Humans, forests, and fire: author Jeff Forester presents at the Washington County Heritage Center

Posted 5/18/22

The Washington County Historical Society is excited to announce a talk on how fire has affected forests by author Jeff Forester on Tuesday May 24 at 7pm at the Washington County Heritage Center. …

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Humans, forests, and fire: author Jeff Forester presents at the Washington County Heritage Center

Posted

The Washington County Historical Society is excited to announce a talk on how fire has affected forests by author Jeff Forester on Tuesday May 24 at 7pm at the Washington County Heritage Center. Forester’s book, “The Forest for the Trees: How Humans Shaped the Northwoods” will be available for purchase at the event. The Washington County Heritage Center is located at 1862 South Greeley Street, Stillwater, MN 55082.

This history of human relationship with the land starting with native Americans through the pioneering logging, the rise of industrial logging, creation of the United States Forest Service and finally the creation of a designated wilderness is visible in Minnesota. The story of wildfire is told in full in Minnesota, from tribal fire regimes to reduce fire intensity and provide habitat for blueberries and wildlife, through catastrophic fires that killed hundreds in an afternoon, to the near eradication of fire for the first time since the last ice age, to fire reasserting itself on the landscape. By examining the Minnesota’s forests, we can see the full history of how humans shaped the northwoods.

Jeff Forester is a freelance writer whose work has been published in Whole Earth Review, Rolling Stone, Oregon Quarterly, and Timberline. He is executive director of a nonprofit organization and an instructor at Concordia University in St. Paul.

The Washington County Heritage Center will be open at 6pm for event attendees to experience the museum at a discounted rate prior to the event at 7pm. The program will also be available virtually on Zoom. Please visit wchsmn. org/events to register.

The program is free to the public. No reservations are required. For questions, contact Washington County Heritage Center Site Manager Emily Krawczewski at [email protected] or 651-439-2298. The Washington County Heritage Center is open for visitors Tuesday- Sunday from 10am- 4pm.

About the Washington County Historical Society Founded in 1934, the Washington County Historical Society is a donor-supported, nonprofit organization with more than 750 individual, family, and business members. WCHS is supported by individual gifts, memberships and earned income, and foundation grants.