These were primarily gophers, mice, and other burrowers who quickly sought subterranean refuge from the eruption. Some young plants, protected by the heavy snow cover also survived the blast. Wildlife now living on the fringe of the blast area, from insects to birds, coyote, and elk, today move through the blast zone. Their waste products provide seeds, which germinate in the fertile volcanic debris. Thus islands of vegetation appear, which provide food and cover.
Nature is amazingly adaptable.
Within the National Monument, no major reclamation efforts have been, or will be, attempted. But in the part of the blast zone outside the Monument, an estimated 10,000 acres of blown-down or dying timber were logged shortly after the blast. Those areas have remained logging properties, and 10 million trees have been planted to regenerate the forest. It remains active. A lava plug began forming in the crater in the early 1980's after the major eruption.