Local Context continued...Throughout the past 200 years, Illinois has experienced serious deforestation. Trees have been cut down to make recreation areas for the population. In some place you won't see a tree for miles.
Farmland and urban sprawl have largely replaced 13.8 million acres of forest that used to exist, approximately 38% of Illinois used to be forested. It consisted of Hickory and Oak trees. The 62% that remained was prairie. Early settlers in Illinois began using wood for fuel, goods, and building materials such as furniture and tools.
By the year 1870, exactly 7.8 million of the 13.8 million acres of the forested area in Illinois were completely gone.
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