Mt St Helens - 43 years later

Mt. St. Helens - clouds hanging just above the crater

I had the opportunity to visit Mt St Helens in 2012, and now, eleven years later. However, due to a mudslide a few weeks ago, we could not go to the Johnston Ridge Observatory. 

It was interesting to see the changes (sadly, I didn't put up a blog post about our original visit - and don't have access to pictures from that time) What really struck me was the huge number of green and healthy large trees I could see now, where during my first visit many of the hillsides were still covered in downed trees blown over by the blast. 

I recall having a discussion with the Mister on our first visit about public and private lands and how they were treated differently after the blast. The public lands, those in the park, were left to recover on their own. Forested areas on private lands were managed, and downed trees were collected and harvested. 

Looking at the top half of the picture below, one can see a line that moves diagonally from mid center, bottom to the left. On the right is land that was left to return without any interference by man. The lush, green forest on the left side is managed forest. Here downed trees were removed. New trees were planted and the forest is maintained by cutting, thinning and fertilization.

Here is a picture of a hillside shortly after the volcano exploded in 1980, and that same hillside today. Scientists and locals who were familiar with the land around Mt St Helens commented that after the blast they struggled to recognize the land. In looking at the then and now picture, one could almost say the same thing. This particular area of land is part of the park and is not managed. It has regrown, but the changes are not quite as dramatic as those in managed lands.

Managed lands recovered as much lumber after the eruption as they could. They had to. They were in the businessselloing wood, and the blast effectively removed their product. 

Trees were replanted on managed lands. Research and experimentation led the foresters to discover that the optimal way to replant was to dig down through the ash and plant the seedlings so that roots could reach the soil. If planted just in the ash, there was little to hold water and there were no nutrients and the seedlings died. They also learned that they needed to trench away from each tree so any water that collected could run off. Without a trench water sat in the bowl of dust and ultimately drowned the tree. 

There were wonderful displays at the visitors center that engaged kids (and young at heart) in understanding the concepts of managing forests and the importance of wood products in our lives. Toothpaste...from trees?? (Play "I Spy" to see if you can find the Colgate package)

This was once a river of mud, ash and timber. Much of that still remains.