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A Cabin in the Woods: How to Make it Worth its Impact

People tend to congregate together in society, hence why cities are increasing in population and growing suburban sprawl can be noticed around the United States. In 2016, about 86% of Americans lived in either a suburban or urban location in the country, a figure overwhelmingly higher than the percentage of Americans living in rural, less developed areas (1). 


(Image source: reference 1)

While this metric is not necessarily an accurate indication of environmental impact in an area (many rural communities are dependent on agriculture), this statistic does speak towards the increase in habitat fragmentation required to develop these more built-up communities. Habitat fragmentation has a laundry list of ecological consequences, including increased edge habitat area, increased risk of an invasive species fixing in an ecosystem, and increased risk of losing native species. A common issue with sharing an ecosystem with housing developments is the need to build roads in an area. Roads lead to habitat fragmentation and increase the risk of organisms losing their life by getting run over by cars. Not only does roadkill cause the death of local animals (obviously), accidents involving larger game like deer can be a serious health risk for humans in the vehicle. My grandmother was in fact in a serious accident involving an elk many years ago and it really messed up her face; now she always has to drink out of a straw due to nerve damage in her lips from the accident. Building habitat corridors on major roads could be a potential solution to this problem, as these "ecosystem bridges" can provide a safer avenue for wildlife to cross the roads constructed in natural areas.


I am from Southern California, so cabin culture was not something I really experienced until I moved here to Wisconsin. It seems like most middle-class families in the state have some sort of cabin up north to get away from society at some point in the summer. With this surplus of cabins up north, it is inevitable that more roads are also built so people can realistically access their summer safe haven. Thus, the issues of habitat fragmentation and roadkill are reaching the once remote Northwoods of Wisconsin. I gravitate towards the idea of having a remote cabin in the woods. A place to get away from it all seems like something very beneficial to my mental health and would help me stay in touch with my natural surroundings. But with a cabin in the woods comes ecological drawbacks, some including the necessity for roads leading to the cabin, the possibility of introducing exotic species to the area on shoes, and burning fossil fuels on the way up to the cabin, which has an impact on the global climate. Some may ask, do these ecological drawbacks make it worthwhile even having a cabin?

A small cabin tucked away in a natural ecosystem 
(Source: Country Cabins)

There are ways to utilize a cabin in ways that can benefit the surrounding environment, which could in fact make the construction of a remote getaway worth it. Many people use their cabin as a home base of sorts on hunting excursions. Wisconsin's northern forests have a significant overabundance of deer and incentivizing hunting may be an effective way to manage this ecological issue. I plan on hunting later in life not only to feel more connected to my food but also to help be more a part of my ecosystem; having a cabin may help to achieve this plan. I also know people who use the land surrounding their cabin to restore a natural ecosystem. One of my family friends has a remote house on the prairie in South Dakota and has restored a grassland with native species with the land he owns surrounding this home. I would argue that stewarding and fostering a native ecosystem around a cabin has major ecological benefits that outweigh the drawbacks of building the cabin itself. Overall, building a cabin has its ecological drawbacks, however, it is completely dependent on how the space is used by an individual to determine if the benefits of the cabin outweigh the costs of building the cabin. 


References:

1. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/05/22/demographic-and-economic-trends-in-urban-suburban-and-rural-communities/


Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 5, 2022 at 9:02 PM

    I find it really interesting that you were not familiar with cabin culture until you moved to Wisconsin. I had a cabin growing up and it was something I never really understood until I was older, to me when I was younger it was always just a second home. Now, I see how it was a place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the real world, but also promoted many of the things we are trying to prevent in this course I believe. I think through creating roadways that benefit only a few people traveling to remote homes, or cell phone towers in the woods for the few people wealthy enough to afford that second home, and many other instances as well prove it to be not a beneficial endeavor all the time. Would you think the same? How would hunting in your own cabin make this different or change your approach to the matter after taking this course?

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  2. AnonymousJune 5, 2022 at 9:12 PM

    Alexander, I found your observations very interesting. I grew up in Wisconsin and was surrounded by the cabin culture, but never owned one myself. In California, is there like a beach house culture? I've heard that those exist for people near the coasts similarly to here. Thinking about that now, I wonder if there could be similar drawbacks to building a beach house. Anyways, I appreciate your thoughts and agree that it depends on the situation, but a cabin would have more benefits than drawbacks. I have wanted to own a cabin but have a goal of making it have as little a carbon footprint as possible.

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