Chapter 13, Wisconsin Summary and Analysis

Peoples' ability to enjoy nature begins with what is pretty or what is aesthetically pleasing. The likability of cranes is high amongst people in Wisconsin, and the appreciation of the bird increases as people study its history. A glacier came down from the north and crunched hills and valleys that became filled with water and formed a lake half as long as the state itself. The lake rose throughout the centuries, spilled over its borders and cut a channel where the river could drain itself. Residual canals were created, and the cranes appeared in the new marshlands. The lagoons disappeared eventually, but not the cranes. They stayed and bred their baby colts. Soon after, people came to the area and cut trees all around the marshland and planted crops within it. The cranes adapted to the people, eating the...