Goat Marsh Research Natural Area Gifford Pinchot National Forest , USFS West Cascades, Washington Ecoregion Cell(s): Lodgepole pine/bearberry Noble fir forest Pacific silver fir/Alaska huckleberry Pacific silver fir/Cascades azalea Pacific silver fir/coolwort foamflower mid-elevation permanent pond and drainage basin including beaver ponds mid-elevation freshwater wetland

Access by road and trail

The 478 ha Goat Marsh RNA is located in Cowlitz County, Washington at the foot of Mount St. Helens. Elevations range from 885 m where Cold Spring Creek leaves the tract to 1490 m atop Goat Mountain. The central section of the natural area is occupied by wetlands, several of which seem to have resulted from beaver activity. Marshes occupying the eastern base of Goat Mountain are dominated by grasses, sedges, and other grasslike plants. Two carnivorous species, Drosera rotundifolia and angelica, are present. The bog and swamp area in the south-central portion of the area is vegetated with a mosaic of shrub thickets, low vigor trees, and snags. Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) dominates pyroclastic flow forests in the harshest areas, Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) are the most common associates in more favorable areas, and western balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa) dominates the moistest areas. Noble fir (Abies procera), Douglas fir, Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis), and western hemlock, with an herbaceous understory characteristic of subalpine habitat types, characterize the flats, toe slopes, and lower mountain slopes. The noble fir stand on the RNA is one of the highest volume stands ever documented for this species. The steepest slopes are dominated by red fir and western hemlock, with noble fir and Douglas fir. The RNA provides habitat for several mammals with special requirements including the marsh shrew, northern water shrew, and the Richardson vole.

A 1-hectare permanent sample plot is located within the RNA. Trees, shrubs and herbs have been sampled and measured.