How The Environment Has Shaped the State

From Sustenance to Leisure on Minnesota Land

Expert Essay: Associate professor of history Michael J. Lansing, published in Environmental History as well as Ethics, Place, and Environment, highlights the many ways people have made use of Minnesota's flora and fauna over time and reviews the state's more recent efforts at conservation.

Rochester State Hospital grounds

Rochester State Hospital grounds

Rochester State Hospital grounds, 1890s.

Paul Bunyan (folklore character)

The giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan—bearded, ax in hand, clad in red flannel and work boots—has come to represent Minnesota’s Northwoods. Folklore credits him and his sidekick, Babe the Blue Ox, with creating the Mississippi River and the Grand Canyon. But his legacy is complicated. While Paul Bunyan myths celebrate Minnesota, they also leave out the facts of the state’s logging history, which led to deforestation and the displacement of Native American histories, places, and people.

Map of land transfered by the Minnesota Historical Society to the Lower Sioux Indian Community in 2022

Map of land transfered by the Minnesota Historical Society to the Lower Sioux Indian Community in 2022

Map of land transferred by the Minnesota Historical Society to the Lower Sioux Indian Community in 2017.

Bird’s-eye view of Willmar State Hospital, 1937

Bird’s-eye view of Willmar State Hospital, 1937

Bird’s-eye view of Willmar State Hospital, 1937.

Shagawa Lake at sunset

Shagawa Lake at sunset

Shagawa Lake as seen from Grant-McMahan Boulevard on the lake’s north shore. Photograph by Wikimedia Commons user Tony Webster, September 30, 2017. CC BY-SA 2.0

Jaspilite (banded iron) formation, Sudan Underground State Park

Jaspilite (banded iron) formation, Sudan Underground State Park

Glacially eroded outcrop of jaspilite (banded iron) formation, Sudan Underground State Park. Photograph by James St. John, June 10, 2015. CC BY-SA 2.0

Map of the iron ranges of the Lake Superior region

Map of the iron ranges of the Lake Superior region

Map of the iron ranges of the Lake Superior region, ca. 2015. Created by W. F. Cannon for the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Lake Vermilion State Park Overlook

Lake Vermilion State Park Overlook

Lake Vermilion State Park Overlook. Photograph by Wikimedia Commons user McGhiever, September 27, 2011. CC BY-SA 3.0

Mine in the Vermilion Range

Mine in the Vermilion Range

A mine in the Vermilion Iron Range operated by the Minnesota Iron Company, 1891. Photograph by Crandal & Fletcher Studio, Duluth.

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