The Pumice Plain in southwest Washington’s Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is one of the most closely studied patches of land in the world. Named for the type of volcanic rock that dominates it, it formed during the mountain’s 1980 eruption. Since then, ecologists have scrutinized it, surveying birds, mammals and plants, and in general cataloging the return of life to this unique and fragile landscape.
Now, the depth of that attention is threatened, but not due to the stirrings of the most active volcano in the Pacific Northwest. The problem is a large lake two miles north of the mountain: Spirit Lake. Or, more specifically, the Spirit Lake tunnel, an artificial outlet built out of necessity and completed in 1985.
After nearly four decades, the tunnel is in need of an upgrade. At issue is the road the Forest Service plans to build across the Pumice Plain despite the scientific plots dotting the plain’s expanse. In this, Spirit Lake and its tunnel have become the de facto headwaters of a struggle over how best to manage research and risk on a mountain famous for its destructive capabilities.
THE ENTANGLEMENT OF THE LAND, the lake and the tunnel began 40 years ago, when Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. At 8:32 a.m., a strong earthquake caused the mountain’s summit and north flank to collapse in one of the largest landslides in recorded history. Some of the debris slammed into Spirit Lake, but most of it rumbled 14 miles down the North Fork Toutle River Valley. Huge mudflows rushed down the Toutle and Cowlitz rivers, destroying hundreds of bridges, homes and buildings.
The eruption killed 57 people and caused millions of dollars in damages. Mount St. Helens shed more than 1,300 feet of elevation, hundreds of square miles of forest were buried or flattened, and Spirit Lake was left a steaming black broth full of logs, dead animals, pumice and ash. Its surface area nearly doubled to about 2,200 acres, and its sole outlet, to the North Fork Toutle River, was buried under up to 600 feet of debris.
Having no outlet, and with rain and snowmelt still flowing in, Spirit Lake began to rise. The situation was dangerous: If the basin filled, the lake could overtop the debris field and radically destabilize it, unleashing another devastating mudflow that would send millions of tons of sediment toward the towns of Toutle, Castle Rock and Longview, Washington
Plessy v. Ferguson was important because it provided a legal justification for racial segregation. In the now-infamous ruling, the Supreme Court held that separate facilities for different races were acceptable so long as they were equal. This “separate but equal” principle would remain the law of the land for over half a century.
Federal authorities have charged two Chinese researchers with smuggling Fusarium graminearum — a fungus that threatens crops and food safety — into the United States, raising concerns about risks to the food supply.
Yunqing Jian, 33, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Michigan, and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34…Continue Reading
** Haribo recalls sweets due to cannabis findingWhat to know: Haribo has recalled sweets in the Netherlands because of potential contamination with cannabis.The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) said there are packs in circulation with sweets that can lead to health complaints, such as dizziness, when consumed.
Testing in the Philippines of smuggled vegetables has found they were positive for heavy metals and Salmonella.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. led the inspection of two container vans carrying an estimated 34 metric tons of white onions from China.
An FDA outbreak investigation that began in 2024 has finally revealed that the cause of Listeria infections is ready-to-eat foods.
Sandwiches and snack foods from Fresh & Ready Foods LLC of San Fernando, CA, have been found to be the source of the pathogen that has sickened 10 people in…Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for ready-to-eat (RTE) chicken and bacon wrap products due to concerns that the products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. A recall was not requested because the affected products are no longer available for purchase.
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2025 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for retail ground beef products sold by Bismillah Halal Meats, a retail market in Marietta, Ga., that may be contaminated with E. coli O103. FSIS is issuing this public health alert to ensure that consumers are aware that these products should not be consumed. A recall was not requested because the products are no longer available for purchase.
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for retail ground beef products sold by Bismillah Halal Meats, a retail market in Marietta, GA., that may be contaminated with E. coli O103.
The FSIS is issuing this public health alert to ensure that consumers…Continue Reading
Valley Fine Foods Co., Inc., of Benicia, CA, is recalling 646 cases of its Chile Verde Egg Bites because of potential contamination with foreign materials.
The recall, initiated on April 3, 2025, is classified as a Class II recall, indicating a low risk of serious health consequences, though temporary or…Continue Readin
Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green, two black students at Jackson State University in Mississippi, were killed when police opened fire during student protests.
Be a Seed for Change 
You must be logged in to post a comment.