A Debate Smolders

Summary

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Zachary Kaufman/The Columbian

Thirty years after an eruption that obliterated its top 1,314 feet, debate swirls over management of the landscape surrounding Mount St. Helens.

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Extract

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A Debate Smolders

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Steven Lane/The Columbian

The Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center, finished in 1993, has sat empty since chronic budget shortfalls prompted the U.S. Forest Service to close it permanently in November 2007. One local elected official said he remains outraged about the closure.

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At 8:32 a.m. on May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens exploded with the force of a 20-megaton bomb.

In a matter of minutes, the volcano radically reshaped a 230- square-mile swath of Southwest Washingtons forested landscape.

Hu...

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