Gunfllint Trail forests 8 years after blowdown

This area was heavily impacted by the 1999 windstorm that affected
about 450,000 acres in and near the Boundary Waters wilderness of
northern Minnesota.

Windstorms tend to accelerate normal processes of forest succession.
In this case, the new forest is a mix of shade-tolerant conifers
(mostly balsam fir and white spruce) and aspen and birch. The
conifers were mostly present in the understory as seedlings before the
storm. Aspen and birch mostly regenerated after the storm in the new
growing space created by the loss of the forest canopy.

Massive natural distubances can leave forests that look broken, messy
and depressing. But in many cases it doesn't take long at all for a
new forest to grow.