Longley Meadows along the Grande Ronde River in the Blue Mountains from US Forest Service Research Paper PNW-GTR-315, Figure 34 series with photographs in 1919 (J. D. Lacey), 1967, 1982, and 1992 (all by J. M. Skovlin and J. W. Thomas) and 2010 (CW-2010-04-26-561). The older images show the meadows, open forests (along the mid-ground ridge) and dense willows and cottonwoods along stream-sides that originally dominated this region. Fire suppression, introduction of non-native plants, and intensive herbivory from wildlife and domestic stock have altered this scene.¹ The gentle slopes of the Blue Mountains provided easy access for Native Americans, fur traders, early settlers, and modern highway and railway links between the lower Columbia River valley, and the Snake River plains route to the Great Plains.

Footnotes and Map