Lob Trees in the Wilderness: The Human and Natural History of the Boundary Waters [Paperback]

Isabel Ahlgren Clifford; Ahlgren (Author)

Book Description

Series: Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage | Publication Date: June 2001

Natural History/Regional

The classic account of human impact on this vast wilderness area, now back in print by popular demand!

Along the Minnesota-Ontario border, in the days of voyageurs, tall trees were used as guideposts in the uncharted wilderness to help fur traders and explorers find their way through the maze of lakes and portages. Branches were cut, leaving the middle of the tree bare with branches above and below. Clifford and Isabel Ahlgren, two of the most knowledgeable ecologists of the area, use nine native trees to serve as lob trees for this book, an ecological history of human activity in the Quetico-Superior wilderness area.

"A fine, perceptive exploration. . . The wilderness is the Boundary Canoe Area of northern Minnesota, and 'lob trees' are used as a poetic way to link the results of historical and ecological research in this setting. This is a well-illustrated book, built to be carried in hand or pack, as one travels through the lands under discussion." The Canadian Field-Naturalist

"A remarkable book that is well researched, well illustrated, and well written." Inland Seas

"There is no one more qualified than the Ahlgrens to describe the ways human beings have affected the forest of this area." Journal of Forest History

Clifford and Isabel Ahlgren have retired from forest ecology after working many years at the Wilderness Research Foundation in Ely, Minnesota.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816638152
• ISBN-13: 978-0816638154
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #470,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Naturalist Writing - Astute and Readable, October 20, 2006

By 

Terry Serres (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lob Trees in the Wilderness: The Human and Natural History of the Boundary Waters (Paperback)

When you arrive at your entry point in the Boundary Waters, put your canoe into the water and paddle across that peripheral lake to the first portage, you see yourself immersed in a pristine wilderness, largely untrammeled by human influences. Guess again. For all its beauty and grandeur, human influences are evident throughout the wilderness: from the herbaceous species you'll see on portages; to remnant patches of landscape plants where outfitters had their cabins; to red pine stands planted by old timber operations; to the changes in forest composition brought about by earlier logging and suppression of natural wildfires.

And it didn't start with the white man. Ahlgren's book illuminates the earlier influences from Native American tribes, first the Cree and Sioux, then the Ojibwe. He explains why different tribes succeeded each other in populating this area, and how their different ways of life affected their use of the land and their relationships with Europeans. The era of the voyageur fur traders, as it affected early settlement and resource use, is also covered.

The result is a fascinating history of human influences in a beloved wilderness, influences both faint and profound. It manages to be both philosophical and practical. It will invigorate your perception of wilderness.

Ahlgren has a scope of knowledge that allows him to distil volumes of research into a concise, readable, even poetic book. It is constructed around the theme of lob trees -- shoreline trees that were pruned just below the crown, to help the voyageurs in navigation. Ahlgren uses a different species of tree common in these sub-boreal forests to guide us through the voyage of understanding human influence in the Boundary Waters: jack pine introduces the chapter on fire disturbance; birch introduces a chapter focusing on Native Americans; white pine is the lob tree for timber, white spruce for pulpwood. This well-integrated thematic approach puts it in line with other classic naturalist writings such as Aldo Leopold's _A Sand County Almanac_.

Naturalist writing isn't just about bringing science to the masses. It's about sharing an appreciation of special places and phenomena -- appreciation in the sense of understanding and in the sense of valuing. As an exemplary contribution to this genre, this book should be of great interest to anyone who loves wilderness and wants to hone their vision when entering natural settings.