Sensitive Beetle Species Spotted for the first time on Olympic Peninsula
Forest Service Wildlife Biologist Karen Holtrop and partners documented the first known site of the Beller’s ground beetle (Agonum belleri) on the Olympic Peninsula in June 2018. Partnerships are critical to conduct this work.
Pollinator Habitat at Home
Want to improve pollinator habitat around your home? Plant a pollinator garden! Get some tips from a Forest Service botanist about how to create pollinator habitat at home: Provide a pollen and nectar source, Provide a water source, Provide shelter, Provide nesting sites, and use pesticides only as an absolute last resort.
Olympic Forest Reserve was established in 1897 and transferred to the Forest Service as Olympic National Forest in 1907. Mt. Olympus National Monument, established in 1909, was designated as Olympic National Park in 1938 by Franklin D. Roosevelt. View historic highlights.
Olympic native seed collection & propogation
Did you know the US Forest Service collects native plant seeds? Saving and growing seed from native plants helps us restore areas that have been disturbed or that need rehabilitation. Cheryl Bartlett, Olympic National Forest Botanist, explains her seed collection projects.
The Pacific Northwest is rich in many salamander species which are crucial in the process of forest carbon cycling.
Salamanders are at risk from a number of threats, including habitat loss, wildlife trade, invasive species, and, most recently, fungal pathogens. (July 2016)
What does a wildlife biologist do?
Wildlife biologists monitor changes in our environment and are often the first to recognize changes.
Historic High Steel Bridge preservation & maintenance by forest engineers
Pekania pennanti, or the Pacific fisher, disappeared from Washington State early in the last century. This housecat-size member of the Weasel family was trapped for its fine fur and suffered from the loss of the old growth forests it prefers; it now resides on the Washington State endangered species list. Learn more about the Olympic peninsula fisher & it's reintroduction to the forest.
US-UK Pacific Northwest tree seed-collection tours
Bower previously accompanied representatives from the United Kingdom Forestry Commission’s Bedgebury Pinetum, Westonbirt Arboretum, and the Oxford University Harcourt Arboretum on a seed collecting tour in the Pacific NW for propagation and long-term genetic conservation.
Climate Change
Land management has been traditionally based on the precept that future environmental conditions will mirror past conditions. Today we can no longer assume that precipitation will fall in the same amounts and during the same time of year as in the past.
The Great Washington State Birding Loop is a self-guided driving tour using a custom map with information on each site about habitat, access, bird species, best season(s), and amenities.
The Great Washington State Birding Loop is a self-guided driving tour using a custom map with information on each site about habitat, access, bird species, best season(s), and amenities.
Laugh and learn with this interactive tour with the Olympic Habitat Development Study.