Location
H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest
Nestled in the McKenzie River watershed in the Western Cascades of Oregon, H.J. Andrews (HJA) is an ecological research center for forest and stream ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest. Until the 1850's, the Kalapuya Ilihi and Molalla nations lived on the land that some people now call HJ Andrews. In 1848, Europeans formally decided to force Indigenous people off of their lands by creating treaties with nations. In 1855 the European colonizers forced the Kalapuya Ilihi to sign a treaty that "legally" allowed the colonizers to occupy the land, that included what we now call HJ Andrews. These two tribes, including many others, were forced to walk for around 33 days to the Grand Ronde Reservation.
Members of these two nations still live on the Grande Ronde reservation as well as other placed in Oregon and the country.
Please visit this link to learn more about the Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde:
Decades after the land was stolen, beginning in the 1940s, the US Forest Service eventually were given the power to manage the land. Established in 1948, the forest’s original purpose was to, “concentrate on increasing efficiency of forest operations, such as forest regeneration, road engineering, and logging systems appropriate for old-growth forests.” Through the push of many researchers, the forest's value as a place of study was recognized, and in the 1970s the site switched over to being a full-time research center. The forest is now one of 28 long-term ecological research (LTER) sites nationwide.
We utilized the forest as a key tool in our lessons and related our curriculum to specific features and areas of the forest. By taking full advantage of the knowledge to be gained from studying at HJ Andrews, students were able to connect with nature in the forest and the course content that could be directly experienced in the forest.
Learn more about H.J Andrews:
https://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/