By Zach Urness
Statesman Journal
In the summer of 1989, the environmental activists fighting to protect Opal Creek were looking for the perfect picture.
The old-growth forest and canyons northeast of Mehama, Oregon, still faced the possibility of logging — a battle that had raged for almost two decades. That summer, those in favor of conservation decided they needed an iconic image, a picture that showcased the beauty at stake to the outside world.
“We needed a picture that showed people, who’d never visited, what might be lost if the area was clearcut and dug up with roads,” said Michael Donnelly, co-founder of the Friends of Opal Creek.
It was into this atmosphere that Larry Olson arrived.
A landscape photographer, Olson was in the process of working on his book “Oregon Rivers,” an ambitious project to shoot every river designated as “Wild and Scenic” in Oregon. While photographing Elkhorn Creek and the Little North Santiam River, he stopped by nearby Opal Creek.
“I’d heard on NPR that they were talking of clearcutting the Opal Creek watershed and there was a huge fight to save it,” Olson said. “It was startling the first time I walked in there and saw those big trees and the pristine river. It’s pretty rare to see such a healthy ecosystem intact.”
Beginning from Jawbone Flats — the center of the resistance — Olson bushwhacked up Opal Creek for five days, making pictures as he went.
“That trip was days of backpacking, wading in the river, climbing over slippery rocks and over and under trees in the process of making the pictures,” Olson said. “Not an easy task with a backpack, a tripod and all of my camera gear. I basically had to wet foot it the entire trip.”
Yet the picture he captured was, by every measure, stunning.
The Oregon Natural Resources Council and Friends of Opal Creek turned the picture into posters with the text “Opal Creek: Oregon’s uncut gem.” The picture was featured on magazine covers and shown at legislative hearings to conserve Opal Creek.
“The green canyon walls and the flowers on the walls and the large rocks in the creek bed were a big visual draw,” Donnelly said. “It was so stunning that people really realized what was at stake. It got many people to join in.”
The picture helped inspire national environmental groups to get involved, Donnelly said, as they spread the image to an audience beyond Oregon.
All the work came to fruition on Sept. 30, 1996 — two decades ago this year — when Oregon Sen. Mark Hatfield successfully passed legislation protecting the landscape as the Opal Creek Wilderness (20,454 acres) and Opal Creek Scenic Recreation Area (13,538 acres).
“It was a great feather in my cap to have helped save Opal Creek,” Olson said. “It has always been my goal to defend wild places through my photography, and I’ve been fortunate that other organizations have used my photos to protect wilderness.”
Off the grid
Today, the Opal Creek area is one of the most popular — even overcrowded — places in Oregon.
The old-growth forest and crystalline swimming holes draw hundreds of people east of Salem each weekend. In recent years, the crowds have taken their toll in the area surrounding Jawbone Flats and Opal Pool.
The spot Olson photographed, however, has remained relatively undisturbed.
No trail travels there, and a trip requires a long and difficult bushwhack upstream to what’s now known as “Poster Falls.”
Even Olson couldn’t find it on a return trip.
The lack of crowds in the Poster Falls area suits the past and present caretakers of Opal Creek just fine. They don’t promote the route but are happy if people can find their way to the remote destination.
The best places, after all, should be earned.
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