Stepping Back to Look Forward: A History of the Massachusetts Forest

This timely collection of essays, written by recognized forestry and environmental specialists, tells the story of the conservation, use, and changes in Massachusetts’ forests over time. It begins with ecology and land-use history through pre-settlement, colonial, and post-Revolutionary periods, and ends with recommendations on how history may inform policy. It documents the origin and growth of state forestry programs and underscores the importance of private and local leadership and Massachusetts’ roles in the emergence of national conservation and forestry efforts. Economic contributions and educational programs are detailed. The book concludes with a call to awaken and reinvigorate the historical connection between citizens and their forests, an initiative of potential significance not only to Massachusetts but to the nation.

Charles H. W. Foster is Adjunct Research Associate and Lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He is a former Massachusetts Commissioner of Natural Resources, Secretary of Environmental Affairs, and Dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.