Over the past three years, Opal Creek Programs Director Megan Selvig and her colleagues have been researching the forest recovery in and around Jawbone Flats. Read about her work and the future of Opal Creek in this Oregonian article published September 1, 2025: Can Opal Creek, a treasured natural area devastated by the 2020 Labor Day wildfires, come back to life?

Opal Creek friend and wildlife photographer Ralph Bloemers has documented the changes with trail cameras, showing both forest and wildlife recovery since the Beachie Creek fire five years ago. Watch his time-lapse video here.

PHOTO: Dr. Jennifer Johns, a biology faculty member at Chemeketa Community College, measures a sapling height along the Opal Creek trail. Photo by Sean Meagher/The Oregonian