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.

Watch Latest: S36 E7

26m 14s

Reflections of Summer: Behind the Scenes: Waterfall Kayaking

6m 3s / TV-G

Kayakers say that the only way to see the depths of the Salmon River Gorge is to learn how to kayak over 50-80 foot waterfalls. So how did the Field Guide crew get it all on video? We share the behind-the-scenes story of bushwhacking, rappelling, waiting and chasing as we struggle to capture a rare adventure beyond the trails end.

Summer Ski Camp

6m 14s / TV-G

Mt Hood, Oregon has the distinction of being the only place in North America that can offer skiers the opportunity to train year-round. One camp - Mt Hood Summer Ski Camps - has been training tomorrow's stars of snow sports since the 1970s. We check in with the latest group of up-and-coming "campers" as they hone their skills on the summer slopes.

Waterfall Kayaking

10m 51s / TV-G

The Salmon River gorge near Mount Hood thunders with the sound of waterfalls ranging from 10 feet to over 80 feet high. But they are impossible to visit by foot. We join a group of daring kayakers who embrace the thrill of kayaking over waterfalls in order to visit a spectacular canyon that can't be seen any other way.

Lizard Field School

9m 45s / TV-G

Student biologists learn the how-to's of wildlife research by studying the life and death of lizards in Oregon's Alvord desert. For 15 years Dr. Roger Anderson has been leading students on a three-week immersion into lizard ecology and behavior. Students cope with the primitive conditions of life in a desert encampment while enduring the blazing sun and harsh desert conditions.

Butterfly Watching

7m 18s / TV-G

Nature photographer Chris Carvalho used to collect butterflies. Now he just collects images of them. Going on a hike with him often doesn't end up covering much ground as butterflies easily distract him. His macro photography reveals a world of colorful wings and complex camouflage.

McKenzie River Trail

9m 21s / TV-G

26-miles of clear lakes, dramatic waterfalls and majestic old-growth forests earn this Oregon river corridor the nickname “America’s #1 Trail.” We check in with the hikers and bikers, as well as forest managers and a geologist to explore all things Trail.

Grande Ronde Wildflowers

8m / TV-G

In 1993, former Eastern Oregon University agronomist Andy Huber began acquiring land in the Grande Ronde Valley to create a non-profit native plant reserve. Along with restoring the land and propagating native seeds, Andy’s site is also the only US site where Mountain Lady’s Slipper orchids are grown from seed. We visit along with the Oregon Orchid Society to see three native orchids in bloom.

First Salmon Ceremony

6m 2s / TV-G

Centuries before we had fish biologists and resource management, the Native Americans along the Rogue River had the Stone Chair and a ceremony to honor the first salmon. Tribes have rediscovered the Stone Chair and have renewed the First Salmon Ceremony with a new purpose.

Snow School

9m / TV-G

A dose of science sneaks into a fun field trip. While students learn to build an igloo at Mount Hood they also get a lesson in water, snow and hydrology. Educational Recreational Adventures takes students whose family roots trace to Africa and the Middle East to Snow School.

Mushrooms

10m 41s / TV-G

A world of odd shapes, textures and colors reveals itself every year as the rains set in. Mushrooms sprout their fruit. Mycologist Nancy Weber has found more than 300 types of fungi in her forested backyard. In southern Oregon, Robert Coffan, Darlene Southworth and Johnathan Frank discovered the only mushroom in the world that grows entirely underwater, in the waters of the Rogue River.

Ice Crawlers

9m 12s / TV-G

Two Oregon scientists discover two new species of ice crawlers, an extremophile that lives in and under snow fields. Researchers from OSU have found them living in the Cascades near Belknap Crater and near Corvallis up high on Marys Peak. The caramel colored insects look a bit like earwigs and thrive in a very limited temperature range right around the freezing point.

Disappearing Lake

6m 58s / TV-G

South Prairie is a mysterious lake in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest that appears each spring and disappears each summer. We set out with a Forest Service botonist to paddle and hike this geologic wonder, trying to learn what's behind this phenomenon. The prairie is home to the world's largest-known population of a rare iris and some of the farthest west aspen groves in Washington.

Apple Detectives

8m 55s / TV-G

Apple detectives from the Home Orchard Society figure out what kinds of apples grow on trees. When they find an aging man near Yoncalla, Oregon with the largest collection of apple varieties in the world, they take on the massive task of trying to preserve a living cutting from every one of his 4,500 trees. http://opb.is/orchard

Trout Creek Raptors

9m 42s / TV-G

Gorgeous and still relatively undiscovered, Trout Creek is a great spot for recreational rock climbing. But it’s also home to protected golden eagles. This piece tells the story of how recreational climbers and land managers are crafting a compromise meant to serve the interests of both parties. The solution and cooperation that’s resulted may well be template for similar conflict areas.

Thundereggs: Oregon's State Rock

6m 40s / TV-G

Oregon's high desert from Madras to the Ochoco Mountains has some of he largest deposits of thundereggs in the world. Rock hounds slice them open to find agate, jasper, opal, sometimes in ornate patterns, hidden inside, the first people in history to ever see the formations since they were encased in cooling lava 60 million years ago. Thundereggs were named the state rock of Oregon in 1965.

Disappearing Frogs: Update

8m 12s / TV-G

In 1993, two Pacific northwest researchers sounded the alarm about global amphibian declines. Twenty years later Oregon Field Guide tracked down the same researchers, Andrew Blaustein and Marc Hayes, to see what they've learned. Frogs and toads are still in decline and the causes are complex, including U-V radiation, water mold, chytrid fungus, aggressive bullfrogs and habitat destruction.

Imperial Stock Ranch

11m 3s / TV-G

This family owned and operated ranch in the high desert country is a celebration of the American West. Meet the Carver family, who are not only preserving the ranch's early history, but are also helping create a living, vital, growing community dedicated to sustainable, efficient ranching.

Wolverines Found in Oregon

8m 20s / TV-G

After years of unsuccessful research by state biologists, one of the world’s foremost wolverine experts moved to Oregon and asked to look for them in the Wallowa Mountains. Using remote camera technology, she found three wolverines in her very first season of research. ODFW has emulated her techniques in the central Cascades but after a year no wolverines have been found there.

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