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¶ … Pacific Northwest [...] role natural resources played in the peopling of the Pacific Northwest, including the natural resources that became commodities and how the commercialization of those resources affected interactions between various groups. What impact did the exploitation of natural resources have on the region's environment? The Pacific Northwest is a diverse area full of natural resources that helped it grow and prosper as the population forged west. Many of these resources have been exploited for years, at the expense of the area and her people.
Comprising the areas of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Canada's British Columbia, the Pacific Northwest is an area known primarily for its natural resources and relationship to the environment. The area is primarily broken into two parts by the ridge of the Cascade Mountains. To the west lies the humid and lush western coast, and to the east lies the drier, arid eastern plains. These environmental areas can be broken down into smaller, more detailed regions that relate to their own specific resources. One Northwest historian notes, "Principal resources include: soils, grasslands, minerals, fisheries, water for power and irrigation, forests, wildlife, and scenic attractions" (Freeman and Martin 119). From the explorations of Lewis and Clark to the first trappers who visited the area, it was quite clear it was an area rich in resources and wildlife, and abundant potential.
The Native Americans were the first inhabitants of the area. They lived off the abundant natural resources the land possessed, and managed to blend their lifestyle with management of the land and its resources. The Natives in this area did not depend on agriculture, they fished, hunted, and gathered the foods they needed. Nearly...
The Natives owned fishing rights on the coast and along rivers and streams, but these rights were ignored when whites moved into the area, and took over the streams and coastline for their own needs. In fact, by the 1880s, there fifty canneries along the Columbia River alone, and many more lined other streams and rivers (Schwantes 202). When the first white men arrived on the scene, they were interested in the great wealth of furs in the region, and the Natives began trading with the white men. This vastly altered their culture. In fact, fur was the first resource in the area to be exploited by the white man. They helped change the Native culture from hunter-gatherer to possession and consumption of trade goods. Historians Freeman and Martin continue, "Life in this region was competitive, based on the acquisition of wealth. When these new sources of wealth appeared, emphasis on the possession of goods was intensified with a rapid development of a system of social ranking, as exemplified by the potlatch" (Freeman and Martin 13). Thus, the fur trade between Natives and trappers was the first commercial development of the area's natural resources, and this development has been affecting the area ever since.
When timber is mentioned, most people immediately think of the Pacific Northwest, and timber was one of the first natural resources to be utilized, exploited, and depleted. Historians Freeman and Martin note, "Ever since the white man came to this region the forests have provided fuel, shelter, and a means of livelihood for much of the population. Simple logging and milling started with the first permanent settlement" (Freeman and Martin 224). This use and exploitation of timber in the region has continued for centuries, and much of the coveted old-growth timber has disappeared as companies continually log more and more of the area. As one environmental writer notes, "Old-growth forests have been viewed by some as simply decaying timber that should be salvaged and cleared away to make room for new growth. Implicit in this view is the notion that old-growth ecological characteristics differ little from those of younger forests" (Booth 95). When timbering first began in the Pacific Northwest, little thought was given to replenishment or regeneration, and entire areas were clear-cut and…
References
Booth, Douglas E. Valuing Nature: The Decline and Preservation of Old-Growth Forests. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1994.
Freeman, Otis W. And Howard H. Martin, eds. The Pacific Northwest: An Overall Appreciation. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley, 1954.
Schwantes, Carlos Arnaldo. The Pacific Northwest: An Interpretive History. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1989.
History of the Pacific Northwest [...] how the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War impacted regional demographics in the Pacific Northwest. What social ramifications resulted from population shifts in the Northwest (consider rural and urban area)? How did demographics shape/influence Pacific Northwest politics? The Pacific Northwest did not escape the ramifications of the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. No area in the
Ceremonies of the Pacific Northwest Coastal Indigenous Peoples People have been living along the Pacific Northwest Coast for more than 11,000 years, and while the tribes and nations that developed differed in their customs and cultures, they shared some common ceremonial practices including most especially those involving their most important beliefs and natural resources such as salmon and the white deer. This paper provides a description of the different types of
History of the Pacific Northwest [...] how representative the lives of Mary Arkwright Hutton, Annie Pike Greenwood, and Teiko Tomita were considering the racial and class tensions of the twentieth century. Race and class have been important influences throughout the Pacific Northwest's long history. In fact, some of the most racist laws in America were in effect in the Pacific Northwest at the beginning of the twentieth century. Race
Northwest Airlines Many airlines have faced difficult times after deregulation, and the problems were exacerbated by the downturn in air travel after 9-11. Smaller airlines like Northwest Airlines have had even more problems, and yet Northwest in particular persists and so far has voided going out of business in spite of a series of threats, including poor traveler performance, lowered expectations in business terms, labor problems, and so on. Before deregulation in
American History Final Exam Stages of the American Empire Starting in the colonial period and continuing up through the Manifest Destiny phase of the American Empire in the 19th Century, the main goal of imperialism was to obtain land for white farmers and slaveholders. This type of expansionism existed long before modern capitalism or the urban, industrial economy, which did not require colonies and territory so much as markets, cheap labor and
The town, originally born of the railway, remains strongly on the maps of Washington as a small college town, and the railway, which brought the teachers college to the modern, maintains its place in the town. The historical society of Bellingham and the Bellingham Railway Museum mark the importance of the railway in not only settling the town, but bringing the academics that laid out the teachers college, the