http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/lter//new/new.cfm Latest HJ Andrews news entries  The final phase of road work at the landslide site on Forest Road 15 (ca. 2 miles from highway 126) is proceeding on schedule.  Paving of this section is planned for Tuesday May 14 th .  The road will be closed to all traffic from 9 AM until the following morning (May 15 th ) .  For those who need to visit the Andrews Forest on May 14 th there are several options: 1) arrive at the slide before 9AM and plan to spend the night of the 14 th at the Station; 2) arrive before 9AM on the 14 th and leave anytime that day via the USFS15-to-Deer Creek (USFS 2654)-to-Highway 126 route (a map of this route is still on our website at http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/lter/new/2012/DeerCreek_alt_access.pdf ; 3) arrive and leave at any time you desire using the Deer Creek alternate route.  I have checked the route and it is snow free.  Deer Creek (USFS 2654) is in very good condition (recent thinning operations), while USFS 15 is in good condition except for the occasional pothole and a mile of well-developed washboard just west of Wolf Rock.  I clocked the route at 39 minutes from HJA headquarters to Hwy 126 when driving at a safe speed.  The highway 126 section from the Deer Creek road (2654) junction to the Blue River Reservoir Road (15) junction adds another 17 minutes to the trip up the McKenzie valley.  However, the normal route from highway 126 to HQ takes 7 minutes at a safe speed, meaning the Deer Creek route adds 49 minutes to a typical trip from Corvallis using highway 126.  I cannot speculate on whether it would be faster from Corvallis to drive highway 20 to 126 to Deer Creek than the I-5 - hwy 126 - Deer Creek route (Google Maps suggests that it is essentially two hours from Corvallis to the Deer Creek junction using either route).  Please do not attempt any other alternative routes, such as Hwy 20 directly to USFS Road 15, as you will encounter significant snow patches that will force you to turn around.    One caveat: if there is significant rain on Tuesday the 14 th , the paving will have to be postponed until the 15 th .  Unless you receive an email announcement of a weather delay, assume the road will be closed on the 14 th and open on the 15 th (it is officially closed to public use from 1PM on Monday the 13 th through 5AM on the 15 th , but the closure for Andrews business does not begin until paving starts at 9 AM on the 14 th ).  Please let us know if you plan to travel across the slide zone after 1PM on the 13 th or early morning on the 14 th – I’ve been informed by the USFS Project Engineer that Andrews personnel do not need to carry a permit letter to cross the slide zone, but the official language about fines is eye opening ( http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5419689.pdf ).    Thank you for your flexibility in working around this final closure of road 15 to repair the damage from the 2012 landslide.   Tue, 14 May 2013 11:53:20 GMT Dr. Julia Jones, an Andrews Forest researcher and principal investigator, has been awarded the 2013 OSU Women's Center Woman of Achievement Award.  These awards honor the commitment to and contributions of women whose work has touched the lives of students and colleagues.  Anyone is welcomed and enouraged to attend the awards ceremony on Friday, May 10th at 3:00 PM in Memorial Union lounge of the OSU Campus. A catered reception will follow the ceremony. Tue, 07 May 2013 11:38:27 GMT Andrews Forest Children's Book, "Ellie's Log"  http://www.ellieslog.org "Ellie's Log, Exploring the Forest Where the Great Tree Fell" by Judith L. Li.  Illustrations by M. L. Herring. Watch the book trailer video The book is in print and available through booksellers.  Authur Judy Li will share the book at a special kids' book club meeting at the Corvallis Benton County Library, May 3, 3:30 PM. Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:32:35 GMT 'Trends in stream nitrogen concentrations for forested reference catchments across the USA' has been selected to appear in the monthly highlights collection of Environmental Research Letters (ERL).   To access the collection, please visit http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/page/2013%20monthly%20highlights Full paper:  "Trends in stream nitrogen concentrations for forested reference catchments across the USA." A Argerich et al 2013 Environ. Res. Lett. 8 014039 doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014039  Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:22:41 GMT 9-10 AM, Presentations: Carbon Dynamics in Watershed 1 AIR - Simplified mass balance in mountainous terrain: Can we measure NEE in WS1? Chris Thomas VEGETATION- Live and Dead Wood Dynamics in WS01. Mark Harmon and Becky Fasth SOIL - What factors control soil C storage and efflux in complex mountain terrain? Fox Peterson and Kate Lajtha WATER-  Fluxes and standing stocks of stream carbon - Alba Argerich and Sherri Johnson     10-11 AM, Discussions and Updates  The meeting will be held in Richardson Hall 313, on the OSU Campus. Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:09:21 GMT Researchers at the Andrews Forest are tracking the arrival of spring by watching bud break in native plants. Phenocams, weather-proof cameras positioned in the field, help researchers track bud break over a wide area at a daily interval. They also can help scale up from ground observations to monitoring through satellite imagery.  Comparisons of the timing of bud break from site to site and year to year can tell scientists about microclimate drivers and trends over time. Phenology observations across trophic levels may help us understand more about the effects of climate change on ecosystems.  More information on this project at the Andrews Forest can be found on our Phenology pages ( http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/research/lter6/current.cfm?pid=55&topnav=244 ) Fri, 29 Mar 2013 13:26:53 GMT 9-10 AM, Presentations:  The Andrews LTER Children's Book, "Ellie's Log, Exploring the Forest Where the Great Tree Fell". Presented by author Judith L. Li.  “Trade-offs between Carbon and Forest Products in the west Cascades of Oregon.” Presented by Mark Harmon. 10-11 AM, Discussion:  LTER 7 Survey results. Presented by Michael P. Nelson   The meeting will be held in Richardson Hall 313, on the OSU Campus. Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:22:11 GMT A cross-site collaborative study from the Andrews Forest and seven other Experimental Forests (4 of which are LTER sites) compared water quality trends in forested streams across the country that are largely undisturbed by land use or land cover changes. The researchers analyzed 559 years of stream nitrate and 523 years of stream ammonium data from 22 streams in 7 experimental forests across the country. They found that even these near-pristine forested streams are subject to change, as stream nitrate has declined in the Pacific Northwest, in the Northeast, and in Puerto Rico, but has increased in the Mountain West and the South. They also observed that, within a forest, trends were not always in sync—at some sites, two streams within an experimental forest had opposing trends for the same type of nitrogen for the same period of time, suggesting that the controls on stream nitrogen concentrations may vary among and within sites. The study's findings are summarized in an online video available at http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/1/014039 The work was also recently featured in Phys.Org:  http://phys.org/news/2013-03-explores-long-term-quality-trends-near-pristine.html Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:56:38 GMT "Ellie's Log, Exploring the Forest Where the Great Tree Fell" by Judith L. Li.  Illustrations by M. L. Herring. http:// www.ellieslog.org Ages 9-12 (Grades 4-6). Companion Teacher's Guide. Color Illustrations. 112 pages. Publication date April 1, 2013 http://osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/ElliesLog After a huge tree crashes to the ground during a winter storm, ten-year-old Ellie and her new friend, Ricky, explore the forest where Ellie lives. Together, they learn how trees provide habitat for plants and animals high in the forest canopy, down among mossy old logs, and deep in the pools of a stream. The plants, insects, birds, and mammals they discover come to life in colored pen-and-ink drawings. The forest and animals described in Ellie's Log are based on those found at the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest. An engaging blend of science and storytelling, Ellie’s Log also features: • Pages from Ellie’s own field notebook, which provide a model for recording observations in nature • Ellie’s advice to readers for keeping a field notebook • Ellie's book recommendations • Online resources for readers and teachers—including a Teacher’s Guide—are available at www.ellieslog.org . See the Ellie's Log Trailer  Fri, 01 Mar 2013 13:25:19 GMT Art and writing from the Ecological Reflections program will be displayed in Washington, D.C., at the National Science Foundation Offices with an opening associated with the annual Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Mini Symposium.  Works created by 39 artists and writers depict the world of 11 of the 26 Long-Term Ecological Research sites, including the Andrews Forest. The items on display include paintings, fiber art, poetry, prose, and sculpture; the creators’ intents range from simple, personal expression to public outreach.   The LTER Mini Symposium is hosted by the National Science Foundation and includes attendees from other agencies and entities in the DC area, including the National Endowment for the Arts, the US Forest Service, and the National Park Service.  The exhibit opens February 28, 2013, and runs through mid-June.  For more about the Arts and Humanities programs at the Andrews Forest LTER, see http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/lter/research/related/writers.cfm?topnav=167 .  The Ecological Reflections network of 20 sites is described at: www.ecologicalreflections.com . Art caption: Bark beetle galleries on the side of a log in Lookout Creek at the Andrews Forest inspired this painting by Eugene artist Leah Wilson during her 2012 Artist-in-Residence visit. Gouache on paper.  For more of Leah’s work see: http://leahwilson.com Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:10:28 GMT