Report on the disastrous effects of the destruction of forest trees, now going on so rapidly in the state of Wisconsin
- Image
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- Created Date
- 1860; 1861; 1862; 1863; 1864; 1865; 1866; 1867
- Description
By the 1850s Wisconsin's lumber industry had penetrated far into the Chippewa and Wisconsin River watersheds. Although the forests seemed limitless to most people, Milwaukee scientist Increase Lapham (1811-1875) feared that the passionate pursuit of profits by lumber barons would cause irreparable harm to the environment. In 1854 he published an article (in the Wisconsin Agricultural Society Transactions vol. 4, pp. 195-154) urging that Wisconsin forests be carefully preserved but his warning went unheeded. In 1867 the state legislature authorized an investigation of whether the lumber industry was likely to cause harm and what, if any, actions the government ought to take to prevent it. Lapham was appointed to chair the investigation, and the report linked below is the result of his efforts. Despite his foresight about the need for conservation, his report was totally ineffective. As long as farmers wanted to clear land to grow cash crops and logging companies wanted to sell lumber cl
- Creator
Lapham, Increase Allen, 1811-1875
- Partner
- Recollection Wisconsin
- Contributing Institution
- Wisconsin Historical Society
- Collection
- Rare Book Collection
- Publisher
- [Commission to Ascertain Effects of the Destruction of Forest Trees] : Atwood & Rublee, state printers
- Subjects
- Storms
Fires
Weather
Deforestation
Forest conservation
Lumber camps
Conservation
Scientists
Forests
Forest products industry
Logging
Sawmills - Location
- Madison, Wis.
Wisconsin - Type
- text
- Language
- English
- Rights
- We believe that online reproduction of this material is permitted because its copyright protection has lapsed or because sharing it here for non-profit educational purposes complies with the Fair Use provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law. Teachers and students are generally free to reproduce pages for nonprofit classroom use. For advice about other uses, or if you believe that you possess copyright to some of this material, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org.
- Chicago citation style
- Lapham, Increase Allen, 1811-1875. Report on the disastrous effects of the destruction of forest trees, now going on so rapidly in the state of Wisconsin. 1860; 1861; 1862; 1863; 1864; 1865; 1866; 1867. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/tp/id/67669. (Accessed March 29, 2024.)
- APA citation style
- Lapham, Increase Allen, 1811-1875, (1860; 1861; 1862; 1863; 1864; 1865; 1866; 1867) Report on the disastrous effects of the destruction of forest trees, now going on so rapidly in the state of Wisconsin. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/tp/id/67669
- MLA citation style
- Lapham, Increase Allen, 1811-1875. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America <http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/tp/id/67669>.