ST HELENS, Wash. — When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, hundreds of square miles surrounding the volcano were flattened. Scientists describe the destruction as “moonscaped” and at the time, it was thought that no life was left. 

Now, 45 years later, scientists continue to monitor how the environment has rebounded.  

One of the biggest changes to the landscape that still exists today is the creation of hummocks, which are deposits from the volcanic deposits that make up hills. Among those are 150 new ponds, which have turned into mini ecosystems that support life.  

Within the first few years of the eruption, a few frog species returned. Then within the first decade, salamanders came back. 

Through the years, scientists observed the return of plants and eventually animals. The first plants to return were species that could survive in nitrogen-poor areas, like Lupin and Red Alder. Those plants created habitat conditions where other species could then return and live.  

In 2019, mountain lions, pumas and black bears were all observed on nature cameras for the first time since the eruption.  

Donald Brown is the Lead Scientist for Mount St. Helens with the U.S. Forest Service, and 45 years after the eruption, there are still a few species that have not returned, including Western redback salamanders, Pacific Giant Salamanders and the Coastal tailed frog. 

He said at this point, there is still hope, but it’s not clear when or if they will ever return. 

“Those species can absolutely come back into the system. The question is how long is that going to take and is the world going to allow that to occur?” 

Brown said what’s incredible about all of this growth is that it happened naturally. The Forest Service decided that humans would not intervene and would watch as nature took its course. 

“When the monument was established in 1982, the goal was to not touch it as much as possible and let the natural system come back to the maximum extent possible,” said Brown. 

Through the years of observation, there have been interesting discoveries.  

One of the most shocking was that some life did survive. Gophers that were buried under the ash and pumice quickly burrowed out. That process helped move the evolution along. 

“By burrowing, they can mix in old soil into the new ash that’s on top of the land. And what that does is it provides again bringing in those nutrients and those conditions that allows plants to actually establish that creates conditions in which plants can actually grow,” said Brown. 

Now that the discoveries of new plant and animal species have plateaued, the observation focus has shifted to the trees. The once dense wooded area was flattened, and is slowly coming back to life. 

“At this point in time, we’re seeing the forest come back in, that’s what we’re watching. That’s not what it was 30 years ago, 40 years ago, even 20 years ago. But that’s what we’re watching now is the forest establishing finally,” said Brown. 

Brown is currently analyzing projections regarding exactly how long it will take for the forest areas to return to the dense glory that once stood prior to 1980. 

While that research is not complete, he estimates another 60 years of growth before the forest is back to normal. 

Brown added that Mount St. Helens is the most studied volcano on the planet and nearly half of volcano studies published are tied to the mountain. 

Standing in front of a meadow that faces hummocks, ponds, flowers and growing trees, Brown emphasized that this destruction was unprecedented and no one knew how long it would take to rebound, but Mother Nature has exceeded expectations. 

“One of the stories of this place is that it has recovered dramatically faster than any guessed it would have. This was a moonscaped landscape when it started, and nobody would guess that it would look like this 45 years later,” said Brown. 

Brown adds that while research is a huge part of their focus, recreation and education are the other two pillars. 

Johnstone Ridge, one of the main destinations and centers for Mount St. Helens visitors, is still closed for the summer of 2025 because of the 2023 landslide. WSDOT is targeting finishing up repairs in late 2026, so the facility should be back open by the 2027 summer season. 

The Mount St. Helens Science and Learning Center at Coldwater is back open for the season as of May 17, 2025 for extended open days. The facility will be open seven days a week starting June 15 through Labor Day weekend. New this year, there is a $5 parking fee at the Science and Learning Center, which is covered with the America the Beautiful Pass, the National Park Pass and the Northwest Forest Pass. 

The Mount St. Helens Institute also hosts 4,000 kids every year through different field trip programs.