Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2014 10:29:03 -0500
From: Taylor Kish
Subject: Let’s look at the Chatham “wilderness”
Almost every acre in what is now Chatham County has been cleared and used by humans in one way or another. That is a LOT of cleared land for lumber, tobacco, cattle, horses. A lot of Chatham County was inaccessible during the wet months and times of flooding. Floods caused a LOT of disruption to humans’ plans and dreams. A lot of Chatham County was a muddy mess a lot of the time. THAT muddy mess was the real Chatham County “wilderness”. Land owners adapted to the conditions and managed opportunities and adversities on their own or as community but almost always with no government interference. People had to be SELF RELIANT.
Farmers and ranchers ARE CONSERVATIONISTS. Nomads (humans who follow bison) care little about “sustainability” as grazing herds are always moving and God’s ways always work. American Indians were known for burning entire forests to increase grasslands and increase bison herds.
“Wildlife” was pretty much hunted out of existence in Chatham County. Deer had to be reintroduced. Dr. Dykers previously described quail is gone (July 7, 2012). Coyotes are stepping into the void where wolves once
hunted. Bison has been gone for a long, long time. Elk had to be reintroduced to the NC mountains. Wolves and bears have had to be reintroduced.
The Chatham County “wilderness” we see today, is actually littered with a lot of invasive species brought here accidentally, by wind, downstream, out of bird poop, and oh so many ways over time. I believe in the balance of nature and that humanity is as much a part of nature as everything else. This world will always be in balance even though at any given moment, somewhere in the world, it may seem like the sky is falling and the end of
civilization as we know it.
God is bigger than us.