Sam Erickson and his forest continue to help Long Lake even though Sam now lives in the town of Park Rapids. See Sam's history entry for Long Lake. (Click on the History page tab above to see Sam's history and other contributions to our history page.)
Did you know that Sam's 80 acre pine forest protects Long Lake? In addition to filtering and purifying water, forests naturally regulate the timing and amount of water flow, which helps lessen flooding during heavy rainstorms. Forests also help curb erosion and prevent excess nutrients from fertilizers from entering nearby bodies of water.
Privately owned woodlands around Long Lake like the White's, the Hooker's, and Sam Erickson's are very helpful in providing clean water and air, wildlife habitat, recreational activities, and producing wood for the paper products we all need, too. To learn more about sustainable forestry go to the American Tree Farm System at http://www.treefarmsystem.org.