Field Notes

The cowboy hat developed as practical headwear for people working outdoors in the American West. Its wide brim provided sun and weather protection, while its structured crown allowed airflow and durability in high wind. These features were not aesthetic choices but functional responses to environmental conditions.

From the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, the fur trade stood at the center of a global exchange that linked wilderness to empire.  At its heart was the beaver, whose dense underfur made possible the felt hats that defined European fashion and power for centuries. 

Beavers may not look like climate heroes, but their dams do the work of billion-dollar infrastructure. If beavers were a new technology, we’d call them revolutionary. In reality, they’re proof that sometimes the best climate solutions come not from machines, but from letting nature get back to work.

Sauvie Island, nestled between the Columbia River and Multnomah Channel, played a brief but pivotal role in the 19th-century beaver fur trade. In the 1830s, it was home to Fort William, an American outpost aimed at intercepting pelts bound for the British-controlled Hudson’s Bay Company.