ASEH 2022 Field Trips

Eugene, OR 

The Local Arrangements Committee has organized eight exciting adventures for conference attendees, six on Friday afternoon, March 25, 2022, and two post-conference field trips on Sunday, March 27, 2022. Space is limited, so sign up now on the registration page.

FRIDAY MARCH 25

1. Brewery and Cidery Walking Tour    2:00 – 5:00 pm

Leader:  Tiah Edmundson-Morton

Number of people:  Maximum 25

Led by Oregon State University beer historian and archivist Tiah Edmundson-Morris, this field trip will visit two local Eugene breweries and one cidery. Edmundson-Morris and local brewers will discuss the history of brewing in the Willamette Valley, including the ways the industry has shaped land use and labor. Tastings and some refreshments included. Additional food and beverage available for purchase.

Cost:  $40.00

2. University of Oregon and Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History 2:00 – 5:00 pm

Leader:  Lauren Wills and Pam Endzweig

Number of People:  Maximum 18

This walking field trip passes through the University of Oregon campus to the Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History (MNCH). Participants will learn aspects of the UO’s history, especially its recent reckonings with its painful connections with racism and genocide. At the MNCH, curators will guide visitors through displays and introduce some of the museum’s backroom collections that richly document Oregon’s Native environmental history.

Cost:  Free

3. Fall Creek/Clark Timber Sale   1:30 – 5:00 pm

Leader: Tim Ingalsbee, former Earth First! activist and U.S. Forest Service firefighter

Number of people: 30 maximum, lunch NOT included

This trip takes visitors on a hike through old growth stands of Douglas fir, western hemlock, and red cedar in the Willamette National Forest at Fall Creek. Between 1998 and 2003, this area was one site among three “tree-sit” campaigns to protect the Willamette National Forest’s old growth, in this case 96 acres that had been scheduled to be clear-cut in the Clark Timber Sale. If conditions allow, we will also visit a portion of the 5,000 acres of that area burned in the 2003 Clark Fire. Leading the trip will be Tim Ingalsbee, a former forest fire fighter and Earth First!er, who co-founded the Cascadia Forest Defenders, which initiated “tree-sits” as a protest tactic.

(One caveat: At this time, the Fall Creek forest remains closed, part of a number of fire-related closures in the area. While we would expect the forest to open by spring, the slow opening along the McKenzie River gives us pause.) 

Cost:   $40

4. Beyond Toxics Tour of West Eugene  2:00 – 5:00 pm

Leader: Staff of Beyond Toxics

Participants: 44 maximum

This tour will take visitors through West Eugene, home to many of the toxic polluters in the lumber industry that is the heart of the Eugene economy. These include JH Baxter’s wood treatment and chemical manufacturing plant, the Trainsong/Union Pacific Railyard, Murphy Plywood, Georgia-Pacific Chemical, the Seneca Sawmill Company, McFarland Cascade, and Willamette Industries. Along the way, we will stop and talk with leaders in Eugene’s Latinx and Black communities, which are the most directly impacted.

Cost: $30

Sponsored by the Center for Environmental Futures

5. Birding at William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge 12:15 – 5pm, including 50 minutes of travel each way.

Co-leaders: Paul Adamus and Joy Jensen

Paul Adamus, wetland scientist & ecologist, creator of the wetlands ecosystem services protocol used to prioritize areas for conservation in the U.S. and Canada, lifelong birder, author of the Oregon Breeding Bird Atlas, and coordinator of the annual Oregon Breeding Bird Survey.

Joy Jensen, Oregon Master Naturalist, Research Program Coordinator at the Oregon State University Center for the Humanities, daily birder, and a friend of crows. With Paul, she’s conducted bird surveys for The Nature Conservancy, local land trusts, and other organizations.

Participants: 44 maximum 

Located in the Pacific Flyway 30 miles north of Eugene, William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge protects nearly 6,000 acres of historic Willamette Valley habitats including rare oak savanna & wet prairie, riparian & conifer forests, and wetlands. Throughout the year, over 200 bird species call the refuge home. We’ll visit several locations and habitats to get a sampling of the diverse birdlife of the Valley, from Cackling Geese and Tundra Swans to Acorn Woodpeckers, Varied Thrush, and Western Meadowlarks. With luck, we may spot the resident herd of Roosevelt Elk. And on the way, we’ll keep an eye out for flocks of Horned Larks and American Pipits as well as wintering raptors like Rough-legged Hawks and Merlin. Binoculars are recommended, and no birding experience is necessary. This trip will involve walking along boardwalks and some possibly soggy, uneven terrain. Wear practical shoes and dress for the weather in layers a rain jacket. Bring snacks and water. 

For more information on the refuge, see https://www.fws.gov/refuge/william_l_finley/

Cost:  $50

6.  2020 Holiday Farm Fire and H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest.  12:15 – 5:00 pm including 1:30 hour transport in each direction

Leaders:  Stephen Pyne, Bill Robbins, Fred Swanson

Participants:  44 maximum, lunch included

Following the “Disaster and Renewal” theme of the 2020 meeting of the American Society for Environmental History, a half-day field trip will be offered to a site in a major 2020 western Oregon wildfire and to the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, both 40-50 miles east of Eugene.  The Holiday Farm Fire burned 173,000 acres of forest and hundreds of homes in the western Cascade Range beginning in Sept 2020.  Regional studies of fire history by Andrews Forest scientists and others help set the context for interpretation of recent fires.  Since its establishment as an experimental forest in 1948, the Andrews Forest has been the base of forestry studies and long-term ecological research on topics such as the nature of old growth forests, northern spotted owls, and watershed processes that have helped shape public perceptions and Federal forest lands policies and practices.  

Holiday Farm Fire

The trip will visit the Finn Rock Reach near milepost 38 on Hwy 126 on property of the McKenzie River Trust along the McKenzie River. Driven by strong east winds, the fire burned through stands of a variety of pre-fire conditions, initiating a wide variety of ecological and human responses.  Part of the Trust land was used as a logging camp ca 1950-1970. Adjacent forest-industry lands include burned young stands and pre- and post-fire clearcuts. Burned buildings, reconstruction activities, and removal of burned trees are evident along nearly 20 miles of the highway.

Presentations:

• Fred Swanson (Pacific Northwest Research Station, US Forest Service, retired).  An introduction to the site, its historical context, and a brief overview of ecological and human responses to the 2020 fire.
• Stephen Pyne (Regents Professor, Arizona State University). Comments on fire.
• Bill Robbins (Emeritus Distinguished Professor of History, Oregon State University).  An understanding of historic wildfires and their accelerating scope and scale in the age of climate change.  See Robbins article, “Oregon and the American West: The Age of Megafires,” Oregon Historical Quarterly, Fall 2021, 65-91. 

Andrews Forest

The second half of the field trip will proceed to the Andrews Forest headquarters site managed jointly by the Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station and Willamette National Forest and Oregon State University by virtue of National Science Foundation funding (mainly as a Long-Term Ecological Research site since 1980).  As portrayed in Bill Robbins’ recent book A Place for Inquiry, A Place for Wonder: The Andrews Forest (2020 Oregon State Univ. Press), forestry research in 1950-1970 helped lay the foundation for post-WWII Douglas-fir forestry of the Timber Era of the Forest Service, but NSF-sponsored ecosystem studies of old growth and other research in the 1970s set the stage for environmentalists to end the Federal policy to convert old growth to plantations.  A short walk into the forest will lead to examples of current research on forest dynamics and climate change.

Presentations:

• Fred Swanson. An introduction to the site, its historical context, and a brief overview of current science, humanities, and arts programs based at Andrews Forest and connections with society.
• Bill Robbins. An historian’s view of the Andrews Forest.

Cost:  $50

Sponsored by the University of Oregon Department of History

7.   Bauman Tree Farm Tour. 12:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Trip leader: Lindsay Reaves

Number of participants: 44, lunch included

Time: 4 hours

When most people hear the word "tree farm" they think of sterile, industrial landscapes.  The reality is often quite different.  Most tree farms are complex places, with complex histories.  This field trip will take participants to the Bauman Tree Farm, 673 acres of working timberland just south of Eugene managed by Tom Bauman and Lindsay Reaves.  Lindsay will guide us on a walking tour of her property as she discusses the history of the land and how she and Tom protect forest ecosystems and local watersheds at the same time they harvest lumber.  Lindsay will also describe how climate change, the Willamette Valley’s population growth, and wildfire have shaped and reshaped her and Tom’s management strategies.  The tour will last approximately four hours and involve a roughly three-mile walk.  This tour will be of great interest to anyone interested in the past, present, and future of Oregon’s forests.

Cost: $40

8. Oregon Coast and Dunes.  9:00 am – 4:00 pm

Leaders:  Dan Matthews, Kevin Bruce, Jesse Beers, and Courtney Krossman

Participants:  44 maximum

Led by representatives from the Forest Service and the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, this field trip will introduce participants to some of the most beautiful sites on the central Oregon Coast, including the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.  Topics will include the history of invasive species such as European beachgrass, dune stabilization, and the coastal environmental history of the past several thousand years.  Moderate walking will be required.

Cost:  $125

9. Oregon Vineyards.  1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Leader:  Oregon Tour Experts

Participants:  23 maximum

The Southern Willamette Valley is home to over 100 vineyards and over 25 wineries, and is one of the world’s most renowned producers of Pinot Noir in particular.  This tour will bring participants to several local vineyards, and include information on the vineyards’ environmental practices as well as tasting flights and light refreshments. 

Cost:  ($125 per person (min 8 guests, max 14) $175 per person if over 16 guests)