A Lot of No Good Land

A Lot of No Good Land. . , The soil here and in much of the northern lower peninsula is sandy and acidic. It is excellent for growing pine trees but makes for poor farming conditions. , , After the white pine logging-era (1870-1900), most of Michigan's northern lower peninsula was clear-cut and burned-over. Logging companies sold land to farmers for cheap prices. Many of these farms failed due to the poor soil, leaving the owners unable to pay their taxes. The property then reverted to the local or state taxing agency. , , Regrowing the Forests , Conservationists and foresters, like William J. Beal, Filibert Roth and Marcus Schaff, saw the urgent need to reforest the barren lands. From the late 1800s through the early 1900s, their far-sighted efforts in fire protection and forestry experimentation paved the way for professional forest management in Michigan. , , Today, Michigan has "good land," with over four million acres of state forests and 270,000 acres of state park and recreation areas. , , Top right image caption: In the 1930s, Michigan enrollees of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a federal Great Depression Era program, helped not only themselves and their families, but also the state's forests. These young men fought forest fires and planted 484 million trees. , , Inset images captions: CCC boys plant seedlings among tree stumps . . . , . . . and in sandy soil. , , Bottom left images from left to right: William J. Beal, Filibert Roth, and Marcus Schaff.