Oregon State University has been awarded a grant to enhance access to research and education at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. The H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest (Andrews Forest) is one of the world?s premier field facilities for forest ecology research and education. For more than 50 years, research from the site has helped shape fundamental concepts about forest ecology and has had significant impact on forest management strategies and policies. However, the Andrews Forest is in a remote, mountainous location. The remote location makes it difficult for researchers to access study sites on a routine basis and for others (such as university classes or K-12 students) to visit the site. In the winter, the upper elevations are often snow-bound, which limits access to the high-elevation research sites.
The award will improve access to research and education at the Andrews Forest in two ways. First, it will allow purchase of a vehicle that can travel through snow ? a snowcat. With the snowcat, researchers, instructors, students and technicians will be able to travel safely to study sites that are snowbound. One of the most important ecological impacts due to climate change at the Andrews Forest is likely to be a change in the duration and location of snowpack. The snowcat will greatly enhance access to research that focuses on these changes in the snowpack. The second improvement from this award will be a ?blanket? of internet coverage to field locations at the Andrews Forest. This internet coverage will eventually allow teachers to conduct field courses that can be ?attended? virtually by students who are located anywhere in the world, as long as they have a computer with an internet connection. It will also allow researchers to access real time data from their field sites and to communicate with instruments without actually having to travel to the remote study site.
