Al Levno Oral History Interview

Al Levno rose from the rank of field technician in the 1960s to supervisor of support staff, photographer, and man of many other talents in operations of the Andrews Forest research program. The interview begins with family history split among Montana, Poland, and Rochester, New York, where he was born. Soon they moved to Montana where encounters with forests, often accompanying his father, prompted a decision at an early age (third grade circa 1950) to work for the Forest Service. He describes gaining deep love of wildlands and lots of experience in the outdoors, which served him well when it came to field work at the Andrews Forest years later. The conversation diverts to his role as photographer of vegetation in field plots. Returning to his upbringing, he tells of moving to eastern Washington as a high school student and beginning work for the Forest Service, “Oh my gosh, I was excited,” he says. He next describes attending Washington State University (then, College), but having a wife and two kids and a mill job ended that after a year or so, and he made his way to Eugene in 1961, and a new life.

Eventually, Levno gained Forest Service employment at the Andrews Forest, based on his stamina and comfort in the woods. He describes work life and social life in Blue River where he and his family settled and he began working for Dick Fredriksen on watershed studies. He comments with admiration on how Roy Silen covered so much of the Andrews landscape and had a great influence on its future, including by laying out the road system, but other people whose names are associated with early days of the Andrews were not present in the early 1960s. Levno goes on to tell about how challenging it was to work in the Andrews was at that time, especially in winter and as Jack Rothacher became involved and pushed for establishment of the upper-elevation, Hi-15 experimental watersheds in the snow zone, which was difficult to service in winter. He also comments on key co-workers and their positive, family-like relationships, despite some big differences; and how a high standard for attention to detail has been present through several generations of researchers and field staff. The period of the mid-1960s, including the legendary 1964 flood, was one of intensive work and interaction with the Ranger District and the general Blue River community. His day-to-day job went on with maintenance of field instruments for streamflow and weather data, all the while working solo with his dog Tramp and the infrequent lunch conversations with loggers.

Levno goes into an extended description of the 1964 flood and the harrowing experience of hiking with Fredriksen through the forest at night with landslides, rushing streams, and falling trees all around. He speaks about lessons learned from the flood impacts, such as the impact of roads on streams, and the work to get the roads and gaging stations working again. This was also a period when the old-growth forest seemed limitless, but he mentions that Jerry Franklin began to realize that was not so – that the forest was being overcut. Levno speaks admiringly of Ted Dyrness and his foresight to establish vegetation plots in the experimental watersheds before logging and then the big challenge to relocate the plots after logging and burning – and to continue the studies for decades. In the late 1960s Levno moved to Corvallis, but picked up responsibility for running experimental watershed studies in South Umpqua Experimental Forest and in the Bull Run, near Portland, and meanwhile the International Biological Program (IBP) was getting underway at Andrew Forest and playing a big role in studies of Watersheds 9 and 10. IBP triggered a great deal of other changes, including expanded use of the chemistry lab on campus and intensified data management, leading to hiring of Don Henshaw. Levno was picked to lead this work and also play a big role in development of the Andrews headquarters site construction and operations. This leads him to discuss other construction activities in the area, including Corps of Engineers snow study facilities and cabins in upper Blue River and other areas, such as Mack Creek and the Hi-15 watersheds.

Next, the questions take a more reflective turn, so Levno speaks about his deep sense for the beauty of the Lookout Creek watershed and the people who have worked there, and he mentions how his feel for the science and the distinctive qualities of old-growth forests grew over time. He senses what his contributions have been and sees himself as a facilitator – helping the larger team get things done. This leads to reflections on various jobs he had, relations with national forest staff and Blue River community members, the roles of Jerry Franklin in generating big ideas and carrying them out, and how some ideas and studies (e.g., spotted owl tracking and the log decomposition experiment) took on significance far beyond what was expected at their start. But those idealistic thoughts are tempered a bit by his extended discussion of development of the headquarters facilities and dealing with the Forest Service on that long-term project. He also has harrowing tales of dealing with snow mobiles and snowcats, which were not well suited for the highly variable snow conditions on the west side of the Cascades. He reminisces glowingly of interdisciplinary work, the history of skinny dipping and fishing in Lookout Creek, the challenge of capturing old-growth forests photographically, close calls during erosion studies in Watershed 1 and even driving Andrews roads, and his favorite place on the Andrews Forest.