Historical State of the Temperate Rainforests in the Olympic National Park

Northern Spotted Owl (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zNH-Z92VFDA/TDvfgyg2V
gI/AAAAAAAAEBQ/_wrBkvTroVQ/s1600/web-Northern-spotted-owl-07.jpg)

Established as a national forest reserve in 1897 by President Cleveland and as a national park in 1938 by President Roosevelt, the Olympic National Park and its 922,000 acres has remained almost virtually untouched. In 1981, 43 years after its conception and 481 years after its first inhabitants started living on the peninsula, the park was named a World Heritage Site due to the  "tremendous natural diversity and exceptional natural beauty that are well-conserved" (www.olympicnationalparks.com) and later as an international biosphere reserve. Even today it is known for being "the best example of intact and protected temperate rainforest in the Pacific Northwest"  (www.olympicnationalparks.com). The park is home to four very different biomes-coastline, alpine, temperate rainforest, and temperate dry forest- and 11 large river systems, a large number of endemic species, and one of the longest undeveloped coastlines in the lower United States. 

Orographic Precipitation (http://www.sonoma.edu/users/f/
freidel/global/figure%2002-20.jpg)

In particular, the Olympic rainforests develop on the western side of Mt. Olympus due to the effect of orographic precipitation. There are two main rainforests: the Hoh and Quinault Rain Forests. Thousands of years ago, the peninsula was surrounded by glaciers. Free from ice, the area became a haven for animals thereby producing the many hundreds of endemic species found in the park such as the Northern Spotted Owl, the Marbled Murrelet, and the Bull Trout. 

Marbled Murrelet (http://www.avesphoto.com/website/
pictures/MURMAR-12.jpg)

Historically, coniferous trees like Sitka Spruce, Douglas-fir, Western Redcedar, and Western Hemlock covered the area with epiphytes like moss and lichens hanging from the trees. On an annual basis, the temperate rainforests receive around 150 inches of rain. Those coniferous trees have become part of the 366,000 acres of old-growth forests that exist on the peninsula today. The only inhabitants of the peninsula remained Native Americans until European settlers came and began settling the land. Overall, the Olympic temperate rainforests looked and appeared exactly like the prehistoric land dinosaurs roamed and it has remained pretty much so until even today. 

List of Endemic species:
(http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/endemic-animals.htm)
Mammals
  Olympic marmot - Marmota olympus
  Olympic yellow-pine chipmunk - Tamias amoenus caurinus
  Olympic snow mole - Scapanus townsedii olympicus
  Olympic Masama pocket gopher - Thomomys mazama melanops
  Olympic ermine - Mustela erminea olympica
Amphibians
  Olympic torrent salamander - Rhyacotriton olympicus
Fish
  Olympic mudminnow - Novumbra hubbsi
Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths)
  Hulbirt's skipper - Hesperia comma olympica
Orthoptera (grasshoppers)
  Olympic grasshopper - Nisquallia olympica
Coleoptera (beetles)
  Mann's gazzelle beetle - Nebria danmanni
  Quileute gazelle beetle - Nebri acuta quileute
  Tiger beetle - Cicindela bellissima frechini
Mollusks
  Arionid slug - Hemphllia dromedarius
  Arionid jumping slug - Hemphillia burringtoni

 

Arionid Jumping Slug (http://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=TVj991ExTwQ#t=24)