The book A Place for Inquiry, A Place for Wonder: The Andrews Forest offers a historical account of the place and the people of H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest (HJA); its programs of research, education, partnership with land managers, and arts/humanities. Historian Bill Robbins places the work of the Andrews Forest within its larger and continuously evolving societal and political contexts, which both influenced and were influenced by discoveries at the HJA. Robbins recounts stories concerning watershed science, characterization of old growth, and the northern spotted owl, and extends the account to the current cast of characters and projects.

Bill Robbins discusses his book and the HJA long-term research, in light of the September 2020 Holiday Farm Fire, on the OSU Press Blog: http://osupress.oregonstate.edu/blog/inquiry-and-wonder-in-andrews-forest

From OSU Press:  “In A Place for Inquiry, A Place for Wonder, historian William Robbins celebrates the long-overlooked Andrews Forest research program, highlighting its importance to environmental science and policy. From its founding in 1948, the experimental forest has been the site of wide-ranging research, beginning with postwar studies on the conversion of old-growth timber to fast-growing young stands. Research shifted in the next few decades to long-term ecosystem investigations of climate, streamflow, water quality, vegetation succession, biogeochemical cycling, and the effects of forest management, putting the Andrews at the center of a dramatic shift in federal timber practices: from industrial, intensive forest management policies to strategies emphasizing biodiversity and healthy ecosystems.”

Bill Robbins is an OSU Emeritus Distinguished Professor of History. He has authored and edited many books, including “Landscapes of Conflict: The Oregon Story, 1940-2000” (published 2004) and “Landscapes of Promise: The Oregon Story, 1800-1940” (published 1997).