Stories
![People, fire and pines](/sites/cfc.cfans.umn.edu/files/2022-08/cfc_camp8rxfire_pxl_20220518_lbjcrop_0.jpg)
People, Fire and Pines: How Fire Use by the Anishinaabeg Shaped the Boundary Waters
In this piece, Clare Boerigter explores the false-yet-still-dominant narrative of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness as a wilderness “untrammeled by man,” drawing on the work and knowledge of a range of Ojibwe and non-Ojibwe experts to understand the influence of the Anishinaabeg on the forests of the Boundary Waters. The relationship between the Anishinaabeg and fire is a central part of this story. Today, however, fires historically lit by the Anishinaabeg have been removed from the Boundary Waters. When lightning fires do occur on this landscape (as they did during the summer of 2021), state and federal agencies work hard to suppress them. Ecologically, spiritually and relationally, this absence of fire has been felt across the forests of Boundary Waters. In speaking with a range of folks, including Lane Johnson (CFC Research Forester) and others with ties to the University of Minnesota, Clare investigates the questions: Are there ways to live with fire, instead of suppressing it? In what ways, by attempting to live without fire, have we harmfully impacted both land and people? And what can the Boundary Waters – a wilderness frequently defined as free of human influence – teach us about the relationships between people and fire? To explore these questions with Clare go to: z.umn.edu/PeopleFirePine.
60 Years at the Cloquet Forestry Center
In a collection of six multimedia Storymaps titled “60 Years at the Cloquet Forestry Center,” Clare Boerigter tells stories of the CFC’s work, people and life from 1960 to 2020. In the collection, Boerigter explores the pioneering work of scientists Isabel Ahlgren and Gordy Gullion, highlights the CFC field sessions, which have educated University of Minnesota forestry students for the past 96 years, and dives into Conservation Education Days, a hands-on learning program which has introduced Carlton County 5th graders to forestry since 1968. To tell these stories, Boerigter interviewed over 40 foresters, land managers, professors, students and Cloquet-area community members, including members of the Fond du Lac Band, on whose reservation the CFC resides. Throughout the collection, audio clips and historical and contemporary photos are integrated into the narratives to help tell these dynamic stories. The collection ends by looking to the future and asking CFC staff and Fond du Lac Band members to envision what changes the coming years will bring to the Cloquet Forestry Center.
The Camp 8 Story
Clare Boerigter weaves a compelling narrative about the unique ecology, history and cultural significance of a 44-acre stand of 200+ year-old red pines on the CFC. Drawing on archival and contemporary research, in-depth interviews with local foresters and community members, and video footage, images and descriptions of the stand, this multimedia article tells the story of these red pines while underscoring the powerful relationships which visitors, community members and CFC staff have developed with these ancient trees. These relationships, as well as the stand’s historical, ecological and cultural significance, are set against the backdrop of an undeniable reality: today, Camp 8’s red pines have begun to die, with fire exclusion and climate change advantaging a number of other species over a new generation of red pines.
- The Camp 8 Stand was also featured in a CFANS Spotlight.
News
![Andrew David, wearing a white button-up shirt and jeans, shades his eyes against the sun as he looks up at a stand of old trees. He is standing near a younger (and shorter) stand.](/sites/cfc.cfans.umn.edu/files/styles/folwell_third/public/2024-04/andy_david_1.jpg?itok=WrK9ZAQM)
Legacy Q&A with Andy David
Join us in congratulating Andy David, current Director of Operations for the Cloquet Forestry Center and Hubachek Wilderness Research Center, on his upcoming retirement. Read more to find out what Andy is looking forward to in his retirement, and the things he will miss most from his time with the U of M.
![fire on forest floow](/sites/cfc.cfans.umn.edu/files/styles/folwell_third/public/2023-08/prescribed_burn_1_0.jpg?itok=xeZfpBUb)
Cloquet Fire of 1918: Could it Happen Again
Lane Johnson, Research Forester with the UMN Cloquet Forestry Center explains to Fox 21 Local News that fire can be beneficial when done as a prescribed burn.
![snowy ground within pine forest](/sites/cfc.cfans.umn.edu/files/styles/folwell_third/public/2024-01/cfc_viewfromthewoodstunelroad_20231227_lbj.jpg?itok=tbyTEy1z)
View From the Woods 2023
Check out the 2023 newsletter recap from the Cloquet Forestry Center.
![Firefighters by a fire](/sites/cfc.cfans.umn.edu/files/styles/folwell_third/public/2022-11/cfc_dusk_-_lane1.jpg?itok=x-rfilyt)
Restoring fire to the Cloquet Forestry Center
Collaboration between the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Bureau of Indian Affairs and U of M opens new chapter, embraces the role of Indigenous fire in shaping the Center’s forests
![As they prepare for the controlled burn in Camp 8, wildland fires operations specialist Damon Panek (Fond du Lac Forestry/Fire) talks to the forestry group, which includes Kyle Gill (University of Minnesota Cloquet Forestry Center), Scott Posner (Bureau of Indian Affairs Great Lakes Agency), Paul Priestly (Fond du Lac Forestry/Fire), and Carl Crawford (Bureau of Indian Affairs Minnesota Agency).](/sites/cfc.cfans.umn.edu/files/styles/folwell_third/public/2022-11/fire2_1400x840.jpg?itok=HE_naPst)
How Indigenous Knowledge Reconnects Us All to Fire
By elevating Traditional Ecological Knowledge, a forestry center in Minnesota works to restore ecosystems and Indigenous sovereignty.
![warming lamps inside wooded research plot](/sites/cfc.cfans.umn.edu/files/styles/folwell_third/public/2022-09/b4warmed_hwrc.jpg?itok=kTtNcxPZ)
Even modest warming could cause major changes for forests in the Great Lakes region and southern Canada
Even relatively modest climate change could dramatically alter Minnesota’s Northwoods and the southern boreal forest that runs from eastern Canada to Alaska, according to new research recently published in Nature.
![Fire scarred trees](/sites/cfc.cfans.umn.edu/files/styles/folwell_third/public/2022-07/firescarredtrees.jpg?itok=cE2dPDB5)
Once-ignored Indigenous knowledge of nature now shaping science
This MPR story and radio segment explains the growing interest in incorporating Indigenous knowledge into the policies and practices of Minnesotans working with forestry and wildlife.
![Eli Sagor](/sites/cfc.cfans.umn.edu/files/styles/folwell_third/public/2022-06/eli_profile_pic_368x225_1_0.png?itok=O-G2PX-M)
Sagor promoted to Extension Professor
Eli Sagor has been promoted to Extension Professor at the University of Minnesota by the Board of Regents. A group of his peers reviewed his prodigious body of work, including leadership of SFEC, numerous publications, assistance to professional organizations, mentorship of graduate students and teaching efforts and affirmed that the value he has brought to the University of Minnesota and the State was worthy of the rank of Extension Professor. Their recommendation was then made official when the Board of Regents approved the promotion. Congratulations Eli!
![Rachael Olesiak, Research Plot Coordinator with the Cloquet Forestry Center, provided instruction to students from the Youth Eco Solutions (YES!) team at Northern Lights Community School](/sites/cfc.cfans.umn.edu/files/styles/folwell_third/public/2022-06/yes_workshop.jpg?itok=r1Puq5Rp)
A "treemendous" time forestry workshop at Northern Lights Community School
Rachael Olesiak, Research Plot Coordinator with the Cloquet Forestry Center, provided instruction to students from the Youth Eco Solutions (YES!) team at Northern Lights Community School during the YES! workshop on March 10 where students used hands-on activities to learn about their school’s woodland. Read the full story at the Grand Rapids Herald Review.