Against the Grain: Foresters and Politics in Nova Scotia

Patrick Colgan is the former executive director of the Canadian Museum
of Nature.

Written by two academics specializing in resource management, Against
the Grain is a history of Nova Scotia’s forestry as seen through seven
key individuals. A helpful introduction and chronology demonstrate the
inevitably political nature of forestry, sources of diversity within the
profession, and the ideological roots of both scientific and social
controversies.

The profiles begin with Otto Schierbeck, Nova Scotia’s first chief
forester who tried to professionalize operations and was eventually
dismissed. They continue with John Bigelow, who strove to reform trade
and fight patronage; Lloyd Hawboldt, who sought to enhance the
scientific basis of policy; and David Dwyer, who developed the social
context of forestry through organizational service; industry advocate
Donald Eldridge, who was unsympathetic to environmentalism and
frustrated with the government; Richard Lord, who championed the
nongovernmental sector (e.g., woodlot owners); and Mary Guptill, a
leader in applying forestry locally through group ventures. Each
biography is followed by a key paper of the profiled individual
reflecting her or his approach.

The concluding section laudably recapitulates these careers in the
context of major issues such as the applicability of theory, the role of
extension services, and federal support, along with specific
controversies such as budworm spraying. Attention to key issues in
professional history, such as demarcation from activities of the general
public, are strengths of the text. Highly recommended, but for foresters
only.