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The historic significance of the Wind River Nursery is directly related to
its role in the development of the timber industry in the Pacific Northwest. The
site includes buildings and landscapes that represent the early history of the
Forest Service, the architectural style of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC);
the first Arboretum in the Pacific Northwest; and one of the original nursery
fields.
Early experimental work at the site aided the Forest Service in developing
and refining timber practices; this tradition of experimentation and scientific
exploration is still represented on the site today by the forest research done
through the Pacific Northwest Research Station (PNWRS), the Wind River
Experimental Forest, and the canopy crane operated by PNWRS and the University
of Washington.
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Historically, the site was used for fishing, collection, foraging, and
hunting by Klickitat and Yakama Indians. Non-native settlement of the area began
in 1850. The primary land use was the harvest and transport of timber, which has
been an important part of the regional economy and culture ever since. In 1910,
a nursery was established at the current Wind River Nursery site to reforest
areas of the region that had been badly damaged by fire.
It was at this time that forest
managers realized that logged areas would also require reforestation, if timber
was to succeed as a renewable resource. |
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