| Finding David Douglas is the goal of new film project |
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Members of the "Finding David Douglas" team and Marvin Brown
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by Kevin Weeks, ODF Agency Affairs Specialist
Walk through the forests of Scotland, and you’re likely to see many similarities to western Oregon. It is not by coincidence, but the legacy of an ambitious scientist named David Douglas who achieved amazing things in a brief 35-year life.
Raising awareness about the life and accomplishments of David Douglas through production of a documentary film, “Finding David Douglas,” has been the passion of a team of researchers from Scotland, England and Oregon for several years; Syd House, conservator with the Forestry Commission, Scotland, Dr. Gordon Mason, botonist, and film producer/historian Lois Leonard with the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission.
In early April, the documentary project team toured the Oregon Department of Forestry complex in Salem and spoke with State Forester Marvin Brown about the forest heritage shared by Oregon and Scotland thanks to the research of the Scottish scientist.
“The climate of Oregon and Scotland are very much the same,” said Syd House. “A lot of the flora and trees from Oregon grow well in Scotland; the samples Douglas brought back to Scotland form the basis of our forest. The biggest single change in Scotland’s landscape over the past 100 years is the increase in our forest cover, primarily the Sitka spruce, thanks in large measure to Douglas’ work.”
David Douglas traveled to North America three times, including an exploration of the Pacific Northwest less than three decades after the arrival of Lewis & Clark. Douglas transported seeds home to Scotland from almost 200 Northwest species. Douglas identified the tree species of ponderosa pine, Sitka spruce and Pseudotsuga Menziesii – better known throughout the world as the Douglas-fir, the iconic tree species much identified with Oregon.
Thanks to the work of David Douglas, Scotland forests thrive with Douglas-fir and Sitka spruce as well as salal, California poppy, broad leaf maple, vine maple, Oregon Grape, Yellow skunk Cabbage, and wild iris.
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| David Douglas - a passion for plants |
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Scottish botanist David Douglas
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Douglas was born in Scone, Scotland on June 25, 1799. Botany became a passion for Douglas, who at 24 received a commission to study the plant life of North America and return botanical samples to England.
Following a brief tour of the eastern U.S., Douglas was given a broader mission to document the Pacific Northwest using the resources of the Hudson’s Bay Company based at Fort Vancouver (today’s location of Vancouver, Washington). Douglas toured the northwest in 1825 and launched an exploration of the Willamette and Umpqua Rivers in 1826, collecting samples of many native plant species. Following a journey of probably 10,000 miles on foot from Fort Vancouver to York Factory on Hudson’s Bay in eastern Canada, Douglas returned his samples to England in 1827.
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| Other travels |
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Members of the team tour the Forest History Center
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Following a bout of poor health in London, Douglas’ third and final mission to North America lasted from 1829-1834, taking him to British Columbia, Oregon, California and Hawaii. While in Oregon, Douglas became the first European to attempt an ascent of Mount Hood.
Douglas’ final botanical mission took him to the large island of Hawaii, but little is known of Douglas’ final day there. On July 12, 1834 – after receiving warnings from local residents about wild cattle in the area – Douglas was found dead at Kaluakauka, the apparent victim of a cattle attack. Douglas was buried in a common grave in Honolulu.
In April 2010 the film project team showed a work- in-progress viewing of ‘Finding David Douglas’ to a crowd of 300 guests at the World Forestry Center in Portland. The ‘Finding David Douglas’ project is lead by the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, Forestry Commission Scotland and Parks Canada.
For addition information about supporting the Finding David Douglas project, contact the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission.
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| Digital Audio files |
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Syd House, conservator with the Forestry Commission Scotland, offers his views on similarities and links between Scotland and Oregon [1:15; 881 KB; MP3]
Syd House shares thoughts on what he would like the film to communicate about the impact of Douglas' work on England and North America [1:33; 1.1 MB; MP3]
Dr Gordon Mason explains the significance of Douglas’ botanical impact on Scotland. (0:30; 342 KB; MP3]
The film’s producer, Lois Leonard, talks about the project [0:29; 336 KB; MP3]
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