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Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument |
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Mt. St. Helens (503) 808-2592 |
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About Us
The
Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station is part of the Research Branch of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, and comprises ten research
laboratories in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, as well as the headquarters
office in Portland, Oregon. The PNW Research Station is one of eight Forest
Service research facilities throughout the United States.
Forest Service Research develops and provides scientific and technical knowledge for all 1.6 billion acres of forests and rangelands in the United States including, but not limited to, the national forests. The Forest Service has the most extensive and productive program of integrated forestry research in the world. The PNW Research Station is a group of about 522 scientists, professionals, technicians, administrative staff employees, and research managers. Station expertise is in biological, physical, and social sciences.
Our mission is to generate and communicate scientific knowledge that helps people understand and make informed choices about people, natural resources, and the environment.
In 1980, MOUNT ST. HELENS,
a snow-capped mountain in southwest Washington’s Gifford Pinchot National
Forest, exploded. A debris avalanche, the largest in recorded history, and
a laterally directed blast, as well as mudflows, pyroclastic flows, airborne
ash and stones, and growth of a new lava dome created a real-time laboratory
for scientists. Recognizing the unique opportunities for study, Congress passed
the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument Act in 1982, placing 106,255
acres within the monument to allow “geologic forces and ecological succession
to continue substantially unimpeded.”
Scientists from the USDA Forest Service Pacific North-west (PNW) Research Station and many other institutions arrived within weeks to assess disturbance effects and develop a research strategy to study initial and long-term ecological responses. Their research has illuminated the way in which species and ecological processes respond to disturbance, and has contributed to planning for the recovery of other disturbed areas.
USDA Forest Service - Pacific Northwest Research Station - Mount St. Helens
Last Modified: Friday, 22 April 2005 at 13:08:57 EDT