Andrews Forest Celebrates 50 Years

The 50th anniversary of the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest this year will be marked by a variety of activities. Established in 1948 as the Blue River Experimental Forest, the Forest was renamed in 1953 to honor H.J. Andrews, a Forest Service leader whose work in inventory of forest resources in the 1930s is still used today by scientists studying carbon sequestration in the region’s forests.

The 50th anniversary will be celebrated at the Forest on 21 August 1998, featuring comments from research, management, and education leaders, as well as field discussions at various research-management venues. A new 5,000 square foot building with meeting facilities, teaching lab, and offices will be the centerpiece of a facilities open house.

Historian Max Geier is preparing a book on the history of the Andrews emphasizing the community of scientists and land managers who have worked at the Andrews to better understand forest and stream ecosystems, and the implications of that understanding for land management. The book is based in part on more than 40 interviews with people involved with the Andrews since its early days. This book will be published in an environmental history series of Oregon State University Press.

A second book by freelance writer Jon Louma will cover the workings of the forest ecosystem from tree tops to streams and soil. The processes and moments of discovery in decades of research will be central to this story to be published by Henry Holt.