Look to the past to understand the present

Heather Morrison

Fire in Sierra Nevada Forests:
A Photographic Interpretation of Ecological Change Since 1849
By George E. Gruell
ISBN: 0-87842-446-6. $20, Mountain Press Publishing Co.; 238 pages

Fire in Sierra Nevada Forests is one of the first books I have seen that does more than just explain how our Sierra Nevada forests have changed in the past century; it shows us, through a comparison of past and present photo pairs. These pairs represent many areas throughout the Sierra Range, including lower elevation oak woodlands up to the red fir belt and over into the eastside forests. It includes photos of historic gold rush towns like Downieville, Coloma, and La Porte.

The author has painstakingly located the original vantage points of almost all photos. After browsing through the over 80 photo pairs, it was obvious that many of these vantage points were impossible to reach due to heavy vegetation or other obstructions such as roads. In those cases, the conjugate photo was taken at an angle which clearly shows the change in vegetation over time.

This book clearly shows how fire (and a lack of) is only one of several factors that have affected the Sierras. Land use practices such as grazing, mining, urbanization (generally in the form of roads) and logging have also contributed to the difference between the pairs. I believe however, that these photos more than anything indicate that our forests are, first, not static and always growing and secondly, that despite the fact many practices were done with little to no regard for the environment (as compared to the present), that our forests are resilient and do grow back (i.e. 100 years ago, reforestation was not mandatory).

I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Sierra history and/or ecology.

America¹s Ancient Forests: From the Ice Age to the Age of Discovery
By Thomas M. Bonnicksen
ISBN: 0-471-13622-0. $90
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 594 pages

What a wonderful book! America¹s Ancient Forests delves into the distant past, when forests were developing and migrating throughout the continent 20,000 plus years ago up until the 19th century. It includes much information on ice age forests, ancient peoples and fauna, and the forests that existed at the age of discovery. As the author suggests in the preface, ³this book ends where most books on forests begin.²

One of the best parts of this book is the collection of letters, journals and other quotes which testify as to what the landscape looked like and which describe the various land management practices, such as native American use of fire for a myriad of reasons. These notes are much like George Gruell¹s photo book, bringing the reader back into a time where cameras did not exist.

I strongly recommend this book to those people that are fascinated with not only forest ecology, but archaeology and history as well. Well worth the price.