McDonald Research Forest

This panorama was taken in the McDonald Research Forest and is a repeat of one taken almost seven years ago at the same location. 

(My previous VR was incorrectly titled “Peavy Arboretum”. That section of the research forest is slightly south from this location.)

The most obvious change is the sign that has been updated to communicate more information. More subtle changes include a number of trees that have been removed. A couple are near the camera, but you’ll have to look closely to see some of the others.

These changes are a result of the fact that this is a research forest. It is managed by Oregon State University, located in the nearby town of Corvallis. The forests in this area are sometimes used as a lab in which different forest management techniques are used to understand how they work, and how forests work in general. They are also used to teach students and train people involved in forestry-related businesses.

Other locations in the forest, reachable by the network of walking paths, show and explain different types of research activity going on. Some of them involve culling trees as was done here.

This is one of a collection of managed research forests. Most are near the university, like this one, but others are scattered around the state.

In addition to research and teaching, the forests are also available for recreation and a lot of local people make use of the paths. One of the other forests allows for limited hunting.

USA-Canada / USA-Oregon

Lat: 44° 39' 40.464" N
Long: 124° 14' 52.032" W

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: High. Pinpoints the exact spot.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 10.5mm fisheye, Nodal Ninja 5, PTGui, Photomatix, Photoshop