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The Return of the Forest: Urbanization and Reforestation in the Northeastern United States
EPA Grant Number: U915420Title: The Return of the Forest: Urbanization and Reforestation in the Northeastern United States
Investigators: Stroud, Ellen
Institution: Columbia University
EPA Project Officer: Just, Theodore J.
Project Period: September 8, 1998 through August 1, 2001
Project Amount: $83,291
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (1998)
Research Category: Fellowship - Environmental History , Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration , Academic Fellowships
Description:
Objective:The objective of this research project is to investigate the relationship between the regrowth of forests in the northeastern United States during this century and the concurrent growth of northeastern cities.
Approach:In my analysis of the processes of reforestation in the northeastern United States, I focus on the interaction between the city and its hinterlands, arguing that it is no coincidence that the most heavily urbanized part of the country has experienced the most dramatic return of woodlands. My hypothesis is that the desires and physical needs of city people encouraged and required the return of the forest. I am tracing the history of five types of northeastern forests—watershed forests, "wild" forests, farm woodlots, industrial forests, and forested suburbs. These five forest types are found throughout the northeastern United States, although their significance varies by time and place. My inquiry focuses on municipal watersheds in Pennsylvania, "wilderness" in New Hampshire's White Mountains, farm woodlots in Vermont and New Hampshire, industrial forests in Maine, and forested suburbs outside of Boston. This case study approach allows a close analysis of the complexity and nuance of landscape change.
Supplemental Keywords:fellowship, watersheds, development, urban planning, public policy, conservation, social sciences, history, Atlantic Coast, Maine, ME, New Hampshire, NH, Vermont, VT, Massachusetts, MA, Pennsylvania, PA, reforestation, northeastern United States. , Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Water, Geographic Area, Scientific Discipline, RFA, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, exploratory research environmental biology, Restoration, Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, Ecology, Mid-Atlantic, Ecological Indicators, Ecological Effects - Human Health, Chemical Mixtures - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecosystem Protection, Forestry, Ecology and Ecosystems, Urban and Regional Planning, State, Maine (ME), forested suburbs, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire (NH), urbanization and reforestation, Philadelphia, industrial forest, forested farms, Vermont (VT), Boston, White Mountains (New Hampshire), forests, watershed forests, wild forests, woodlands, reforestation