and the specific details of recent use of the area. The result is
a complicated landscape mosaic in which transitions from hardwood forests to
white pine or mature forest to sprout hardwoods are abrupt and only generally
tied to edaphic conditions. At this scale, vegetation analyses indicate that land-use
impacts convey an enduring effect on species distributions and community characteristics (Donohue et al., 2000; Motzkin et al. 1996, 1999a,b, 2002). Studies of
soil properties demonstrate a similar lasting imprint of land use on such features
as soil structure and carbon and nitrogen content (Compton and Boone, 2000,
2004; Compton et al., 1998).
There has been little work done to evaluate the consequences of land-use history at the scale of an individual stand or forest, but it is likely that within a given
area of consistent vegetation, historical activities have simplified and homogenized
soil conditions, vegetation patterns, and microenvironmental conditions. Although
pre-European conditions would have reflected the complexities of subtle edaphic
variation and prior disturbance by windthrow, animals, and other factors, most
land-use activities serve to create uniform within-stand conditions. Forest clearance, tillage, pasturing, and fencing all impose fairly uniform treatments on areas
frequently delimited by stone walls, other fencing systems, or property boundaries. Whether the impact was homogenization of the upper soil layers by plowing or removal of coarse woody debris by fire and decomposition, the tendency
toward more consistent conditions in the individual patches within the patchwork
of agrarian sites would be passed on to the modern forested landscape.
Discussion
Consequences
of Land-Use
History for Conservation
One of the major ecological lessons that inevitably emerges from a long-term
perspective is that natural ecosystems are inherently dynamic (Davis, 1986;
Whitlock and Bartlein, 1997). More important, however, a variety of studies that
New England's Forest Landscape
75
have assessed vegetation change over very long timescales have found that the
rates of compositional change for both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems have
been, and presumably will continue to be, greater since European settlement than
at any time since the last Ice Age (Foster and Zebryk, 1993; Fuller et al., 1998;
Jacobson et al., 1987). In prehistory, climate and associated environmental change,
as well as disturbance by pathogens, wind, ice storms, fire, and Native Americans,
produced changes in vegetation composition and presumably in its structure and
pattern as well. Plants and animals responded individualistically, rather than in
any concerted group response to the unique combinations of environments and
biotic factors that resulted. Consequently, as recently noted by Lawton (1997),
although there is a relatively long fossil record of stability in the morphology of
most individual plant species, the actual combinations and assemblages of species
that form communities, ecosystems, and landscape patterns have no record of
long-term coherency. The massive and very rapid change in land cover and landuse practices within the recent 300 to 400 years in the eastern United States have
accelerated this process of natural change and recombination (Jacobson et al.,
1987). The result has been a series of very transient assemblages derived from a
relatively constant regional flora (Fuller et al., 1998; McLachlan et al., 1998)
One major question that concerns the reforested northeastern landscape is
whether these "new" forests are similar in composition to those that occupied the
same land areas at the time of European settlement (Raup, 1964; Whitney, 1994).
A range of studies across New England suggest that modern plant (and animal)
assemblages in upland, wetland, and lake ecosystems are historically anomalous,
differing from those of four centuries earlier (Engstrom et al., 1985; Patterson
and Backman, 1988). Not only do the modern groupings of species show little
resemblance to their antecedents, they also show little tendency to revert in that
direction as time passes and forests mature (Fuller et al., 1998). At a regional
scale, for example across central Massachusetts, the forests that have formed after
agricultural abandonment are remarkably more homogeneous than those of four
centuries earlier, and they include more sprouting and shade-intolerant species
and fewer long-lived mature-forest tree species (Foster et al., 1998b). Modern forests also exhibit much weaker relationships to regional variation in physiography, climate, and soils. At a landscape scale, the arrangement and structural and
compositional characteristics of plant communities are largely the consequence of
species-specific response to land-use histories and edaphic factors (Foster, 1995;
Motzkin et al., 1996, 1999a). At a stand level, it has been possible to use the analysis of pollen from soils and small topographic depressions to interpret vegetation composition and disturbance histories over many centuries or even millennia,
and thereby assess the extent of change (Bradshaw and Miller, 1988; Foster and
Zebryk, 1993; Foster et al., 1996; McLachlan et al., 1998). Although limited in
number in New England, these studies confirm that even the least disturbed sites,
for example forests that were cut early during colonial history but never cleared,
have been dramatically changed by human disturbance. Thus, these sites have
often supported two or three distinctly different types of vegetation during the past
350 years, and the current forests generally bear little compositional resemblance
to those that occupied the area when the land was first settled by Europeans.
76 Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
These conclusions concerning the historical rates and types of vegetation
change have many ramifications for conservation biology and the development of
management policies. Primary among these is the recognition that there are no
static baseline conditions that exist or have existed for comparison with current
conditions or for use as a target for restoration activities. Ecologists, conservation
biologists, and the public frequently use the pre-European period as a convenient
benchmark for comparison with modern or historical conditions (as we have done
earlier); however, this period was clearly characterized by change and flux in forest composition and structure, even if less dramatic than in the recent past. As we
interpret modern landscapes or evaluate restoration and management approaches,
we therefore need to recognize that forests have always been dynamic and that
there is no single, ideal state to which forests should be restored. Nature changes
and frequently people are a factor in this change. Thus, in our search for goals
and objectives in conservation management, we should not be thinking of saving
or restoring static examples of what nature is, was, or should be. These are transient entities, unreal concepts, and futile objectives (Foster et al., 1996).
The
Inevitability
of Future
Change
The extent of human disturbance coupled with the ongoing change in global environments (climate, atmospheric composition, disturbance regimes, biota) result
in the inevitability of future change in all landscapes. As a consequence, land
managers of all types need to acknowledge change and anticipate future dynamics. Most New England landscapes are still in the process of recovering from past
land-use activity while also responding to new changes in the physical or biotic
environment, ranging from subtle stresses associated with changes in the atmospheric concentrations of nitrogen and carbon dioxide to defoliation by the gypsy
moth and hemlock woolly adelgid, an insect species introduced from Asia in the
1920s (Aber, 1993; Bazzaz, 1996; Foster et al., 1997; Orwig and Foster, 1998).
Hemlocks are the third most prevalent tree species in the New England forests,
and they provide food for deer and protection from soil erosion along streams and
rivers.
Paleoecological studies (e.g., Foster and Zebryk, 1993) and modeling approaches
(Pacala et a l , 1996) suggest that forest stands may take up to 500 years to recover
from moderately severe disturbances such as fire, pathogens, harmful introduced
species, or substantial cutting and thus we should anticipate that all vegetation,
even if effectively protected from recent or future disturbance, will continue to
change as it adjusts to its history of past impacts. In addition, natural disturbance
and natural variation in the environment will inevitably promote future, unexpected dynamics in all ecosystems.
Wildlife
Dynamics
and Feedback in
Perspective
Recent changes in many wildlife populations constitute one important, although
often underappreciated, component of landscape change in the eastern United
States that has strong implications for conservationists, natural resource managers,
New England's Forest Landscape
77
Figure 2.8 Schematic depiction of the historical changes in representative wildlife species
and forest cover through time in New England. Although the wolf has been eliminated,
open-field species like the bobolink and meadow lark peaked in abundance during the
19th-century period of open agriculture; the coyote is a new species in the landscape; and
the deer, beaver, and bear have recovered greatly since elimination or very low historical
abundance. Modified from O'Keefe and Foster (1998) and Bickford and Dymon (1990).
and many residents. As a consequence of historical variation in the relative
extent and type of land cover, along with cultural and economic changes that
have encouraged conservation, wildlife introductions, and regulation of hunting,
the New England region is undergoing a major transformation in wildlife abundance and composition (DeGraaf and Miller, 1996; Fisher, 1929; Hosley, 1935).
Although many large mammals and forest birds were eliminated during the 17th
to 19th centuries and were replaced by the open-land species of meadows, fields,
and shrublands, we are currently witnessing a major resurgence of native woodland species (Fig. 2.8). Some of these animals have been resident throughout
the historical period and are simply expanding from small residual populations,
others were locally or regionally eliminated and are immigrating from northern
and western regions, whereas others have appeared as a consequence of successful programs of reintroduction. Although many of these species were important
throughout the Northeast at the time of European settlement, others, such as the
coyote, were originally native in other parts of the country and represent new
arrivals that have been able to capitalize on changing landscape conditions and
the absence of competitors or predators such as the wolf.
The recent increase in woodland species is often heralded, quite rightly, as an
environmental success, but the burgeoning populations of woodland wildlife are
also bringing many unexpected and occasionally undesired consequences to the
landscape and to the largely suburban human population of New England. Beavers
impound water creating wetlands, killing trees, and flooding roads, yards, and
sewage systems while also producing important habitats for other animals and
plants that utilize the resulting ponds, wetlands, and dead trees. There is evidence
that the population of beavers in some regions may be surpassing presettlement
78
Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
levels and flooding areas such as old-growth swamp forests that have not been
inundated in the previous 300 to 400 years (P. Lyons and B. Spencer, personal
communication, 2000). Deer, largely unchecked by hunting or major predators
in many suburban and even rural areas, may impede forest regeneration, browse
ornamental and vegetable gardens, and create automobile hazards. Larger mammals such as moose and bear create even greater problems because of their potential for major impact on human safety as well as natural ecosystems. Each of these
wildlife species and scenarios presents natural resource agencies and landowners
with major control problems and generates ethical dilemmas for society.
The new populations of wildlife may also have unanticipated impacts on other
species. Pileated woodpeckers, which have increased partly as a consequence of
the greater availability of extensive forest areas and nest sites in large dead trees,
create large bole cavities that shelter other animals. The swamps, ponds, and
meadows that alternate through the cycle of beaver damming and abandonment
provide a highly dynamic environment that presents considerable heterogeneity
within a largely forested landscape. The extensive stands of dead trees produced
by this flooding also provide nest sites, resulting in the large heron rookeries that
have reappeared across the New England states.
Human health may also be indirectly affected by the changes in land-use,
land-cover, and wildlife dynamics. The increase and spread of lyme disease has
resulted, in part, from the increase in mouse and deer populations during the past
several decades; a similar connection is noted between the incidence of Giardia
(a parasitic protozoan) and beaver and other mammal populations in New England.
A historical perspective on these wildlife dynamics is necessary to understand
them and to anticipate how they may change in the future. Such a perspective is
also extremely useful in educating a human population that is increasingly separated from nature about the changes that are occurring throughout the landscape,
including their own backyard. Clearly a better understanding of these dynamics
and their causes improves the ability of natural resource managers and conservationists to manage them and their consequences.
New England Is a Cultural Landscape
An evaluation of the past and current dynamics of the northeastern United States
suggests that we must embrace wholeheartedly and realistically the notion that
we live in a cultural landscape that is shaped in a broad pattern and controlled in
fine detail in part by a history of human impacts. Recognition of this fact helps
us to appreciate that humans have been, and still are, a major force and part of
the functioning ecosystems that we call nature. It also helps us to shed the notion
that we can somehow preserve or restore a nature independent of human history.
On a regional to landscape scale, many habitats have been selectively eliminated
or converted to some new status. Wetlands have been drained on a widespread
basis on inland as well as coastal sites, and changes in local hydrology have left us
with distinctly different habitats and vegetation cover than have occurred historically (Tiner, 1988). Across New England upland areas, sites such as the level sand
plains that occupy outwash and deltaic deposits have been extensively converted to
New England's Forest Landscape
79
industrial and commercial activities, airfields, and landfills (Motzkin et al., 1999a).
This selective habitat destruction, along with selective elimination of species, leaves
us with a highly altered landscape representation of plant and animal communities.
At the same time, the history of land use has increased the abundance and importance of many species and ecosystems, such as open-land and weedy taxa.
On a regional scale, the intensity and type of disturbance that has occurred is
highly variable, and therefore conservation issues and priorities may vary geographically. For example, across northern New England, a history of logging,
large ownerships, low population density, and relatively intact forest cover has led
to a recent emphasis on the preservation of continuous, older forest; the reintroduction of large native animals; and the reestablishment of forest processes typical of large, intact ecosystems (Dobbs and Ober, 1995). In contrast, in southern
and central New England, although many of these same values are embraced, the
history of intense agriculture has been extremely important for the generation of
a landscape of open fields and highly fragmented forests. This, in turn, has led
to increased focus on rare species in limited habitats and on the maintenance of
many open-habitat plants, animals, and landscapes (Dunwiddie, 1992).
Recognition of the selective creation and destruction of habitats and the tendency toward change forces us to acknowledge that the maintenance of species
and habitats that were common 50 to 100 years ago will require active management either by encouraging or subsidizing historical practices such as agriculture, or by replacing them with other management regimes (Birks et a l , 1988;
Dunwiddie, 1992; Foster and Motzkin, 1998). In some cases, such as the conservation of open-land species of plants and animals, we may need to maintain
cultural artifacts or legacies that were much less common or even absent from the
landscape 300 years ago. Perhaps the best example of this phenomenon lies in the
efforts to conserve grassland and shrubland habitat and species across southern
and central New England and other parts of the Northeast (Foster and Motzkin,
2003). Presumably, before European arrival, few areas were large enough to
maintain some of the highly restricted and rare bird species that are the current
focus of major conservation efforts but that may require more than 50 ha of open
grassland for the maintenance of successful populations. However, as a consequence of forest cutting and agricultural activities such as burning, plowing, planting, and grazing, extensive upland grasslands, freshwater meadows, shrublands,
and heathlands were created during the 18th and 19th centuries, resulting in a
dramatic increase in open-land wildlife and plants (DeGraaf and Miller, 1996;
Dunwiddie, 1989). The prominence of these species is quite clear in contemporary descriptions, such as the journal notations from Henry Thoreau in which
bobolinks, meadowlarks, and song sparrows are described as common (Foster,
2001). Currently, many of these taxa are in decline, which presents an interesting
dilemma to land managers and conservationists who are faced with the challenge
of restricting tree invasion and growth on open lands, and are confronted by the
basic question of whether such cultural landscapes should be conserved.
Should these uncommon and presumably historically rare or nonnative taxa be
allowed to go locally extinct as the extent of forest land increases and agriculture
declines? Or should we expend increasing effort on their maintenance, based on
80
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the notion that some of these species may be native, that many have become an
important or characteristic part of the landscape, and that others may be threatened elsewhere in their range? During the past decades, grassland and shrubland
taxa have emerged as a major priority for conservation organizations such as TNC,
Massachusetts Audubon Society, and state natural heritage programs, which are
seeking to conserve such birds as the grasshopper sparrow, upland sandpiper, and
meadowlark through management programs based on burning, mowing, and grazing (Scheller, 1994; Sharp, 1994). Ironically, one of the most effective protection
strategies for these species has been for conservationists to work with managers
of highly artificial cultural landscapes to maintain appropriate habitat. The list
of top sites for open-land bird species in Massachusetts provides an indication of
the precarious status of these species and the surprising nature of the remaining
"prime" habitat (Jones and Vickery, 1993). Among these sites, eight are commercial airports or military air bases, one is a landfill, one is a drained cedar swamp
that was converted to grassland for agricultural and industrial purposes, one is a
military training ground, and only two are in a seminatural condition, albeit one
that is strongly shaped by historical land use. A historical perspective reveals the
landscape dynamics that enabled the development of these habitats and wildlife
assemblages. It also allows us to make the conscious decision, as has been done
throughout northwestern Europe, that there may be great value in maintaining
diverse cultural landscapes and the aesthetic and biological qualities that they
support (Birks et al., 1988; Peterken, 2003).
Consequences of the Enduring Legacies of History
Land use, like other disturbance processes, can generate legacies in terms of ecosystem structure, composition, or function that are not easily erased or changed
through time or even through subsequent disturbance (Foster et al., 1998a). As a
consequence, it is often erroneous to conclude that the adoption of a new management regime, even one that follows the presumed natural disturbance or environmental regime, will necessarily lead to the re-creation of "natural" conditions or
the vegetation structure and composition that might have developed in the past as
a result of such disturbance (Seymour et al., 2002). For example, in the study of
pitch pine and scrub oak vegetation on sand plains in the Connecticut River Valley,
Motzkin et al. (1996) documented that the single most important factor controlling many aspects of the modern vegetation and site conditions was the legacy of
different land use across these areas. Modern soil features, such as the presence
of a "plow" horizon and vegetation characteristics, including species composition
and structure, reflected the prior site history even 50 to 100 years after the landuse activity ceased and despite a history of subsequent disturbance by fire. Other
studies have shown a similar pattern of persistence of historical legacies in the
face of hurricane impacts or other disturbances (Foster, 1993). These observations
suggest that even though many management regimes are prescribed for natural
areas in an effort to increase their natural character, such as prescribed burning
in pine-, oak-, or grassland-dominated landscapes, the vegetation may actually
be slow to respond to such disturbances or may change in unexpected and even
New England's Forest Landscape
81
undesirable ways (Niering and Dreyer, 1989; Patterson and Backman, 1988). The
outcome of such management may not be an enhancement of "original" attributes
of the area (Motzkin et al., 1999a), although it may contribute to other objectives,
such as the maintenance of rare species habitat and regional biodiversity.
> Conclusion and Recommendations
Much of the eastern United States has witnessed an increase in forest cover in
this century as a result of a reduction in agricultural activity and natural resource
extraction, presenting new opportunities and challenges for conservation planning. These changes in land-use practice have resulted from the fact that the food,
energy, building materials, and natural resources for the region are no longer
obtained primarily from our local landscapes, but are derived instead from highly
distributed global sources. Consequently, although regions like New England are
experiencing population growth and historically high levels of residential expansion, they have also reverted to a more natural condition with more extensive
cover of maturing forests and more native fauna than at any time during the previous 200 years.
The rapidity and extent of change, the ongoing dynamics in the landscape
resulting from recovery from prior land use as well as ongoing impacts, and the
enduring legacy of past land use necessitate that historical perspectives become an
essential part of all ecological study and an important basis for the development of
conservation strategies. Using these perspectives we can recognize the inevitability of change and the cultural imprint on most landscapes and on many seemingly
natural features. We can also recognize that many plant communities and landscapes that are of great conservation value are actually novel, highly humanized,
and of recent development. As we understand the transitory and highly cultural
origins of many parts of our land, we can also appreciate the relative roles of science versus social values in determining policy and management objectives. Using
both historical and ecological science we can interpret and understand change,
monitor and evaluate conditions and processes, and develop and inform management techniques. Ultimately, however, the decision of what we conserve or restore
lies in the cultural values that we bring to this decision-making process. Thus, in
New England we can retain a cultural landscape of fields and forests that support
open-land and edge species, or we can allow a culturally derived forest to develop
and age and harbor forest interior species. Science does not give us absolute guidelines for making these decisions, but it does inform us that either decision will produce a new landscape with a history that includes people and that is characterized
by features that are not original or pristine but are constantly undergoing change.
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