Gifford Pinchot National Forest

	USDA Forest Service Gifford Pinchot National Forest Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
For Immediate Release: April 14, 2005
Contact: Tom Knappenberger (360) 891-5005 or Roger Peterson (360) 891-5007

Press Conference to Precede Seminar at WSU Vancouver

VANCOUVER, WA -- Monument Scientist Peter Frenzen and Research Ecologist Charlie Crisafulli will reflect on lessons learned 25 years after the 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens at a press conference next week. The press conference will be held Monday, April 18 at 3:30 p.m. in Room 110 of the Student Services Building on the campus of Washington State University Vancouver.

The press conference will precede a free public seminar to be held at 7 p.m. in the main auditorium of the Student Services Building on Monday evening:

Out of the Ash: Survival and Recolonization in a Volcanic Landscape
Peter Frenzen, USDA Forest Service, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Amboy, WA

The last 25 years have been a period of profound change at Mount St. Helens. In a matter of minutes the May 18, 1980 eruption completely transformed the forested landscape surrounding the volcano. Over the last 25 years, we have witnessed the opening chapter in a sequence of ecosystem recovery that will stretch well into the next century. These profound and sometimes subtle landscape changes are revealed through repeat photographs taken before, just following and during the years following the 1980 eruption. Mount St. Helens offers us an opportunity to experience nature’s unbridled power and the wonder of its continuing cycle of cataclysm and renewal.

Mount St. Helens: A Story of Survival and Revival of Life
Crisafulli, Research Ecologist, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Amboy, WA

The 1980 eruption killed or dramatically altered the types and numbers of animals that had been present before the eruption. Over the following quarter century aquatic and terrestrial animals have undergone a remarkable recovery as individuals of hundreds of species expanded from surviving populations or invaded the new landscape from distant source populations. By 2005, most vertebrates and thousands of invertebrates had successfully colonized the disturbed area.

Media representatives are welcome to tape the press conference and evening seminar. Media parking and, if needed, placement of satellite trucks should be coordinated with the Department of Public Safety at WSU–Vancouver. For further information contact Kris in Public Safety (360) 546-9001 for instructions and parking permits. All other vehicles will need to park in the blue lot. This is a pay lot - $1.75 per day.

Campus map: http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/ca/location.htm#map

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US Forest Service
Gifford Pinchot National Forest - Vancouver, WA
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument - Amboy, WA
Last Modified: Thursday, 14 April 2005 at 18:34:09 EDT