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Mount St. Helens most famous of area’s natural wonders

By Erik Robinson
Published: February 27, 2011, 12:00am
3 Photos
Boundary Trail No. 1 carves through patches of snow between evergreen trees and rocks near Mount St.
Boundary Trail No. 1 carves through patches of snow between evergreen trees and rocks near Mount St. Helens. Photo Gallery

Now that Mount St. Helens has hit the geologic snooze alarm, newcomers to Southwest Washington may have an interest in several less-obvious natural wonders.

Despite the declaration by scientists in early 2008 that the eruption of a new lava dome had ceased after 40 months, the volcano remains a must-see for anyone interested in the forces that have shaped our landscape in the Pacific Northwest.

For a glimpse of the other “ologies” of Southwest Washington — geology, ecology, biology — the region has plenty to offer:

• National wildlife refuges

Spanning 5,218 acres between the town of Ridgefield and the Columbia River, the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge owes its existence to the massive Alaska earthquake of 1964.

The 9.2-magnitude subduction-style quake disrupted large swaths of coastal nesting habitat for dusky Canada geese in Alaska, prompting federal biologists to look for wintering habitat elsewhere.

They found it on the collection of marshes, islands and pastures on the Washington side of the Columbia River, in the middle of an existing corridor for migratory birds. Today, the refuge accommodates Canada duskies along with a wide variety of ducks, loons, grebes, pelicans, hawks, gulls, plovers, sandpipers, owls, chickadees, wrens, warblers and finches.

The 4.2-mile auto tour route on the River S unit may be the most popular, but visitors should be aware that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is charging $3 per car for the River S Unit and the Carty Unit, which boasts the replica Cathlapotle Plankhouse and the 2-mile Oaks to Wetland Trail.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also maintains the Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge on the westernmost point of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. In 2009, Steigerwald opened a 2.2-mile loop trail with two boardwalks, two scenic overlooks and a 110-foot bridge across Gibbons Creek. The $2.2 million project includes parking for 20 cars, an information kiosk and vault toilets, along with the trail itself.

On the Web: http://www.fws.gov/ridgefieldrefuges/complex and http://www.fws.gov/ridgefieldrefuges/steigerwaldlake.

• Columbia Springs Environmental Education Center

Just east of the Interstate 205 Bridge on old Evergreen Highway (12208 S.E. Evergreen Highway), the old Vancouver Trout Hatchery continues to raise a relatively small number of fish while providing hands-on educational opportunities for local schools.

On the Web: http://www.columbiasprings.org.

• Water Resources Education Center

The city of Vancouver is the proud owner of possibly the world’s grandest sewage treatment plant.

As part of a $47 million project to replace its Marine Park wastewater treatment plant at 4600 S.E. Columbia Way in 1995, the city added a two-story brick structure with exhibit hall, classroom, community room, water sciences laboratory and 1,000-gallon aquarium display. It’s surrounded by almost 50 acres of wetlands along the Columbia River waterfront trail across from the Portland airport. Admission is free.

On the Web: http://www.cityofvancouver.us/watercenter.asp.

• Don’t forget the volcano

Visitor possibilities still abound at the volcano, though budget shortfalls left a gap.

The cash-strapped Forest Service in November 2007 permanently closed the $11.5 million Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center, 43 miles east of the Interstate 5 interchange at Castle Rock.

That means motorists traveling Spirit Lake Memorial Highway have no warm and dry destination until May, when the Johnston Ridge Observatory reopens for the season nine miles beyond the shuttered center at Coldwater Ridge. The Coldwater closure continues to fuel debate over the future of the 110,000-acre national volcanic monument, with some arguing that the monument should be turned over to the National Park Service.

For those who want to experience the volcano a little more directly, climbers will need to self-register for a permit at the Marble Mountain Sno-Park or the Lone Fir Resort, 16806 Lewis River Road in Cougar. The permits are free Nov. 1 through March 31.

Beginning in April, the Forest Service charges $22 for the permits and limits the number of climbers to 100 a day after May 15. The permits are sold online through the nonprofit Mount St. Helens Institute at http://www.mshinstitute.org.

Most climb Monitor Ridge from Climbers Bivouac. The route gains 4,500 feet in five miles to reach the crater rim at 8,365-feet elevation.

The trail starts out with a relatively mild incline through the trees, followed by a scramble across large boulders just above timberline. By the end, climbers must grind their way up snow or, later in the summer, on slippery scree.

Most complete the round trip in seven to 12 hours.

On the Web: http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/mshnvm and http://www.mountsthelens.com.

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