Planned service road near Mount St. Helens threatens to end decades of research
Share Where debris flowed from a 1980 eruption, plants and animals have slowly returned. But a road may disrupt those ecological communities. CARRI J. LEROY Planned service road near Mount St. Helens threatens prized research area Apr. 21, 2021 , 1:00 PM When Mount St. Helens in Washington state erupted on 18 May 1980, the initial explosion blew sideways, creating a nearly 600-square-kilometer blast zone—and what has become a prized ecological research area. Dozens of groups have tracked life’s reemergence there, one lupine and ladybug at a time. Now, many of those research projec...