This is the first of my candidate books for local ecology. The title is Lewis and Clark Meet Oregon's Forests: Lessons from Dynamic Nature. The authors are Gail Wells and Dawn Anzinger. It was published in 2001, by the Forestry Communications Group in the College of Forestry in Oregon Statue University in Corvallis. Its ISBN is 0-87437-003-5.
SUMMARY: This book takes a deep look at the history of the forested region of West Oregon, and its large river valleys, and measures its changes against both natural and human interventions.
NOTE: This book contains a significant amount of history, but alongside it is an extremely readable and detailed ecological history of the region, so I feel comfortable counting it for this project.
LONGER SUMMARY, BY CHAPTER:
1) The deep geological history of the region - ice age, floods, fires, and earthquakes mentioned.
2) Description of the ecological makeup of pre-colonization forests. Fascinating description of what old-growth forests would have been like.
3) Historical information only.
4) Description of how native peoples used the local resources. Every time Lewis or Clark mentioned a plant in their journals, noting it and describing what that likely was in modern parlance.
5) Subsequent history of white homesteaders, description of their changes to the landscape.
6) Description of settlers specific to the lower Willamette Valley. Focus specifically on river valley environments, and changes to them. Notes the success of white colonization, and the ending of the native way of life.
7) Similar deep dive on a coastal forest region - how, in comparison, white settlement basically failed here, and the natives who were relocated here struggled as well. Lots of descriptions about flora and fauna and why it didn't work out. Eventually the timber industry was able to make the place "productive".
8) A deep meditation on what it means to keep nature in balance. Comes to a remarkably Druidic conclusion: Both too much interference, and too little, are not appropriate ways to live in harmony with this land. Also, a very bracing conclusion that fires, floods, and huge earthquakes are just part of life here - they happen regularly. We need to understand that and prepare accordingly.
WHAT DOES THIS BOOK MEAN TO ME?
First, after seeing the description of native flora and fauna, including a bunch I couldn't identify, I started taking regular trips to the Arboretum in Forest Park (lots of trees with labels on them!) and watching Youtube videos describing them. This has kickstarted my learning of forest and river valley plants and grasses. It's a work in progress, as there are a lot of them...!
Second, its description of how common fires are in this part of the world calmed me somewhat about the horrible experience of the forests burning down last September. No doubt the calamity was made worse by local land use decisions over the last few decades, but the general happening - the fire itself - was merely part of the deep cycles of this land. Also, the "natural" landscape was really quite fascinating - how the big trees created a near-impassable landscape, and how even though there was life everywhere, it was actually quite difficult for humans to live among them, and the civilizations all clustered around the rivers - a nice counter to the common image of elf cities in trees and whatnot.
Third, it got me thinking on the... well... "spirit" of this land, is the word I will use. This is a region where it can seem like nothing changes, year over year even, while everything drips and drips with rain... to the point of giving some of its residents Season Affective Disorder... then all of a sudden BOOM! A huge and exciting event has just happened, literally reorganized the land, and killed a bunch of people!!! That's, uh, quite a type of place!
Even in my own lifetime - there were massive floods on the Willamette River when I was a teenager, almost overtopping the city levys; and of course there were the fires of 2020, sadly with a higher body count. We're all just holding our breath and waiting for the day when the Big One hits - it's gonna be a doozy, a 9.0, probably will kill thousands if not tens of thousands on the coast, and thousands (at least) in the valleys from buildings falling on top of them, too. And then... it's going to be pretty difficult to rebuild a lot of the infrastructure here. How many of Portland's lovely bridges will be replaced? I'd be surprised if we get more than 2 or 3 back. And of course, it will depend on how much the central government manages to care, as to whether the roads will get repaved. What are our options to get around, without the bridges, without (as many of) the roads? We're due for it sometime before the year 2200, though, so we'll need to start thinking about that.
I appreciate this book a lot, both for its easy introduction to the local forest ecosystem for a beginner, and also its thoughtful focus on the true natural history of the land. It has given me a starting point to delve deeper. Just 8 more books to go!
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