Lumber+Boom+and+Bust

=Lumber Boom and Bust in Michigan= -As the nation rapidly spread across the continent, the demand for lumber skyrocketed. This, coupled with michigan's vast, nearly untouched forests, and recently arrived settlers needing jobs, lead to the lumber industry. Large amounts of homes and buildings were created with michigan timber, and in the 1880s the pique production was 5.5 billion plank feet. [|White pines grew in abundance in northern Michigan] in the 19th century, when that wood was demanded for construction. This was what caused the boom that would occur in the industry. Other states out east couldn't produce as much pine, so Michigan was the next best place that the country would turn for those resources. -Obviously a lot of trees were cut down during this time. This resulted in some deforestation in Michigan. The early lumberjacks had changed the forests of Michigan in a big way. Near the end of the 19th century, [|machines and new tools were developed], which helped improve the cutting efficiency. media type="youtube" key="APWxYznzDn0" height="349" width="425" This is an example of a working water-driven sawmill. This video takes place just southeast of Mackinaw City.
 * ** Why the boom? **
 * **Describe the boom.** (Also think about the following: What did it look like? Use pictures and video where appropriate so people get a sense of how the landscape of Michigan may have been altered by this particular "cycle.")

-This boom and bust occurred mainly in northern michigan and in the Upper Peninsula, mostly because these northern parts had an abundance of lumber and white pine. -The people who were the most involved in this were called [|"shanty boys", "timber barons", and "lumberjacks"]. These were the people that cut down the trees and completed all of the dirty work. Along with these workers, there were the companies that then went on to sell the lumber. -The lumber industry in michigan achieved success due to timing, people, and the status of michigan. Michigan had vast forests, with trees reaching heights of up to 200ft. The rest of the US was also rapidly expanding, but most states had depleted their forests, had small forests, or were border territories having hands full with expansion and statehood. Michigan was an ideal lumber target, and with few regulations, the companies rolled in. Our river network assisted with log transportation. Finally, the technologies of the time were just beginning to industrialize, mechanizing saw mills, increasing efficiency, and permitting logging all year 'round. [|Lumber Mills] [|BIg Wheel Logging wagons: cutting all through the year] -Through deforestation, and a lack of regulation/conservation efforts, michigan's forests were effectively depleted by the 1890s. Smaller logging firms were still able to survive logging smaller areas, but the once great companies could no longer operate as they had. Effectively shutting the industry down and limiting it to the modern, conservative, farm-logging, over the cost effective, wasteful clear cutting that had been the norm -The bust primarily happened in the same areas where the boom was big. Areas where the forests were totally depleted were left depleted for periods of time, so the still untouched tracts of forest continued to be commercially logged, but not on the same scale as the logging business moved on to the more western states with virgin forests. -The people who were most affected by this boom and bust were the people who had jobs in the industry and also the companies that distributed the lumber. -As the forests depleted, and lumber companies had to move farther and farther inland, it no longer became as cost effective to remain competitive with other large companies, to continue logging operations in michigan. About this time, other states/territories covered by large forests emerged on the scene with vast tracts of cheap land, which pushed most big players in the lumber industry out of michigan. Small firms continued to survive, but by and large the industry had moved on.
 * **Where?**
 * ** Who? **
 * ** How? **
 * ** Why the bust? **
 * ** Where? **
 * ** Who? **
 * ** How? **

[|Clear Cutting]

-After the boom, the forests were mostly depleted, other than a few sparse areas, all virgin michigan timber had been collected, and the land was left bare. This lead to desertification on the western coast were the sand dunes encroached fairly deep inland. This was because the forests had sat atop the dunes, and had held the topsoil down and sheltered the smaller plants. With the forests gone the plants had little shelter, and the top soil was winded away, leaving just the sand to blow freely. In the late 1880s-1890s the great logging companies found themselves with vast tracts of land that they had no interest in, so the marketed it as fertile farmland, which was a lie, and soon the settlers found themselves -Primarily, more conservative techniques should have been implemented in order to continue the logging. The companies quickly used up the resources while giving none back. In modern logging, trees are replanted, in order to assure the continuation of the forests, but such techniques were not required way back when, and it led to rapid deforestation. So, primarily a change in logging practices should have happened much earlier or been used from the start. -What we can take away from boom and busts like these is that we can't just rely on one resource or industry to propel your economy. We can relate this boom and bust to the problems that have gone on in Michigan with the auto industry. As we can see, people lose many jobs when a certain industry "falls". This loss of jobs happened to both the bust of the lumber industry and the auto industry (in Michigan).
 * ** What is left? **
 * ** What could have been done differently? **
 * **What lessons can we learn from this history and what particular industries can we apply this to today?** (This part doesn't have to be absolutely Michigan specific)

(Lindsey Lloyd) The website below has very good information about the boom and bust of the lumber industry in Michigan. It talks about how before the lumber industry began, Michigan had many forests and much more wilderness. Now that it has been years since they first began, you can see a big difference in Michigan's amount of trees. I thought that you gave good information in your page about the lumber industry and a lot of your information related to the information I also found on it. [|Michigan Lumber Industry]

(Ethan A. Cramer) This page does an exceedingly thorough job of explaining every detail of the "boom and bust" cycle pertaining to the Michigan lumber industry. From reading this page I learned a lot about the factors that enabled this "boom and bust" cycle to take place; The influx of unemployed settlers, the vast forests of northern hardwoods, and the high demand for lumber. This "boom and bust" cycle somewhat different then other as eco-friendly logging practices allow for the continued harvesting of lumber throughout the state of Michigan. [|Michigan lumber Industry]