Look around--the volcanic landscape of Mount St. Helens, in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, displays remarkable diversity and resilience. Trees and plants are combining to lay a fabric of green over the rocky ground, and wildlife appears with surprising abundance.
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, located in southwestern Washington, was established in 1982 under Forest Service management to allow for natural regrowth and change following the 1980 eruption.
Jim Quiring is a native of Oregon. His Forest Service career has taken him through Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho and the northern Cascades of Washington. He is now stationed at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.
Captions by Peter Frenzen. Peter has been conducting research on plant succession in the blast zone since 1980. He is Monument Scientist and Public Affairs Officer for the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.