Cornell Wilderness Term - 2012

Little things run the world.  When it comes to the animal kingdom, no truer words were ever spoken. While it may appear to the casual observer that vertebrates are the dominant animals on Earth, insects (without even counting all the other spineless wonders) outnumber, outweigh, and out-consume us bony critters.

There are many exclusively marine invertebrate phyla, but since we will be in the vicinity of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for two weeks, we will focus on the organisms indigenous to the boreal forests and waters of the northern Midwest.  In addition to learning about the anatomy, natural history, ecology, and evolution of invertebrates, you will also conduct research in one of the most pristine natural areas in North America. (Laboratory Science)

When Europeans first arrived in North America, they viewed it as a continental wilderness populated by wild men (Native Americans) and wild beasts. By the late 19th century the continent had been tamed, and Euro-Americans were increasingly interested in preserving vestiges of their wilderness past. The purest expression of that impulse has been the political movement to preserve and protect large tracts of undeveloped federal lands in a National Wilderness Preservation System.

Today there are 702 designated wilderness areas totaling more than 107 million acres. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota is among the oldest. It is the largest wilderness area east of the Rockies and the most heavily visited in the nation. It has been the object of more legislation and more litigation than any other wilderness area. As such, it is the ideal venue for an exploration of the politics of wilderness preservation and management in America.

Morning Moose in our Lake Insula Camp, 2006

Camping on White Pine Point, we can hear Basswood Falls, 2004

The course explores the wilderness concept and the wilderness itself. We will study the history of wilderness preservation in the United States, the impact of wilderness designation on national parks, national forests, and other public lands, and the host of controversies that inevitably arise when government agencies are directed to "preserve natural conditions." What is wilderness? Is preserving wilderness possible? Is wilderness preservation a waste of resources? Should land managers interfere with natural forces? Should forest fires be allowed to burn? Should predatory animals be reintroduced? What is the appropriate place of people in wilderness areas? Should we try to make the wilderness safe for visitors? Should visitors be regulated to protect wilderness? Should concessions be made to Native Americans whose ancestors once called these "wilderness areas" home? How does the division of authority between federal and state governments influence how these decisions are made? Science is indispensable to thinking seriously about many of these questions, but ultimately the choices to be made are political choices. We will try to understand who is making these choices and why.

We will study the laws, regulations, court decisions, and management practices that govern the use of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. We will meet with wilderness managers, and we will participate in wilderness management, measuring visitor impact at de facto campsites in designated "primitive areas" where there are no official campsites. We will spend the majority of our time in Minnesota on a wilderness canoe trip, collecting impact data, visiting areas of historical and management interest, and observing the influence of fire, wind, and visitor behavior on the wilderness resource. (Social Science)