Woody Holderman Photographs, 1956-1975

Title: Woody Holderman Photographs, 1956-1975

ID: P 263

Primary Creator: Holderman, Woody (1915-)

Extent: 0.35 cubic feet. More info below.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Woody Holderman Photographs document the Oregon Game Commission's program of wood clearance from streams and rivers in Oregon's coastal basin forests. Holderman worked as a demolition specialist with the Oregon Game Commission (later the Department of Fish and Wildlife) from 1947 to 1978.

Images from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.

Scope and Content Notes

The Woody Holderman Photographs document the Oregon Game Commission's program of wood clearance from streams and rivers in Oregon's coastal basin forests. The images depict active removal of wood debris by crews under Holderman's supervision; the streams and river before and after the clearance projects; manmade features such as fish ladders; and river flooding. The collection consists of 772 black and white prints and negatives and 171 color slides taken by Holderman during the time he was a stream clearance foreman with the Oregon Game Commission.

The collection includes photographs of the following coastal river basins: Alsea, Coos, Coquille, Nehalem, Siletz, Siuslaw, Smith, Trask. Umpqua, Wilson, and Yachats. Other Oregon rivers represented are the Deschutes, Hood, Long Tom, Marys, and South Santiam Rivers. Photographs of Tahkenitch, Siltcoos, Trillium, and Elbow Lakes are also included in the collection.

Images from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Woody Holderman began his career with the Oregon Game Commission in 1947 as a trapper and demolition specialist for the removal of beaver dams. In 1961, be became the stream clearance foreman for the Oregon Game Commission. Assigned to projects by Commission biologists, Holderman coordinated with private landowners, dealt with community groups interested in the project, hired contractors, supervised the project, and evaluated the results. The stream clearance projects involved chainsaws, equipment to remove logs, and dynamite to remove obstructions. Project objectives were to improve fish passage in streams blocked with logs, silt, and other obstructions. After his retirement from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in 1978, Holderman continued his stream clearance work with private contractors.

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 943 photographs; 1 box

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Original/Copies Note: A selection of Woody Holderman Photographs pertaining to the Umpqua River Watershed are available online in the Oregon State University Historic Umpqua Basin Photograph Collection in the Umpqua Basin Explorer.

Related Materials: Reference materials and conference presentations assembled and prepared by Anthropology Professor Courtland Smith and Fisheries and Wildlife Professor Jesse Ford that describe the practice, rationale, and history of wood clearance projects in Oregon after World War II are available in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center's records for this collection.

Preferred Citation: Woody Holderman Photographs (P 263), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Other URL: Detailed lists of all the items in the collection were prepared by Courtland Smith and Jesse Ford with the input and consultation of Holderman. Separate lists for prints and negatives and slides are available online and with the photographs. The lists provide the stream name and river basin or lake; a description of the photograph; and the date. All lists were created on or before November 14, 2014.

Creators

People, Places, and Topics

Alsea River Watershed (Or.)
Coarse woody debris--Environmental aspects--Coast Ranges.
Coarse woody debris--Environmental aspects--Oregon.
Coquille River (Or.)
Fish habitat improvement--Coast Ranges.
Fish habitat improvement--Oregon.
Holderman, Woody, 1915-
Logging--Coast Ranges.
Logging--Oregon.
Natural Resources
Rivers--Coast Ranges.
Rivers--Oregon.
Siletz River (Or.)
Siuslaw River (Or.)
Stream ecology--Coast Ranges.
Stream ecology--Oregon.
Tahkenitch Lake (Or.)
Umpqua River Watershed (Or.)