Ancestral volcanism beginning several tens of millions of years ago created the bedrock foundation for today’s Cascade Range. Erosion over the past few million years carved the modern Lookout Creek watershed of the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest.
In this century, wildfires over a large part of the Cascades set the stage for establishment of what we call “old growth” today. This is a featured subject for Andrews Forest science and the Long-Term Ecological Reflections program.
In the Kalapuya Treaty (aka the Treaty of Dayton, Willamette Valley Treaty), the Kalapuya were forced to cede the land that we now call the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest to the U.S. Government. Read more about the region including early and continued presence of Indigenous people here.
The H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, originally called the Blue River Experimental Forest, was established by the U.S. Forest Service. Read more about the Andrews research history.
U.S. Forest Service scientists began researching the effects of logging on hydrology, sediment yield, and nutrient losses by establishing three experimental watersheds in the Andrews Forest.
The International Biological Program (IBP), funded by the National Science Foundation, supported collaborative research to examine old-growth and managed forest and stream ecosystems at the Andrews Forest.
The Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network was founded by the National Science Foundation with the recognition that long-term research could help unveil principles and processes of ecological science. The Andrews Forest was a charter member.
The 200-year log decomposition study was established as a long-term experiment at the Andrews Forest. The “Log Decomp” site later becomes a Reflection Plot for visiting writers and artists.
The interrelationship between ecological science and society gained new appreciation as research on old-growth forests, northern spotted owls, and watersheds at the Andrews became central to ongoing political debates over the future of federal forested lands. Social scientists joined researchers in the forest.
A group of 20 writers and scientists gathered at Andrews Forest on the topic New Metaphors for Forest and Watershed Restoration followed by a public event in Corvallis to promote restoration action and education. This was the first of many field symposia organized by the Spring Creek Project.
The Long-Term Ecological Reflections program and The Forest Log were established with inaugural Blue River Writing Fellows Robin Wall Kimmerer (link to contributor page) and Robert Michael Pyle (link to contributor page). Later in the year, Pyle’s essay “The Long Haul,” inspired by the 200-year log decomposition experiment site, appeared in Orion magazine.
A quorum of environmental writers, philosophers, scholars, and scientists gathered at the Andrews to craft “The Blue River Declaration: An Ethic of the Earth.”
Artist Leah Wilson (link to contributor page) completes her first residency and develops the first of many projects inspired by the Andrews Forest. The visual arts join writing in the collection of creative responses to the forest.
Researchers at the Andrews established the Discovery Tree, a 500-year-old Douglas Fir wired with sensors and cameras that provide real-time data on temperature, leaf wetness, relative humidity, soil temperature, soil moisture, wind direction and speed, giving scientists, scholars, artists, and writers a glimpse into canopy and soil processes in the old growth.
Inspired by a residency at Andrews, composer and multimedia artist Paul Miller, also known as DJ Spooky, collaborated with Spring Creek Project to visit the forest in each season and compose “Heart of a Forest,” an acoustic portrait of the Andrews.
Creative work by 30 writers in residence at Andrews Forest were published in the book collection Forest Under Story (University of Washington Press).
Twenty-five artists contributed works inspired by Mark Harmon’s log decomposition experiment to the exhibit ROT: The Afterlife of Trees. The exhibition was shown at The Arts Center in Corvallis, Oregon, and in Portland at the World Forestry Center. The accompanying catalog contains essays by scientist Harmon, artist Leah Wilson, writer Charles Goodrich, and the work of five poets.
Richard Powers’ novel The Overstory, containing reference to Andrews Forest stories, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Elizabeth Rush’s Rising, which includes a chapter from her residency at the Andrews, was one of three finalists in the Pulitzer nonfiction book category.
The Spring Creek Project received a grant from the Ronald W. Naito MD Foundation to increase diverse voices in the Long-Term Ecological Reflections program. During the three-year grant, Spring Creek Project collaborated with an advisory panel to reimagine and restructure the Reflections program, making it more accessible to writers and artists of color.
The Holiday Farm Fire, the largest wildfire in Oregon history, burned more than 170,000 acres in the McKenzie River Valley, including 400 acres within the Andrews Forest.
The Long-Term Ecological Reflections program paused because of COVID-19 restrictions and precautions related to the Holiday Farm Fire. The headquarters reopened to visitors and residents in late summer 2022.
The Lookout Fire affected seventy percent of the Andrews Forest. Areas of the forest experienced fire at different intensities. Several long-term study sites and some equipment burned. The Fireline Fellowship was launched in response to the Lookout Fire. Writers, artists, and musicians will spend three years exploring issues connected with wildfire. Their work will be shared here in the Forest Log.