What is the long-term outlook for vegetation recovery in the Monument?
In the long term we expect that weedy plants will continue to populate most of the area and that, in time, willows and other shrubs will gradually establish. Hardwoods such as red alder (Alnus rubra), black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) and bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata) will appear along with scattered seedlings of coniferous trees including Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Pacific silver fir, noble fir (Abies procera), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), mountain hemlock and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta). Within the next 50 years as the young trees mature the weed and shrub dominated landscape will begin to take on the appearance of a young coniferous forest. Within 100 years a mature forest will cover most of the area. Within 200 years the area will begin to resemble the old-growth forests found in undisturbed portions of the Monument. The slow but steady return of forest vegetation can be seen in this aerial view of the debris avalanche deposit near Castle Lake five y
