Wind, Earth, & Fire Trail
This two-part interpretive nature trail allows museum vistors to see first hand the effects of a prescribed burn.
Changeable signs interpret the various stages of forest succession and regeneration that follow in the wake of a fire. Interpretive stations throughout the exhibit feature examples of the natural history of the High Desert region's forests including dense thickets of trees with ladder fuels blending to upper story trees, a reduced thicket, the remnants of a tree struck by lightning, evidence of an historic hand-cut fire line, and the effect of fire on wildlife habitats.
Developed out of a cooperative effort with the Oregon Department of Forestry, the goal of the exhibit is to broaden the knowledge of forest ecology, as well as the social role of wildland fire in the High Desert region as a foundation for understanding modern forest management practices.
