GRADUATE STUDENTS

My graduate students all integrate historical perspectives into management and conservation questions. I only accept students who wish to train in some aspect of forest or environmental history; students who intend to design projects in restoration ecology or wildlife management should contact other potential advisors. Many of my PhD students do joint PhDs (with history, forestry, or environmental studies), and they are co-advised, to gain better interdisciplinary training.

Current students:

Sarah Mittlefehldt, Joint PhD with Forestry and Environmental Studies.  Sarah's dissertation examines the environmental history of the Appalachian Trail, focusing on recreation, community forestry, and relations between social groups.

Andrew Stuhl, MS in Land Resources, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.  Andrew's research examines the environmental history of native and non-native oysters in the Chesapeake Bay.

Mike Dowkry, PhD, Forestry.  Mike is researching community forestry on tribal lands within the Americas.

Amalia Tholen, MS, Land Resources.  Amalia's research will explore the environmental history of Isle Royale National Park.

Recent Graduates:

Michelle Steen-Adams, joint PhD in Forest Ecology and Management and Land Resources (co-advised with David Mladenoff). An Environmental History of the Northern Wisconsin Cutover. Michelle completed her PhD in August 2005, and is currently an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of New England.

Like most of northern Wisconsin, the forest landscape surrounding Chequamegon Bay has changed dramatically since the mid-nineteenth century. Sites that historically supported old-growth conifer and hardwood forests (including white pine) now typically support early-successional pulpwood species (especially aspen), and to a lesser extent, farm fields and pastures. Such forest changes raise many ecological and political questions about natural resource management. Specifically, people are debating whether and how we should restore northern forests

Jim Feldman, PhD in History (co-advised with William Cronon). A Vision for the Apostles: Nature and History in the Apostle Islands.  Jim is currently Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

In 1970, Congress recognized the natural beauty and historic significance of northern Wisconsin's Apostle Islands by creating Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The National Park Service manages not only the islands‚ sweeping beaches, old growth forests, and sandstone cliffs, but also the old quarrying sites, fishcamps, and lighthouses that reveal the area's human past. Sometimes, though, these two imperatives--the protection of natural and cultural resources--come into conflict. The Park Service manages most of the park as a wilderness area, as pristine nature untouched by human hands. This policy obscures the human history of the islands--the logging, fishing, farming, and tourist activities that created today's island landscapes.

This study will explore the tension between natural and cultural resources by investigating the environmental history of the Apostle Islands from 1850 to the present. The beautiful island landscapes that today's tourists come to the park to enjoy do not represent pristine nature, but rather the legacy of a long set of relationships between people and their environment. Euro-Americans have lived among the islands since 1850, French fur traders and missionaries since the late 1600s, and Native Americans for many years before that. Island dwellers repeatedly turned to the area‚s natural resources to make a living. They quarried island sandstone, logged island forests, and fished the local waters. In later years, they promoted the area as a tourist destination for its natural beauty, sporting opportunities, and human history. The creation of the national lakeshore in 1970 can also be understood as an attempt to make a living off of the island‚s natural and cultural resources. This study will trace the history of these activities, and their impact upon the island environment.

Terri Felton, MS in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development.

Kozui Nogami, MS in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development.