The Sun in Gales Creek on June 23, 2021. The Sun is a star located in the Milky Way galaxy and orbited by a number of celestial bodies, including the planet known as Earth. Photo: Chas Hundley Governor Kate Brown declared a state of emergency on Thursday in 23 of[Read More…]
Environment
Oregon’s salmon plates get a refreshed look
An example of the new design, courtesy Oregon Parks and Recreation Department A new design for Oregon salmon license plates will be available to vehicle owners September 1, 2021, and the money from plate sales will go toward salmon habitat and restoration. The salmon plate VIP list auction opens for[Read More…]
Heat wave shatters high temperature records
An image from the road camera at the Highways 6 and 8 junction showing 111 degrees on Monday, June 28. Most of Oregon grappled with an intense heatwave that broke high temperature records on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday before finally cooling off to the upper 90s. In Hillsboro, the closest[Read More…]
‘Excessive Heat Watch’ issued in advance of weekend triple-digit temperatures
The Sun in Gales Creek on June 23, 2021. The Sun is a star located in the Milky Way galaxy and orbited by a number of celestial bodies, including the planet known by many of its inhabitants as the Earth. Photo: Chas Hundley It’s going to be hot this weekend,[Read More…]
Fire season, burn ban begins as triple-digit temperatures loom
The Oregon Department of Forestry stages a vehicle at the Gales Creek Fire Station on Tuesday, August 27 2019. Photo: Chas Hundley A county-wide burn ban went into effect Tuesday morning at 7 a.m., putting a halt to all backyard, agricultural, slash, and other debris burning. Still allowed are small[Read More…]
Willamette Falls Locks Authority created by Oregon Legislature to explore reopening locks
The Willamette Falls on August 6, 2018. Photo: Chas Hundley The Oregon House of Representatives passed a bill with a 54-3 vote creating the Willamette Falls Locks Authority, a public corporation establishing ownership, management, and oversight so the waterfall’s locks could someday reopen for the first time since 2011. House[Read More…]
Grant funding sought to resume Balm Grove Dam removal project
The Balm Grove Dam on May 1, 2019. Photo: Chas Hundley The stalled Balm Grove Dam removal project may see movement again after the Tualatin River Watershed Council submitted an application in late April for a grant to partially fund the removal of the decades-old structure in Gales Creek and[Read More…]
After 2020 wildfires, seedling challenges remain
Burned trees at the Powerline Fire near Hagg Lake. Photo: FGF&R The Oregon Department of Forestry says demand is unprecedented for forest tree seedlings following the 2020 Oregon wildfires, creating difficulties for reforestation with as many as 140 million seedlings needed to replace what the fires consumed. Kyle Abraham, chief[Read More…]
Legislature looking to the future of fueling vehicles
The Oregon Capitol building in Salem. Photo: Chas Hundley A bill that appears to be fast-tracked by a recommendation from the Senate Committee on Energy and Environment would allow public utilities such to charge consumers for the cost of supplying new electric vehicle charging stations with power and allow public[Read More…]
ODF urges landowners to prevent beetle infestation in storm-downed Douglas Fir
ODF offices in Forest Grove. Photo: Chas Hundley The Oregon Department of Forestry says the 2021 ice storm, which brought down many large-diameter Douglas-firs across the state created the potential for an outbreak of the native Douglas-fir beetle. Christine Buhl, a Department of Forestry entomologist, said tree stands with pre-existing[Read More…]