Today we appreciate the wooded hillsides that surround Otsego Lake. While the forest is now a place to retreat for recreation, historically trees have been viewed as resources to capitalize on and remove to expand farms and agricultural production. Timber conservation practices, introduced before the Second World War, helped shape the landscape we know and love. Learn more about the relationships among woodlots, waterways, and agriculture here in Otsego County at this talk by Cindy Falk.

Dr. Cynthia Falk is Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies at SUNY Oneonta and long-time professor at the Cooperstown Graduate Program. Falk’s work focuses on material culture, including the agricultural landscape of New York. Falk additionally serves as Deputy Mayor of the Village of Cooperstown.

The talk will take place in the upstairs ballroom at the Cooperstown Village Hall (22 Main Street, Cooperstown).

Photo Credit: Rothstein, Arthur, photographer. Cut-over forest land, Otsego County, New York. United States New York Otsego County New York State, Sept. 1937. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017722897/.