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overall, mount St. helens’ ecosystems experienced quick rebound
For a quarter of a century, dozens of scientists have studied the ecological responses to the cataclysmic
1980 eruption of mount St. Helens. This year, a synthesis of their findings was published by Springer-verlag as a book titled Ecological Responses to the 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens. This vast body of work includes long-term meas-urements of changing plant and animal communities in the volcano’s forest, meadow, lake, and stream systems across varying intensities of disturbance. Although scientists found that the pace of ecological change varied greatly among these different environments, in general, ecological response was rapid.
major findings from the synthesis were communicated broadly, helped greatly by media attention. These findings fueled the production of a poster, brochure, and public lectures to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 1980 eruption. The findings will be the foundation for future interpretive programs at the National volcanic monument, which reach half a million people annually. mount St. Helens has become the major global site for study of the effects of volcanic activity and has an important position in the field of disturbance ecology. Studies of mount St. Helens’s ecology continued in 2005 with a major pulse of research activity by federal and university scientists.
Contacts: charlie crisafulli, [email protected], Aquatic and land interactions program; and fred Swanson, [email protected], ecosystem processes program
Partners: montana State University, oak Ridge national laboratory, oregon State University, portland State University, University of new mexico, University of Washington, USDi Geological Survey, Utah State University, Washington Department of fish and Wildlife, Washington State University
Anniversary of eruption creates opportunities for science learning
The 25th anniversary of the catastrophic 1980 eruption of mount St. Helens created a unique opportunity for
people to learn about research done at the volcano. Scientists and communication specialists developed ways to help people understand the quarter-century of research that has made mount St. Helens the most intensively studied volcano in the world. People’s interest in the mountain was reawakened when the volcano began to erupt in fall, 2004, after years of inactivity.
mount St. helens has become the major global site for study of the effects of volcanic activity and has an important position in the field of disturbance ecology.
Research ecologist samples pond for amphibians in early spring, 2005. behind him, steam rises from volcanic vents at mount St. helens.
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The Station communicated about mount St. Helens research through publications for both general and technical audi-ences, a Web site, and personal meetings. The Web site, http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/mtsthelens, provides a compre-hensive, single source of information on mount St. Helens research. It features key research findings, news on upcoming events, a glossary, photos, maps, and selected publications, along with media information, including a streaming video interview with the Station’s lead mount St. Helens scientist. many field tours were given for reporters and land managers, and hundreds of people attended public lectures at Washing-ton State university and also in Portland, Oregon.
mount St. Helens was featured in thousands of print, radio, Tv, and Internet news outlets around the world during 2005. Two of the stories were articles in the Smithsonian magazine (may 2005), and Odyssey (April 2005), a magazine for children. millions of people worldwide learned about the ecological research at the volcano.
Contact: Sherri Richardson Dodge, [email protected], communications and Applications program
Partners: USDA forest Service, Gifford pinchot national forest and mount St. helens national Volcanic monument; Washington State University
project educates rural Alaskans about economics of morel mushroom harvesting
Alaska’s vast interior accounts for most of the acreage burned by wildfires every year in the united States. Recently, interior Alaska has had record fire years, with over 6 million acres burned in 2004 and over 3 million in 2005. After an area has burned, morels, an edible, choice wild mushroom, sometimes fruit prolifically. Though these mushrooms are a lucrative cash crop in parts of canada and the Pacific Northwest, few
Alaskans were familiar with them until recently. The commercial harvest of morels is an unrealized economic opportunity for rural Alaska, where in some communities the annual household income ranges from $12,000 to $15,000.
To help educate rural Alaskans about the economics of morels, scientists partnered with the Sustainable Rural communi-ties project of the university of Alaska Fairbanks cooperative Extension Service. Scientists and extension agents taught more than 600 residents from 11 rural communities about basic morel ecology, fruiting seasons, and harvesting methods. Rural residents also learned about post-harvest processing methods such as dry-ing, and commercial buyers and markets. Residents from seven remote communities were able to see DvD presentations of the
information. This project will help Alaskans generate income from forest lands where little timber harvest takes place.
Contact: tricia Wurtz, [email protected], ecosystem processes program
Partners: communities of chitina, circle, copper center, eagle, fairbanks, fort Yukon, Glennallen, northway, tetlin, and tok, Alaska; council of Athabascan tribal Governments; University of Alaska, cooperative extension Service
More information: pnW-Rn-546. Harvesting Morels After Wildfire in Alaska. http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_rn546.pdf.
new wetland assessment tool used to evaluate changes in wetland functions over time
Hydrogeomorphic wetland assessment (HGm) is a major improvement in wetland evaluation. The
new HGm approach uses a functional rating score based on measurements of several reference systems to evaluate changes in wetland functions over time. The rating system establishes objective criteria to evaluate areas through a rapid assessment method.
Station scientists collaborated with partners in many agencies to develop a system for evaluating wetland functions in tem-perate coastal Alaska, by using the HGm approach. Two key products were a guidebook for using the new wetland assess-
ment tool in coastal southeast and south-central Alaska and an associated field guide with data collection procedures. Land managers and regulatory agencies now have available a tool for objectively and transparently evaluating wetland function. The tool has wide application in prioritiz-ing wetland rehabilitation projects and monitoring their effectiveness, assessing the effects of land management practices
on wetland function, and the establishment of wetland-miti-gation banks. By using the HGm approach, agencies can do more sophisticated planning, balancing wetland functions
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people from middle schoolers to internationally known scientists attend field trips, meetings, and educational programs at the h.J. Andrews experimental forest.
Increasingly, however, students at all levels are visiting the forest and learning about its research and the link between science and policy. A total of 560 individuals visited the for-est as part of educational activities, including students from 9 universities, 3 high schools; and 2 middle schools. Oregon State university offers several regular field-based classes at the forest, and additional classes visit for field trips. In April 2005, graduate students from the National Science Foun-dation-sponsored Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program assembled for a symposium at the Andrews Experi-mental Forest to share their research findings and develop new collaborations. These students came from 27 LTER sites throughout the united States and from many international sites.
Contacts: Sherri Johnson, [email protected], and fred Swanson, [email protected], ecosystem processes program
Partner: oregon State University
Station continues support of inner-city youth programs
The Station provided continued support to the Inner city Youth Institute (IcYI), which encourages underrepresented youth to pursue higher education and careers in natural resources and environmental science by engaging them in a variety of educational activities. The institute is a collaborative program among the Forest Service, Oregon State university, Audubon Society of Portland, and Bureau of Land management.
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lost to development against functions that will be restored elsewhere. Sealaska corporation and the city and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, have used the HGm guidebook to evaluate wetland mitigation measures and determine mitigation credit scores.
Contact: Dave D’Amore, [email protected], Resource management and productivity program
Partners: Alaska Department of environmental conservation; University of Alaska, Southeast
Scientists update protocols and procedures for permanent plots
Silvicultural research requires data on tree growth and response to actions such as thinning and fertilization. These data are usually collected from permanent plots established at the start of a study and subsequently remeasured at intervals over a number of years. Recently, Station scientists completely updated the procedures used to establish and maintain per-manent plots for silvicultural and yield research, and they published an updated report on guidelines, standards, pro-tocols, and consistent codes to be used. The report describes valid sampling approaches, appropriate plot designs, good field techniques, and quality control procedures. This thor-ough revision of the original 1983 publication also reflects advances in data collection technology (use of lasers and data recorders) and newer developments in silvicultural research (long-term/large-scale experiments). Publication of the updated procedures should help researchers and managers choose the best methods and maximize the usefulness of data collected.
Contact: David marshall, [email protected], Resource management and productivity program
More information: General technical Report pnW-GtR-634. Permanent-Plot Procedures for Silvicultural and Yield Research. http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr634.pdf.
Station joins in forest Service centennial celebration
On July 1, the Forest Service celebrated its 100th anniversary. To celebrate the centennial, Station communication specialists organized lectures given by a Forest Service history expert, distributed commemorative publications to employees and the public, and organized screenings of “The Greatest Good,” a Forest Service centennial film.
Oral history interviews of Station employees resulted in four scientists attending the Smithsonian 39th-annual Folklife Festival in Washington, Dc. The scientists explained their research through lively demonstrations, including wood mushrooms made onsite with a mini-lathe, giant models of forest mushrooms, a flume table where floods coursed through a miniature “forest” of alfalfa sprouts, and a small model of the Wind River canopy crane. The centennial events gave both Forest Service employees and the public the opportunity to reflect on the agency’s past and look toward its future.
Contact: Sherri Richardson Dodge, [email protected], communications and Applications program
Partners: high Desert museum; oregon State University; Southern oregon University; University of Washington; USDA forest Service, Alaska Region, pacific northwest Region, and Deschutes, ochoco, Rogue River, Siskiyou, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman national forests; World forestry center
educational activities abound at h.J. Andrews
For most of its 57-year history, the H.J. Andrews Experi- mental Forest in Oregon has been a learning center for forest scientists and managers. Between July 2004 and June 2005, for example, over 500 scientists and natural resource managers visited the forest on research-related tours.
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Young people with the inner city Youth institute go river rafting during the summer program where they learn about natural resources and science.
the ecological recovery at mount St. helens over the past 25 years has held many surprises for scientists, who shared what they’ve learned with the public in 2005.
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In 2005, IcYI sponsored ecology clubs in inner-city middle and high schools and an intensive, week-long summer pro-gram for high school students in corvallis, Oregon. It also supported Alberta Nature Teams (ANTS), a summer program specifically designed for elementary school children from inner-city communities. About 200 students participated in IcYI programs.
In recognition of its accomplishments, IcYI received the Secretary of the Interior’s Annual Diversity Award for Partnership Achievement in 2005.
Contact: becky bittner, [email protected], communications and Applications program
Partners: Audubon Society of portland; oregon State University; USDi bureau of land management
Web site plays major role in Station communications
For the Station, the Internet plays a major role in communicating with the public. Since 1996, every Station publication has also been posted as an electronic document on the Web. Station series publications printed before 1996 are being scanned and made available electronically. In 2005, scanning added 799 Station publications and 137 journal articles to the Web site, making a total of 1,276 Station publications available online (http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us).
In 2005, the Station had over 2 million hits to its Web site and more than 400 subscrib-ers to its Web-based electronic mailing list. These subscribers receive national and Sta-tion research news releases and publications, such as Science Findings and Science Update, electronically. more information on the electronic mailing list can be found at http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/publications/subscription.shtml.
Contact: tiffany Dong, [email protected], communications and Applications program
Station science helps explain stories on volcanoes, droughts, forestry, for media
In 2005, the Station’s major news story was the 25th anniversary of the mount St. Helens eruption in 1980 and the ecological recovery since 1980. The story was run by numerous print, radio, and television outlets around the world, including Smithsonian Magazine, National Public Radio, and KGW-Tv (Portland, OR), and charlie crisafulli, the Station’s lead scientist at the volcano, was interviewed many times. The Neue Züercher Zeitung, a daily newspaper in Zurich, Switzerland, ran an extended story on the ecological recovery at mount St. Helens.
Findings about the columbia River Basin’s climate history also made headlines. Tree-ring data from basin forests showed that extended droughts have occurred a number of times over the past several hundred years. Station scientist David L. Peterson, who worked on the study with researchers from the universities of Washington and Guelph (Ontario, canada), was interviewed many times for stories in media outlets including The Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Daily News (Longview, WA), and mSNBc.com.
morels are highly-sought-after edible mushrooms that can grow especially well after wildfires, and Alaska’s record fire season in 2004 generated several stories in 2005 on the pos-sibility of harvesting abundant morels in Alaska. Stories were featured in Bon Appetit, Los Angeles Times Magazine, Anchorage Daily News, and Agroborealis, a publication of the university of Alaska.
The review of the first decade under the Northwest Forest Plan also received media attention. Stories on the Plan, old forests, spotted owls, and Northwest communities appeared on Oregon Public Broadcasting, The Oregonian, other regional
media, and Science, the premier journal for scientists.
Finally, the Forest Service centennial brought media attention for Station research. National Public Radio’s “Radio Expeditions” program aired two separate programs that interviewed Station scientists Rick meinzer and Gordon Grant in celebration of the agency’s 100th
anniversary. meinzer spoke about the canopy research at the Wind River Experimental Forest, and Grant spoke about Forest Service research on underground waterflow in forests.
Contact: Sherri Richardson Dodge, [email protected], communications and Applications program
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Fiscal year
Pub
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600
500
400
300
200
100
0
2001
2002
2003
2004
Total Publications
2005
Theses anddissertations 5%
Books or chapters 5%
Proceedings11%
Journalarticles40%
Types of Publications511 total publications for FY2005
Stationseries 13%
Other28%
pUblicAtionS➤ 511 total publications. (Includes Station series
publications, journal articles, proceedings, books or book chapters, theses and dissertations, and other publications.)
➤ Over 180,000 hardcopies of Station series publications distributed.
➤ Over 140,000 downloads of Station publications from Web site.
➤ 1,276 Station publications available online (via Station’s Web site and Treesearch, http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us).
➤ 11,000–13,000 journal article reprints distributed by scientists in response to requests.
➤ 10 issues of PNW Science Findings published; about 9,000 copies distributed each issue.
➤ 3 issues of PNW Science Update published; about 9,000 distributed each issue.
➤ 2 cD-ROms produced.
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➤ 4,272 people participated in symposia and workshops.
➤ 1,263 people went on field tours.
➤ 2,606 people participated in conservation education activities.
➤ About 1 million people attended the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in June 2005, where PNW Research Station scientists were included in the Forest Service exhibits and events.
The year 2005 had many special events in conjunction with anniversaries—the 25th anniversary of the big mount St. Helens eruption, 10-year review of the Northwest Forest Plan, centennial celebration of the Forest Service—and so the total number of people attending events had a noticeable spike over previous years. Some of these events are described briefly below; however, this list is not exhaustive. The PNW Research Station sponsors many scientific and technical events every year, many with the help of partners, including universities, state and federal agencies, and nongovernment organizations.
Field tours16%
Symposiaand workshops
52%
2005 Technology Transfer Events
Total participants = 8,141
Conservation education
32%
Annual levels-of-growing stock tour. About 20 people joined a field trip to a wide range of management activities and research studies on national forest land in southwest Oregon.
Aquatic organism passage at culverted road-stream crossings. About 50 people attended this workshop in corvallis, Oregon, where they learned how to identify impassable culverts, design passable culverts, and assess effectiveness of completed projects.
Advancing the Fundamental Sciences Conference. This national assembly of about 450 Forest Service practitioners in hydrology, soils, air, and geology met in San Diego, california. They worked on strengthening interdisciplinary watershed programs and recognized the work accomplished by water-shed pioneers.
BlueSky annual meeting and users workshop. About 60 people attended the annual meeting of the interagency BlueSky community modeling consortium, held in Edmonds, Washington, this year. cooperators and users gathered to discuss the BlueSky smoke modeling and management project and help define future priorities. Immediately after, the annual workshop for expert users focused on user needs and priorities.
Bringing climate change into natural resource manage-ment. About 100 people attended this workshop in Portland, Oregon. They learned about current research on climate change and discussed the implications for natural resource management.
Capitol Forest silviculture options study. About 30 people from the southwest Washington chapter of the Society of American Foresters toured the silviculture options study on the capitol State Forest, near Olympia, Washington. The study is a collaborative research project between the PNW Research Station and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
Central Oregon landscape analysis workshops. At two 1-day workshops (Bend and Klamath Falls, Oregon), scien-tists demonstrated the capabilities of recent landscape-scale modeling and landscape-level effects on vegetation to local national forest supervisors, Oregon Department of Forestry personnel, and county commissioners.
Cold hardiness testing in advanced-generation coopera-tive genetic improvement programs. This workshop, held in corvallis, Oregon, brought together 26 managers and researchers to summarize current knowledge on cold
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hardiness testing methods, the genetics of cold hardiness in conifers, and implementing testing in applied tree breeding programs. The PNW Research Station, North- west Tree Improvement cooperative, and Pacific Northwest Tree Improvement Research cooperative jointly organized the workshop.
Douglas-fir genome project. In corvallis, Oregon, 32 researchers and stakeholders from academia, government agencies, and industry held a workshop on the current state of knowledge and directions of genomics research in Douglas-fir and other species. Genomics research studies the molecular basis of biological processes controlling economically and ecologically important traits.
Fire and fire surrogate study. Two separate field trips were given to sites in this study, which compares the effects of fire to effects from other fuel treatments. About 10 staff from the Joint Fire Sciences Program toured the Hungry Bob study site in northeastern Oregon, one of three field sites in this study. Also, 30 forest managers, tribal members, and other inter-ested people toured another of the three study sites, this one in the Lubrecht Experimental Forest near missoula, montana.
“For the Greatest Good” lecture. As part of the Forest Service centennial celebration, Eastern Oregon university hosted professor and Forest Service historian char miller, who chronicled Forest Service beginnings and concluded with comments about future forest management challenges. About 105 people attended.
Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) client meetings. About 75 people attended the annual meeting of FIA clients from Washington, Oregon, and california, held this year in Troutdale, Oregon. The FIA staff described their past year’s activities and research projects, and clients presented their research results based on the inventory data. At a meeting held in Juneau, Alaska, FIA analysts and Forest Service-Alaska Region staff discussed uses, needs, and opportunities for the annual inventory.
Forestry Intensified Research (FIR) long-term studies. Fifteen forest industry professionals reviewed three of the long-term vegetation management studies from the Oregon State university’s FIR program. The Oregon State university Forest Science Department, PNW Research Station, and Sierra-cascade Intensive Forest management Research cooperative jointly organized the review, held in south- western Oregon.
Fort Lewis cooperative research meeting. In Tacoma, Washington, scientists presented their research on oak biology and management and the growth of understory Douglas-fir to 15 forestry staff at the Fort Lewis military Reservation.
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Future of North America’s natural ecosystems. About 150 people attended this session at the joint meeting of the Ecological Society of America and the International congress of Ecology in montreal, canada. People presented results from the most recent climate change models on projected changes to natural ecosystems in North America and dis-cussed how natural resource management may be influenced.
Geomorphic response of rivers to dams and dam removal. A total of 96 people attended this short course at the Advanc-ing the Fundamental Sciences conference in San Diego, california. The course described tradeoffs associated with dam management and removal and presented relevant new research, case histories, and decision methods.
H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest field trips. In a number of separate field trips, 662 people learned about the many research studies in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, located near Blue River, Oregon.
Harvesting morels in Alaska. This workshop was presented in 11 communities of mostly rural Alaska: Fairbanks, Tok, Fort Yukon, Northway, Eagle, circle, Glennallen, Tetlin, copper center, chitina, and Palmer. A DvD with the pres-entation was mailed to seven more rural villages in interior Alaska. Total number of participants is unknown.
Heceta Island commercial thinning field trip. About 40 people visited a commercial thinning study, which is a research-management partnership, in southeast Alaska. Participants were from forest industry, environmental conservation groups, and the Alaska media.
Historical roots of today’s natural resource issues. In La Grande, Oregon, 15 people attended a seminar with historian char miller, who discussed current natural resource issues and their historical and political roots.
Lessons from cataclysms. On the 25th anniversary of the mount St. Helens eruption, poet Gary Snyder and forest ecologist Jerry Franklin discussed catastrophe and renewal at the volcano. Snyder read from his recent book, Danger on Peaks, and Franklin spoke on how ecological response to the eruption prompted changes in forest man-agement. About 1,800 people attended the event at the Arlene Schnitzer concert Hall in Portland, Oregon.
Long view of the forest. About 30 writers, scholars, and educators in the nature-writing genre visited the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest to learn about the long-term ecological research program and the writings done by creative writers-in-residence at the Andrews.
Long-term ecological reflections program. At the annual meeting of the Association for Study of Literature and Environment in Eugene, Oregon, about 70 people attended a roundtable discussion among the creative writers who have had short residencies at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest and the Reflections program founders.
Mixed-models workshop. This workshop in vancouver, Washington, was a hands-on event, where 25 people learned how to use mixed-modelling statistical techniques to analyze data. Participants included Forest Service, university, indus-try, and consulting scientists.
Mount St. Helens—a living laboratory for science and communication. Fifty people, including scientists and communications specialists, attended this conference at the national volcanic monument in Washington. Theories, methods, and case studies about innovations from forest science organizations around the world were showcased, and participants discussed how to improve the ability of forest science organizations to successfully influence the adoption of innovations they generate.
Mount St. Helens 2�th anniversary research pulse. About 70 scientists and technicians took part in this week-long, summer, field workshop in the mount St. Helens area. Scientists and their crews took benchmark measurements at dozens of study sites, collecting year-25 posteruption data, sharing research results, and developing collaborative research studies.
Mount St. Helens writers and scientists foray. Twenty writers and scientists gathered for a 4-day retreat in the mount St. Helens blast zone, in July 2005. Writers explored the landscape with scientists, and together they reflected on human and ecological responses to the 1980 volcanic eruption. On the retreat’s final day, another 30 people joined the retreat group for a closing discussion.
Natural resource workshops and tour. About 80 college students in agriculture and history attended the workshops and tour of Eastern Oregon university and La Grande, Oregon. The focus was natural resource management through history and what the future might hold.
North American long-term soil productivity. A total of 38 scientists and land managers met in Olympia, Washington, to discuss research in progress, recent findings, and future plans related to soil productivity studies. Field trips were included.
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Northern spotted owl field tours. Eight tours took a total of over 120 people to various field locations, where they learned about northern spotted owl biology and ecology.
Northwest Forest Plan conference: 10-year review. more than 500 people attended this major conference in Portland, Oregon, in a review of the first 10 years under the Northwest Forest Plan. Ten years of research and monitoring results were shared with people from management and regulatory agencies, nongovernment organizations, and universities. challenges for the next 10 years were discussed.
Olympic habitat development study. A group of eight scien-tists and managers toured three sites near Forks, Washington, in the Olympic habitat development study and discussed how results might apply to different management scenarios.
Productivity of Western forests: a forest products focus. This meeting at Kamilche, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula, brought together 75 researchers and practitioners interested in the economic and biological factors influencing wood production and value. Indoor and field presentations emphasized how forest management activities can maintain or enhance productivity; new technologies were also covered.
Reframing “the problem” of old growth: emerging social and ecological views. Forty people were invited to North Bonneville, Washington, to characterize the ecological, social, economic, and policy context for old-growth forest issues in the Pacific Northwest and to identify possible strategies for reducing conflicts and improving practices. Participants included nationally recognized experts and high-level managers from federal and state agencies.
Starkey Experimental Forest and Range tours. Seven 1-day tours of Starkey were given to different groups, with a total of 86 people participating. The tours presented general over-views of past, present, and future research at the forest.
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest all-employees day. For their all-employees day, 75 Wallowa-Whitman National Forest employees toured Starkey Experimental Forest and Range. They learned about research on fuel reduction, inva-sive species, forest insects, and wildlife, and they discussed opportunities for cooperative projects.
Water dynamics in freshwater systems. About 150 people attended this technical session, which emphasized forested watersheds. It was held at the 2005 annual meeting of the American Society for Limnology and Oceanography, joint aquatic sciences meeting with the Geological Society of America and the North American Benthological Society, in Salt Lake city, utah.
Western Forest Genetics Association annual meeting. The PNW Research Station and Oregon State university hosted the 50th anniversary meeting of the Western Forest Genetics Association in corvallis, Oregon, along with meet-ings of the Northwest Seed Orchard managers Association and the North American Quantitative Forest Genetics Group. About 120 people celebrated the progress in forest genetics and tree improvement over the past 50 years and looked ahead to the new frontiers of genetics research.
Western States County Extension Agent Tour. Twelve extension agents took a field trip to Starkey Experimental Forest and Range, where they learned about research on livestock grazing in forests, fuel management, and ecological relations among elk, mule deer, and cattle.
conSeRVAtion eDUcAtionconservation education connects students of all ages with forests, streams, and science. Station employees are involved with programs that range from short presentations to multiyear programs. many of the programs give students the chance to do hands-on work in the field, experiences that lead people to deeper understanding of natural systems and long-term learning about what scientists do.
Amphibian monitoring program. A Station scientist worked with a Battle Ground, Washington, high school to develop a monitoring program for pond-breeding amphib-ians. The scientist trained about 15 high school students on the biology and ecology of indigenous amphibians, provided the students with research projects and consultation, and designed the sampling protocols to be used. In the ongoing project, students will design and implement an ecological study on the amphibians and their pond habitat.
Animals of Northwest ecosystems. A Station scientist gave a number of presentations to kindergarten and second-grade students in La Grande, Oregon, on some of the interesting animals in Northwest ecosystems, including great horned owls, reptiles, amphibians, and woodpeckers. About 75 students heard the talks.
Annual fall chimney swift count. In separate presenta- tions, a total of about 30 students and parents in La Grande, Oregon, 4-H programs learned how a global positioning system is used in annual fall counts of chimney swifts.
Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering (ASE). In La Grande, Oregon, a Station scientist mentored a high school student throughout summer 2005, as part of the Oregon Saturday Academy’s ASE program. The program introduces promising high school students to science or engineering careers by linking them with professionals.
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Birch trees and birch syrup production. In Fairbanks, Alaska, 24 third-grade students went on a field trip to learn about birch syrup production, and learned about birch trees at the same time.
Dry Ice. About 90 third-grade children from the Albany, Oregon, area learned about the properties of carbon dioxide and its many uses. They saw how solid dry ice can turn into gas and learned about carbonation in soda and the oxygen-carbon dioxide cycle.
Forest Camp. The Siuslaw National Forest hosted the Out-door School for over 300 sixth-grade children from 6 school districts. The Outdoor School was at camp Tadmour, near Lebanon, Oregon. Several Station employees taught the camp’s Web of Life segment, adding a lesson on forest fungi.
Fungi in Our Forests. In separate groups, a total of about 200 sixth-grade students from clatsop county school dis-tricts toured a tree farm near Astoria, Oregon. The children learned about forest science and research career. A Station scientist introduced the students to how a forest system works and why fungi are an important part of a healthy forest.
Growing fungi and bacteria from the dirt on our hands. About 90 third-grade children from the Albany, Oregon, area learned about the scientific method and hygiene at the same time. The students rubbed their dirty hands on agar in petri dishes, then washed their hands and rubbed them in different petri dishes—and then they watched what grew over the following days.
H.J. Andrews field trips for students. The H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest hosted a total of over 500 students at dif-ferent levels on various field trips. Students learned about the wealth of research being carried on at the Andrews, which is about 50 miles east of Eugene, Oregon.
Headwater stream continuing education workshop. A Station scientist described new findings on the ecology of headwater streams to 31 career foresters, landscape planners, and environmental specialists, in Francis, Washington. The class was part of a workshop sponsored by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. Workshop goal was to improve the management of small watersheds on state forests in Washington.
How trees grow. In Fairbanks, Alaska, 20 six-year-olds learned how trees grow.
Inner City Youth Institute (ICYI). The Station continued to support IcYI, which encourages underrepresented youths to pursue higher education and careers in the natural resource and environmental fields. The IcYI sponsors ecology clubs in inner-city middle and high schools and a summer camp program for high school students, held in corvallis, Oregon. It also supports a summer program called Alberta Nature Teams, geared for elementary school children from inner-city communities. About 200 students participate in the IcYI programs. In 2005, IcYI received the Secretary of Interior’s Annual Diversity Award for Partnership Achievement. The
Forest Service, Oregon State university, Audubon Society of Portland, and Oregon Bureau of Land management collaborate on IcYI.
Insects and spiders. In separate visits, a Station scientist gave 80 students from cove, Oregon, elementary and high schools, hands-on lessons about insects and spiders.
Kids in the Creek. A Station scientist and several technicians gave hands-on watershed training to about 150 high school students from Wenatchee, Washington. At a site in the Wenatchee River subbasin, students learned watershed monitoring techniques.
Nonnative plants. About 30 students and parents in La Grande, Oregon, 4-H programs learned about non- native plants and ecological problems associated with these plants.
Outdoor School. Station scientists gave field instruction in native plant communities and conservation to about 240 sixth-grade students, as part of the Outdoor School sponsored by the corvallis School District.
Salmon Watch. In several field sessions, Station scientists talked to elementary and middle-school children about streams, spawning salmon, and fish ecology. About 200 chil-dren in the corvallis, Oregon, area participated.
Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Four Station scientists explained the Station’s research at the 2005 Folklife Festival in June and July, where the Forest Service was the featured federal agency. Lively demon-strations included a river-flood simulation, mushroom identification, wood-turning, and canopy crane research. The estimated attendance was over 1 million people.
Think Link Childrens Museum. A Station scientist and university colleague spent a morning outside with about 40 elementary
school children from La Grande, Oregon, looking at insects of stream and agricultural ecosystems.
Trout Unlimited’s “Salmon Watch.” Station scientist took about 30 high school students from Sweet Home, Oregon, on field trips to several locations in western Oregon. The scientist gave the students hands-on experience to provide them a better understanding of stream ecology and aquatic macroinvertebrates.
Web of Life. Station scientists designed and taught exer- cises on the Web of Life to about 120 fifth- and sixth-grade students at the Alsea Forest camp in the Oregon coast Range, which is sponsored by Project Learning Tree.
Whole Ecosystems in Balance Program. In separate ses-sions, a Station scientist taught 40 high school students in Baker and union counties, Oregon, how to teach younger children about insects, spiders, and ecological concepts.
Wolftree. Station employees participated in ecology pro-grams with about 100 students from Portland, Oregon, and vancouver, Washington, middle and high schools. The Station also contributed funds for supplies and equipment.
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federation of fly fisher’s leopold conservation Award
Pete Bisson, research fisheries biologist with the Aquatic and Land Interactions Program, received this award. The award is given to a professional ecologist whose lifetime achievements have contributed significantly to the enhancement, protection, and preservation of wild trout in North America.
certificate of Appreciation from the northwest power and conservation council, noAA fisheries, and the columbia River basin indian tribes
Pete Bisson, research fisheries biologist with the Aquatic and Land Interactions Program, received this award for 9 years of service on the Independent Scientific Advisory Board, a group of scientists providing independent scientific peer review of fish and wildlife recovery programs in the columbia River basin.
honoRS AnD AWARDShonorary membership in the fisheries Society of the british isles
Pete Bisson, research fisheries biologist with the Aquatic and Land Interactions Program, was awarded this honorary member-ship. The honor includes oppor-tunities for a scientist to bring a North American perspective to fisheries conservation and man-agement in the British Isles.
founders Award, Western forest insect Work conference
Gary Daterman, emeritus supervisory entomologist for the managing Disturbance Regimes Program, received the Founders Award from the Western Forest Insect Work conference, given annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to forest entomology in the West. Daterman pioneered the identifi-cation and practical use of forest insect pheromones and perfected the use of behavioral chemicals for disrupting forest pest life cycles.
USDA and USDi national fire plan Award for excellence in Research
The BlueSky community model-ing consortium, including Sta-tion personnel Sue Ferguson, research atmospheric scientist; Susan O’Neill, research air qual-ity engineer; Jeanne Hoadley, meteorologist; Robert Solomon, research mesoscale modeler; Miriam Rorig, research meteorol-ogist; and Candace Berg Krull, meteorologist, received this group award. The award recognizes an individual or group for outstand-ing accomplishments in wildland fire research that help meet National Fire Plan goals.
Distinguished Graduate of the Department of fisheries and Wildlife at oregon State University (oSU)
Eric Forsman, research wildlife biologist with the Ecosystem Processes Program, was one of six OSu Fisheries and Wildlife
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alumni added to the Registry of Distinguished Graduates. The registry honors graduates of the department who have served their respective fields with distinction and have at least 20 years of experience.
institute for operations Research and the manage- ment Sciences (infoRmS) best paper in forestry Award
Jeremy Fried, research forester and team leader for research and analysis, and Peter J. Daugherty, research forester, both with the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program, received this award for their paper entitled Optimization of fuel treatment selection and pro-cessing facility siting for fuel hazard reduction. The award recognizes the best paper presented, based on technical merit and quality of presentation.
fellow, the Wildlife Society
John Kie, research wildlife biologist for the managing Disturbance Regimes Program, was inducted as a fellow of The Wildlife Society, the national professional organization for wildlife biologists. Kie is noted as an authority on the ecology of mule deer.
national fiA Director’s Award for fiA excellence
The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) group responsible for inventory in Alaska wilderness—Marti Marshall (Alaska Region); Mary Emerick, Bill Tremblay, and Lynn Kolund (Tongass National Forest), Adam McClory and Dave Sanders (chugach National Forest), Connie Hubbard and Ray Koleser (PNW-FIA)—received this national FIA director’s award for developing and executing a
process to access and inventory over 7 million acres of wilderness on the Tongass and chugach National Forests, addressing significant safety and political issues.
U.S. environmental protection Agency Science and technology Achievement Award, honorable mention
Frank H. McCormick, fish biologist and boundary spanning team leader with the Aquatic and Land Interactions Program, received honorable mention for this national award, in recognition of his work on innovative methods in bioassessment and monitoring. The new methods are described in a paper titled Fish Tissue Contamination in Streams of the Mid-Atlantic Region: An Approach to Regional Indicator Selection and Assessment (Lazorchak, mccormick, et al.).
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lifetime Research Associate of the Smithsonian tropical Research institute
Rick Meinzer, research ecologist and team leader for canopy pro-cesses in mesic forests for the Ecosystem Processes Program, received this award. The honor is given to individuals whose achievements in tropical research merit a formal scholarly affiliation with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
USDA forest Service Director’s Award for exemplary Volunteer Service
Richard E. Miller, emeritus soil scientist, received this award from the Forest Service National Director of Senior, Youth, and vol-unteer Programs. The award rec-ognized his volunteer work as an emeritus scientist, which resulted in significant publications on forest productivity, contributed to understanding management effects on forest soils, and pro-vided invaluable service to others as a professional mentor.
international Union of forestry Research organi-zations (iUfRo) Scientific Achievement Award
David L. Peterson, research biologist for the managing Dis-turbance Regimes Program, received international recogni-tion with an IuFRO scientific achievement award. The honor recognizes his research accom-plishments in fire ecology, mountain ecology, and climate change science.
University of Washington college of forest Resources Award for work with media
David L. Peterson, research biologist for the managing Dis-turbance Regimes Program, was recognized by the university of Washington for participating in programs and media interviews on fire and climate change. The award recognizes his communica-tion of recent scientific data and results to the general public.
honorary member of the cooper ornithological Society
Martin Raphael, research wildlife biologist and team leader for the ecology, management, and conser-vation of sensitive wildlife species for the Ecosystem Processes Pro-gram, was awarded an honorary membership in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the cooper Ornithological Society. The society is one of the largest ornithological societies in the world.
board of Directors, Society for Range management
Marty Vavra, research wildlife biologist and team leader for the effects of ungulates on ecosystems, for the managing Disturbance Regimes Program, was elected to the Society for Range manage-ment’s Board of Directors.
ReSeARch context
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finAnceS AnD WoRKfoRceTwo sources of funding support the work of the PNW Research Station: federal appropriations, which contribute the greatest percentage of funds; and direct client support, which comes from organizations in need of scientific information.
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2005: pnW Research Station finances and workforce, by the numbers
Fiscal year 2005: october 1, 2004, to September 30, 2005
incoming fundingBase research appropriations: $43.4 million
Direct client support: $12.1 million*
Total funding: $55.5 million
* Includes national fire research funds ($5,064,000), National Forest System monitoring funds ($1,125,000), state and private forestry research funds ($2,174,000), and nonfederal sources ($3,771,138).
Distribution of fundsEmployee costs: ($32,368,390) — 58%
Support and operations: ($16,115,317) — 29%
Distributed to cooperators: ($7,020,431) — 13%
Of $7.0 million to cooperators, 95 percent went to educational institutions.
Workforce statisticsPermanent workforce: 300 employees
Of the permanent workforce, 31 percent, or 94 employees, are scientists
Temporary workforce: 219 employees
Total Station workforce: 519 employees
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Cooperators 13%
Employeecosts58%
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coopeRAtoRS Who ReceiVeD fUnDinG foR StUDieS fRom the pnW ReSeARch StAtion in 2005In 2005, the PNW Research Station distributed about $7.0 million to its cooperators. Below are the cooperators who currently have agreements and partnerships with the Station.
educational institutionsAuburn university
cornell university
Kansas State university
michigan State university
mississippi State university
Ohio State university
Oregon State university
Pennsylvania State university
Southern Oregon university
university of Alaska (Fairbanks)
university of Alaska (Juneau)
university of california (Davis)
university of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc.
university of Illinois
university of minnesota
university of montana
university of New mexico
university of Oregon
university of Washington
university of Wisconsin
university of Wyoming
utah State university
Washington State university
Western Washington university
clientS Who pRoViDeD fUnDinG foR StUDieS to the pnW ReSeARch StAtion in 2005In 2005, the PNW Research Station received about $2.6 million in support from clients other than the uSDA Forest Service, National Forest System; uSDA Forest Service, State and Private Forestry; and other research stations. Below are the clients who provided funding for studies to the PNW Research Station in 2005. Indi-vidual research summaries earlier in this report include the names of many partners who provided funding in other years, in-kind contributions, and other research support.
educational institutionsOregon State university
other federal AgenciesBonneville Power Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Northwest Power conservation council
u.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
u.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Services
u.S. Department of Defense, u.S. Army, Fort Lewis
u.S. Department of Energy
u.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land management
u.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service
u.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey
u.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
u.S. Environmental Protection Agency
State and local Agenciescity of Seattle
Eugene Water and Electric Board
Oregon Department of Forestry
private industry Ketchikan Wood Technology center, Inc.
nongovernmental organizations American Forests
Earth Systems Institute
Institute for culture and Ecology
Resources for the Future
Western Forestry and conservation Association
Wildlife conservation Society
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
private industry Portland General Electric
nongovernmental organizations
National council for Science and the Environment
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pnW ReSeARch StAtion oRGAnizAtion Station Director Thomas M. Quigley P.O. Box 3890 Portland, OR 97208-3890 Phone: 503-808-2100 E-mail: [email protected]
Deputy Station Director Cynthia D. West P.O. Box 3890 Portland, OR 97208-3890 Phone: 503-808-2104 E-mail: [email protected]
Assistant Station Director Paul Dunn P.O. Box 3890 Portland, OR 97208-3890 Phone: 503-808-2115 E-mail: [email protected]
Director for operations Rolando Ortegon P.O. Box 3890 Portland, OR 97208-3890 Phone: 503-808-2102 E-mail: [email protected]
program managers Aquatic and Land Interactions Douglas Ryan Forestry Sciences Laboratory 3625 93rd Avenue SW Olympia, WA 98512 Phone: 360-753-7652 E-mail: [email protected]
Communications and Applications Cynthia L. Miner P.O. Box 3890 Portland, OR 97208-3890 Phone: 503-808-2135 E-mail: [email protected]
Ecosystem Processes John Laurence Forestry Sciences Laboratory 3200 SW Jefferson Way corvallis, OR 97331 Phone: 541-750-7357 E-mail: [email protected]
Focused Science Delivery Jamie Barbour Pacific Northwest Research Station P.O. Box 3890 Portland, OR 97208-3890 Phone: 503-808-2542 E-mail: [email protected]
Forest Inventory and Analysis Sue Willits Forestry Sciences Laboratory P.O. Box 3890 Portland, OR 97208-3890 Phone: 503-808-2066 E-mail: [email protected]
Human and Natural Resources Interactions Richard Haynes Forestry Sciences Laboratory P.O. Box 3890 Portland, OR 97208-3890 Phone: 503-808-2002 E-mail: [email protected]
Managing Disturbance Regimes Ed DePuit Forestry Sciences Laboratory 1133 N Western Avenue Wenatchee, WA 98801 Phone: 509-664-1715 E-mail: [email protected]
Resource Management and Productivity Charley Peterson Forestry Sciences Laboratory P.O. Box 3890 Portland, OR 97208-3890 Phone: 503-808-2026 E-mail: [email protected]
Publications mentioned in this report can be requested by calling (503) 808-2138 or e-mailing [email protected]. many publications can be downloaded
from the PNW Research Station Web site at: http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/.
cReDitSCommunications and Applications Program Manager — cynthia L. miner
Managing editor — valerie Rapp
Writers — valerie Rapp and Yasmeen Sands
Art direction and production management — Frank vanni
Graphic design — Pilar Reichlein
Page layout, image editing, and map design — Keith Routman
Other photographers — see credit with each photo
All uncredited photos — uSDA Forest Service staff
United StatesDepartment of Agriculture
forest Service
pacific northwest Research Station
the attached cD-Rom contains the following files:
➤ 2005 Science Accomplishments.
➤ pnW Research program Reports.
➤ pnW Directory for Research programs.
➤ 2005 pnW Research Station publications.
the Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the principle of multiple use management of the nation’s forest resources for sustained yields of wood, water, forage, wildlife, and recreation. through forestry research, cooperation with the States and private forest owners, and management of the national forests and national grasslands, it strives—as directed by congress—to provide increasingly greater service to a growing nation.
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s tARGet center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and tDD). to file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, office of civil Rights, 1400 independence Avenue, SW, Washington, Dc 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (tDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
february 2006
pacific northwest Research Station 333 SW first Avenue
p.o. box 3890 portland, oR 97208-3890 http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/
