Ethan Shaw - New Member

[ESH]

Hi all,

I recently joined the Native Tree Society, having long admired its project pages & discussion forums. I'm a writer & naturalist living in the maritime Northwest, and my main areas of focus--and my passions--are wild landscapes, physical geography, the classification of landforms & ecosystems, and the intersection of topography & ecology. Old, huge, particularly gnarled, living-at-the-fringe-of-their-range, and otherwise notable trees have always spoken to me (though all, naturally, are wonderful in their own way), and I love chancing upon them, whether on wilderness bushwhacks, trail rambles, or strolls through parks & cemeteries.

I'm looking forward to more deeply exploring these forums, and taking advantage of the impressive collective knowledge housed here. The efforts to document lone veterans & resilient patches of old-growth are really inspiring. Mostly, I'm sure, I'll be a happy student on these pages, but I also hope to post about particular trees/forests I've come across (there is an ancient, half-dead Pacific Madrone of impressive size I visit regularly on the Ice Age Floods-scoured benches above the Willamette River in the Portland Metro area), and perhaps some musings on trees & landscape.

Thanks for all your work & dedication.
-Ethan Shaw

[ElijahW]

Ethan,

Welcome to the group. You hail from one of the really beautiful places in America. I spent some time in the Portland area last week for the first time, and was truly inspired by the landscape. The wind and rain wasn't too pleasant, but I will definitely be back when I get the time.

Elijah

[ESH]

Thanks for the welcome, Elijah. Yes, NW Oregon is beautiful, like the rest of the Northwest--and the seasonal battering of North Pacific storms creates its own drama. The giant conifers, of course, are a great attraction; but so are the immense Black Cottonwoods & wonderfully eccentric old Oregon Ashes in the bottomlands, all playing out in such a volatile landscape of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, etc. I also love the close proximity to the stunning Ponderosa savannas & steppe-mountain mosaic of Eastern Oregon, where I lived for several years. Hope you get a chance to visit again.

-Ethan