The original inhabitants of the AFR are the Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqiyik, and Passamaquoddy.  Prior to European settlement, old growth “covered an estimated 50 percent of the land” and “pine, hemlock, cedar, spruce, fir, and a number of hardwood species” dominated.  These trees “could reach 300 years of age” and “towered over the landscape forming an unbroken canopy” that stretched across the maritime provinces and the Northeastern United States.

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The Acadian Forest changed drastically with colonization.  When settlers found the unbroken forests, they saw economic opportunity:  “White pine and, later, red spruce and other species were harvested for European shipbuilding and lumber markets and for local construction and fuel.  Hemlock bark provided tannins for the fur trade and leather industry, while the wood became timbers for railway ties.”

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Forests were also cleared for fields and pastures after settlers realized that the “most productive soils were found under the best stands of trees.”  Clearing the land was seen as a way of taming it and creating livable spaces that resembled settlers’ homelands.