Oregon Field Guide

Series / 35 Seasons

Oregon Field Guide is your destination for outdoor recreation, ecology, natural resource and travel stories from across Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

28m 59s

Hiking from Portland to the Pacific Coast

7m 13s

After 7 years of scouting, Jim Thayer of Portland has plotted a hiking route from Portland to the Pacific coast without using highways. Since trails don’t cover the entire path, he has found logging roads open for public access. Here he shows us two segments, one along the Salmonberry River and its washed out rail line and another near Saddle Mountain suitable for biking down to Seaside.

Cloud Cap Inn

7m 57s / TV-G

In 1889, visionary pioneers built the Cloud Cap Inn on the north shoulder on Mt Hood as a destination resort. They were ahead of the their time, but despite the vicissitudes of man and Mother Nature, the venerable inn endures today, lovingly preserved by the Hood River Crag Rats as their “open to the public” clubhouse.

Jim Rogers

11m 29s / TV-G

Jim Rogers is one of the most influential people you’ve probably never heard of. He’s a mountain man who lives deep in the woods. Yet his influence extends all the way to Washington DC. He helped create not one, but two official wilderness areas in Oregon. Some people call this environmental logger the “John Muir of the Elk River.”

Warren Falls

7m 57s / TV-G

If there’s one thing that makes the Columbia River Gorge stand out, it’s the waterfalls. But did you know that one of those waterfalls is not natural. One waterfall lover wants that man-made waterfall closed down in order to restore Warren Falls, which has been blocked for more than 70 years.

Mt. Hood's Volcanic Past

8m 20s / TV-G

As George Washington was winning the revolutionary war, a deluge of volcanic debris was killing trees on the Sandy River. Mount Hood erupted for nearly a decade, just a few years before Lewis & Clark came through. The mountain many Portlanders regard as part of the city skyline is actually an active volcano with a more recent history of activity than many people realize.

Yellow Tuft Alyssum

8m 50s / TV-G

A new invasive species from Europe has been introduced in the Illinois River valley. Botanists say yellow tuft alyssum poses a threat to dozens of rare endemic Oregon wildflowers, but there's still hope it could be eradicated.

Cattle Drives

9m 5s / TV-G

A historic cattle ranch in southeastern Oregon moves cows every day. In many ways, cattle drives there have changed little since a century ago. The ranch herds cattle from one end of a million acre range to the other over the course of a year.

Timberline Lodge 75th Anniversary

9m 15s / TV-G

Oregon’s Timberline Lodge was part of FDR’s Works Progress Administration - a program that not only put people to work, but also preserved some of the finest of the Northwest’s indigenous arts. Despite the museum-quality art and hand-made furnishings, Timberline is still open to the public today. Could a large-scale public works project like Timberline, focused on recreation be built today?

Gorge Weeds

8m 17s / TV-G

The Columbia Gorge is one of our favorite playgrounds. But recreational use brings in noxious weeds that crowd out native species and upset the area’s ecological balance. We take a look at the challenges state agencies, land managers and non-profit groups face in trying to control the influx of these invasive “game-changers” and their efforts to coordinate these efforts.

Citizen Science

7m

Citizen scientists survey bugs in Portland backyards, measure rainfall and track the lifecycles of plants. A study questioned the reliability of crowd-sourced science, so scientists are improving training and new tools, like mobile apps.

Ice Diving

8m 37s / TV-G

Why would anyone intentionally dive into a frozen lake? Field Guide follows ice divers from the Klamath County Dive Search & Rescue Team into a dangerous world of freezing temperatures and surprising beauty.

North Umpqua Geology

9m 28s / TV-G

Southern Oregon’s North Umpqua River carves out one of our state’s more dramatic landscapes: a place where rivers collide and waterfalls plunge from spectacular cliffs. It is an incredible trip into this geologic wonderland.

Cranberry Farming

7m 48s / TV-G

Oregon cranberry farmers call the south coast the NAPA valley of cranberry farming in the US. A longer growing season produces sweet berries. But don’t believe the myth that they grow in watery bogs. Cranberry fields are flooded only two days a year to help the farmers get the berries off the vine at harvest time.

Grebes Walk on Water

9m 24s / TV-G

How on earth do grebes dance on the surface of the water? Thanks to high speed cameras we see just how grebes can propel themselves as if they walk on top of the water in the Upper Klamath Lake. It is an amazing sight.

Elk at Mount St. Helens

10m 53s

Thousands of elk have returned to the landscape around Mount St. Helens. Are there too many for the land to sustain? Scientists go to great lengths to count elk, measure their health, and restore elk grazing land washed away in a flood.

What the lichen growing on Oregon's trees can tell us about air quality

8m 21s

What could possibly be inspiring about that green stuff covering Oregon’s trees? Lichen is a an ecological wonder that reveals it's beauty on a microscopic scale. It can also teach us volumes about the quality of the air we breathe.

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