A Sedimental Journey: Tracking Historic Dirt Downstream

“A Sedimental Journey:  Tracking Historic Dirt Downstream,” by Chris Bolgiano. Hosted by the Forest History Society.

Through archival and contemporary quotes and photos, Chris Bolgiano explores how the misuse of forests across the eastern U.S. over more than four centuries still impacts watersheds today.  Legacy Sediments, as the results of historic erosion are officially called, have only recently been recognized as a major problem not only for the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S., but also for other bays along the Atlantic coast as well as around the world.  To understand why requires a map of long-gone water mills, a lidar-equipped drone, and a revolutionary new understanding of streams that look “natural” but definitely are not.  You’ll never look at your local creek the same way again.

Chris Bolgiano

Mildly amusing nature writer Chris Bolgiano has written or edited six books, as well as travel and nature articles for the Washington Post, New York Times, Sierra, Audubon, Wilderness, and many other publications, as well as syndicated op-eds for the Chesapeake Bay Journal News Service.  As Professor Emerita at James Madison University in Virginia, where she spent 25 years documenting local history, she now shamelessly uses her connections in the library for access to sources.  She serves on the Rewilding Leadership Council, where her books are listed. www.chrisbolgiano.com