Baptism by fire for Mount St. Helens monument manager

Huffman doesn’t have any particular memories of that eruption. He was 5 years old in 1980, living in the Midwest, so the event didn’t register for him at the time. As the Mount St. Helens monument manager now, Huffman sees sharing and preserving the story of the 1980 eruption as one of his key roles, he said.

Huffman noted a good portion of the people who work in the monument’s Amboy headquarters today either weren’t living in the area or weren’t born in 1980. Many scientists see a shrinking window to preserve first-hand accounts of the eruption as years pass.

“I think I’ve become aware of how precious those eyewitness stories are,” said Peter Frenzen, the Mount St. Helens monument scientist. “It’s a part of history that is being lost.”

Scientists continue to stress the importance of keeping those stories alive. On Sunday, the Mount St. Helens Science and Learning Center planned to host a series of presentations recounting the experiences of people who saw the 1980 eruption themselves. Also featured was Richard Waitt, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey who recently published a book detailing many witness and survivor stories. Waitt worked on “In the Path of Destruction” off and on for more than three decades, conducting hundreds of interviews. The book was released this year.

‘In awe’

Huffman spent time exploring the Mount St. Helens area even before he started his new job. He brought a fresh perspective — Huffman had never actually been to the volcano before he was hired to oversee the 110,000-acre monument dedicated to its preservation and study.

Huffman described himself as “pretty much in awe” seeing the mountain up close for the first time.

“To be able to see the after-effects … to see what it’s done to the landscape, it’s hard to put into words,” he said.

Huffman has spent the past 14 years working for the U.S. Forest Service at various posts across the country. Most recently, the Ohio native served as soil and water program manager in Oregon’s Umpqua National Forest. The Mount St. Helens National Monument is also managed by the forest service, sitting within the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

In his new office, Huffman is surrounded by the history of Mount St. Helens. Walls are lined with historic photos of the volcano from before, during and after the 1980 eruption. A variety of informational materials and other items greet visitors who walk in the front door. And the office is home to professionals of many disciplines — some employees of the monument, some not.

Community engagement is a crucial part of the national monument and its mission, Huffman said. But it’s also important to balance recreation with research as scientists continue to closely watch the area as it evolves and recovers, he added.

Some of those efforts involve data collection and observation in five-year increments, Frenzen said. That means many researchers will return to the volcano this year, 35 years after the 1980 eruption, to gather fresh insight and fresh information, he said.

Scientists also know the volcano will stir again. Mount St. Helens went through an eruptive phase from 2004 to 2008 before returning to relative slumber. Last year, the USGS confirmed that magma under the volcano is repressurizing, quietly recharging for the next eruption.

Frenzen encouraged anyone who has never been to Mount St. Helens to make the trip. Even people who have visited before might find something new in an area that now boasts an “incredibly rich” array of plant and animal life, he said.

“Every time I go out there,” Frenzen said, “I see something different.”