Forestry Stories
As Lived and Told by a Northern Indiana Forester
Forestry Stories
As Lived and Told by a Northern Indiana Forester
Bruce tells us about the processes involved in planting and managing forests, about how foresters sell timber, and about the physical challenges of forestry—especially weather. Many of these tales are worth a good laugh, too. His commendable work on restoring the American chestnut will be of keen interest to readers. If you’ve ever wondered about the life of a self-employed field forester, Forestry Stories is sure to enlighten and entertain.
In Forestry Stories, longtime Indiana forester Bruce Wakeland shares a campfire-worthy collection of tales from a life in the woods.
Growing up in northern Indiana, Bruce Wakeland struggled in school, worked in the summer heat laying asphalt to pay for college, and finally entered Purdue University as a freshman already on academic probation.
“Well, there’s only one major that looks good for me,” he told a friend. “Forestry.”
That decision would shape Wakeland’s next four decades as he served woodland owners through a consulting forestry business rooted in natural curiosity, pay-it-forward mentorship, and a profound respect for the forests he tended.
His stories take readers for a ride with his tree-planting crew, into kitchen-table timber sales and courtroom testimonies, across frozen swamps, and through woodlands filled with wild creatures from killdeer and pileated woodpeckers to spiders and yellowjackets—and even to the site of a mysterious “spaceship landing.” He recounts the embarrassing mistakes, oddball clients, difficult weather, and moments of pure awe that come with a lifetime of working in the northern Indiana woods.
Like Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, Wakeland’s collection is imbued with the Land Ethic philosophy: the belief that people must care for the land and for the interdependent community made of humans, plants, water, soil, and animals. Aspiring forestry professionals, conservationists, readers of Indiana history, and lovers of America’s forests will find Wakeland’s contribution to the environmental literature filled with warmth, humor, and wisdom.
Part memoir, part regional conservation history, Forestry Stories is a literary walk in the woods with one of Indiana’s most passionate environmental professionals—and best storytellers. Straight from the heart, Wakeland offers an inspiring look at a career grown tree by tree, mile by mile, in harmony with the natural world.
They say foresters choose the woods because they don’t like crowds, yet they’ll happily stand in a circle swapping stories for hours. Bruce Wakeland is a master of that tradition. With this collection, he has successfully translated the magic of his spoken storytelling into print, making you feel like you are standing right next to him in the field, getting to hear the best tales, his wit, and his wisdom firsthand.
After experiencing Bruce Wakeland’s telling of so many of his stories on our stage over the last several years, I was filled with joy at being able to hold his book in my hands. Forestry Stories unfolds with the same gentle sincerity that Bruce exudes on stage and conveys his deep love for the trees and the land he still manages. The book follows Bruce’s development not just as a lover of trees, but of the fabric of the natural world and all it has to offer a lifelong student of the environment.
About the Author
