Woody Holderman Photographs

Woody Holderman Photographs, 1956-1975

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Holderman, Woody, 1915-
Title: Woody Holderman Photographs
Dates: 1956-1975 (inclusive)
19561975
Quantity: 0.35 cubic foot, including 943 photographs, (1 box)
Collection Number: P 263
Summary: The Woody Holderman Photographs document the Oregon Game Commission's program of wood clearance from streams and rivers in Oregon's coastal basin forests. Holderman worked as a demolition specialist with the Oregon Game Commission (later the Department of Fish and Wildlife) from 1947 to 1978.
Repository: Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions: Collection is open for research.
Additional Reference Guides: Detailed lists of all the items in the collection were prepared by Courtland Smith and Jesse Ford with the input and consultation of Holderman. Separate lists for prints and negatives and slides are available online and with the photographs. The lists provide the stream name and river basin or lake; a description of the photograph; and the date.
Languages: English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Woody Holderman began his career with the Oregon Game Commission in 1947 as a trapper and demolition specialist for the removal of beaver dams. In 1961, be became the stream clearance foreman for the Oregon Game Commission. Assigned to projects by Commission biologists, Holderman coordinated with private landowners, dealt with community groups interested in the project, hired contractors, supervised the project, and evaluated the results. The stream clearance projects involved chainsaws, equipment to remove logs, and dynamite to remove obstructions. Project objectives were to improve fish passage in streams blocked with logs, silt, and other obstructions. After his retirement from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in 1978, Holderman continued his stream clearance work with private contractors.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Woody Holderman Photographs document the Oregon Game Commission's program of wood clearance from streams and rivers in Oregon's coastal basin forests. The images depict active removal of wood debris by crews under Holderman's supervision; the streams and river before and after the clearance projects; manmade features such as fish ladders; and river flooding. The collection consists of 772 black and white prints and negatives and 171 color slides taken by Holderman during the time he was a stream clearance foreman with the Oregon Game Commission.

The collection includes photographs of the following coastal river basins: Alsea, Coos, Coquille, Nehalem, Siletz, Siuslaw, Smith, Trask. Umpqua, Wilson, and Yachats. Other Oregon rivers represented are the Deschutes, Hood, Long Tom, Marys, and South Santiam Rivers. Photographs of Tahkenitch, Siltcoos, Trillium, and Elbow Lakes are also included in the collection.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

A selection of Woody Holderman Photographs pertaining to the Umpqua River Watershed are available online in the Oregon State University Historic Umpqua Basin Photograph Collection in the Umpqua Basin Explorer.

Preferred Citation

Woody Holderman Photographs (P 263), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Related Materials

Reference materials and conference presentations assembled and prepared by Anthropology Professor Courtland Smith and Fisheries and Wildlife Professor Jesse Ford that describe the practice, rationale, and history of wood clearance projects in Oregon after World War II are available in the Archives' records for this collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Coarse woody debris--Environmental aspects--Coast Ranges.
Coarse woody debris--Environmental aspects--Oregon.
Fish habitat improvement--Coast Ranges.
Fish habitat improvement--Oregon.
Logging--Coast Ranges.
Logging--Oregon.
Rivers--Coast Ranges.
Rivers--Oregon.
Stream ecology--Oregon.
Stream ecology--Coast Ranges.

Geographical Names

Alsea River Watershed (Or.)
Coquille River (Or.)
Siletz River (Or.)
Siuslaw River (Or.)
Tahkenitch Lake (Or.)
Umpqua River Watershed (Or.)

Form or Genre Terms

Film negatives.
Photographic prints.
Slides.

Other Creators

Personal Names
- Ford, Mary Spencer Jesse (creator)
- Smith, Courtland L. (creator)
Corporate Names
- Oregon. State Game Commission. (creator)

Archives West Finding Aid

Table of Contents