The Duplicative Forest

Driving west on I-84, after you have just passed the thousands of bunkers at the Umatilla Chemical Depot, you start to wonder if some of those chemicals have leaked into the air causing you to hallucinate. Because, the woods off of the highway are really starting to freak you out. They’re all the same height and thickness and evenly spaced in all directions. The effect is compounded when blasting by at 75 mph. If you look for too long the strobe effect may induce seizures.

The Boardman Tree Farm operated by GreenWood Resources can be easily viewed from I-84. It is 5 miles west of the I-82 junction. However, for those willing to invest some time and effort, GreenWood Resources will fill requests for group tours.

Update May 2, 2017: At this date most of the tree farms have sold to a dairy/farming conglomerate and they have removed the majority of trees. There are still some left, but the “forever forest” miles along Interstate 84 and 82 south side are now gone.