To the reader:
John Salinas provided me with Doug Larson’s address about a year ago, and this led to a fruitful exchange of information that eventually included a taped interview. Dr. Larson continues to actively pursue limnological studies at a number of localities in Oregon and Washington even after retiring from the U.S. Amy Corps of Engineers. His work at Crater Lake, however, ceased in 1985 because of a controversial hypothesis about decline in the lake’s optical properties. Whatever the merits of this hypothesis, it (more than any other single factor) provided the basis to create a monitoring program that is now an ongoing part of National Park Service operations at Crater Lake National Park. The following transcription resulted from the better portion of a day spent at his residence in Portland. Additional information, including copies of published articles by Dr. Larson, can be found in the park’s history files.
Stephen R. Mark
October 2000
