The last 600 years present a changing picture of "People and The Land" in the lower middle Tennessee area of the Cumberland Plateau. Even 600 years ago or earlier, important issues of conservation and development were being balanced out in a process of land and resource utilization and the accommodation of increasing numbers of people. In general the process over the last 600 years is one of greatly increasing numbers of people, higher rates of forest clearing, and greater non-agricultural demands upon the land. The small numbers and technological modes of the Amerindians resulted in little long-term environmental impact. The mechanical and petro-chemical technological complex of European culture has generated massive environmental transformation. Now, however, this process of transformation is largely complete and the next forms of transformation are political and social. The relative balance of cleared vs. forested land is not likely to shift much for the next few decades. The most relevant current issues concern utilization of already cleared land. Increasing population and the infrastructure economics of American lifestyle drive a severe competition for agricultural land. As the agricultural work force continues to shrink as a portion of the total work force and as this work force locally continues to age, the capacity of our society to sustain sustainable, small scale local agriculture will diminish. The combined effect of powerful social values related to perceptions of domestic tranquillity associated with detached bungalow housing on five-acre tracts and municipal tax bills will tip the balance of conservation and development strongly in the direction of development.
