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Timber grows fast in shadow of volcano
It's been a little less than 25 years since Mount St. Helens' explosive 1980 eruption. But already, timber that was planted after the eruption is being harvested from the blast zone.
In January, contract loggers began thinning stands of Douglas fir from Weyerhaeuser land that once looked like it might never produce another tree.In the Green River Valley, near the outer fringe of the blast zone, there are now no obvious signs of the volcano's May 18, 1980, catastrophic eruption. The forest floor is shaded under a canopy of green. Ash that once blanketed the ground has long since mixed into the soil.
"It's a time of immense pride for all of us at Weyerhaeuser," spokeswoman Jackie Lang said. "By all definitions (the blast zone) was a wasteland 25 years ago. It's a complex and healthy forest today because of our active forest management."
Dome growth slows
Here's a story about how the growth of the new lava dome inside the crater of Mount St. Helens has gradually slowed and become less steady since it began in early October.
More new photos
This Jan. 19, 2005 photo released by the USGS, shows an aerial view of Mount St Helens' crater and dome, as seen from the north, showing the ash covering, center, from the Jan.16, 2005, eruption event. The new lava dome building inside the crater of Mount St. Helens in Washington has slowed and become less steady since early October, with some areas of the dome deforming, scientists from the Cascade Volcano Observatory
John Pallister, USGS research geologist, shows a rock collected from the new dome area in the crater of Mount St. Helens about a month ago, during a "Press Briefing on the Continuing Eruption of Mount St. Helens Volcano, 2004-2005," Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2005, at the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory, in Vancouver, Wash. (AP Photo/The Columbian, Janet L. Mathews)
