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The landslide deposit was a very interesting feature for us because it represented, essentially the
interior, and top of a volcano, filling a valley to about a 150 foot depth.
Well within the first five years, seeds landed and began to take root. As you can imagine, millions of
seeds arrive, a few take root. And we began to see the small herbaceous plants, things like fireweed seedlings.
About 10 years after the eruption, and between 10 and 15 years, you really began to get a sense that,
life was beginning to take hold on the landslide.
The wetlands, the little groundwater seep areas and pond shorelines, began to sprout alder trees and
willow shrubs. Small plants were beginning to establish and spread across the deposit.
Within the first 15 to 20 years, we really began to see the influences of plants not only reproducing
directly and spreading across the valley, instead of having to come in from elsewhere, but really a
profound influence from the animals that were using that as nesting habitat and hiding cover, and really beginning to transport seeds.
After three decades of reassembly of this ecosystem, we're very much on the edge of a forest.
Red alder trees are now moving in from the edges of the valley out to the centers. On the edges of
these ponds and wetlands, we now have alder stands that are, trees are up to six inches in diameter.
So places that were open, baking in the sun, are now in a cool, shady forest.