Wolves return to Oregon in packs
It seems like just yesterday I went to eastern ORegon to report on the “potential” for wolves to return to Oregon. That was in 2006 (episode 1607). Well, there have been reports all throughout the last year of wolves showing up, with a few videos offered as proof, followed by a wolf attack on livestock in Wallowa County last Spring. Now comes this…a video showing a pack of 10 wolves east of Joseph Oregon . After 60+years of silence in the woods, they’re back. Check out the video:
Hunting the Devil and his stairway to…..
The most evil stairway in Oregon? The Devil’s staircase. It gave me blisters, made me bleed and… well…. you can get the full story about where the infamous “staircase” leads when our show premieres on Thursday November 19, but we thought we’d give you a quick taste of what we endured to get there first :
Bluebirds in her pockets
For 33 years Elsie Eltzroth has had bluebirds in her pockets.
She sewed big, warm, cushy pockets onto the outside of a light jacket just to provide a cozy warm setting for the birds she cares for so much.
Read More…
Have your say on changes at Malheur Refuge
A very quick update to our Malheur Refuge Carp story: you can now influence how the national wildlife refuge plans for the future. 
The refuge is in the midst of developing a Comprehensive Conservation Plan and now is the time for the public to comment.
More on planning here.
It appears the only way to submit comments is the old fashioned way: by snail mailing a letter. The refuge website does not have an email submission form set up.
If you want to throw in your two cents on everything from how to eradicate the invasive carp to policies on public grazing or hunting, send your comments here:
Tim Bodeen, Project Leader
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
36391 Sodhouse Lane
Princeton, Oregon 97721
Paradise behind the Bull Run gates…..
This is a little video I put together from a recent scouting trip. It’s not great quality (I just haphazardly shot some scenes in between my note-taking), but it’s from the Bull run watershed, which has an almost mythical status among Portlanders. For the most part, the public is restricted from entering the Bull Run in order to preserve the region’s exceptional water purity. We were able to visit, accompanied by Portland Water Bureau Staff of course, in order to survey the scene for an upcoming story. In one of the scenes you can see a remaining remnants of Portland’s original wooden water pipe…basically just a log with a bore hole drilled through it. Portland’s water used to travel through these!
If you want to see the Bull Run watershed for yourself, there IS a way. The Water Bureau offers limited, occassional public tours for the public. Check out tour oportunities http://www.portlandonline.com/water/index.cfm?c=29784
Bighorn Ram vs SUV
We’ve seen bighorn rams up close in the past during some Field Guide shoots.
But none has ever acted like this!
According to the post on YouTube, this encounter happened May 17, 2009 in Sinks Canyon, Wyoming. It was posted by Mark James, a sculptor and outdoorsman in Lander, Wyoming.
Déjà poo (headline too good not to borrow)
I missed this local story when it came out a month ago. But High Country news had fun with it in their latest edition.
Courtesy The Columbian
It turns out the long search for the source of fecal bacteria (read: poo) in Burnt Creek in Vancouver traced the pollution right back to the environmental regulators themselves.
Now there’s a little more on the story, courtesy of The Columbian . It appears a sewer connection from the offices shared by the Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife and the Dept. of Ecology was bungled 35 years ago. A search of local records indicates the sewage connection was botched in 1974, but officials don’t think sewage started to enter Burnt Creek until 1997.
Rockin’ out to Invasive Species….
All this attention on invasive species has made rock stars out of the invaders. The latest evidence of their rise to infamy? Three songs about invasive species:Three invasive species tunes
