Damian Fagan

Damian Fagan is a freelance writer, outdoor enthusiast and avid birder. He is the author of several wildflower field guides including "Wildflowers of Oregon" and "Wildflowers of North America." Fagan lives in Bend with his wife, Raven, and a pollinator-friendly garden.
Posted inOutside

Conservationists Howling Mad After Gray Wolf ESA Delisting

Controversial action by the USFWS has conservation groups going to court
Damian Fagan

The return of gray wolves to their ancestral haunts is one of the great American conservation success stories. These ancestors of the domestic dog were extirpated over much of their range in the last 100 years. Only isolated populations existed in the Western Great Lakes region, Canada, and Alaska as these apex predators were hunted, […]

Posted inOutside

Rolling Back Environmental Protections: A Laundry List of the Past Four Years

Over 100 legislative or administrative rollbacks targeted during the outgoing administration
by Damian Fagan

As its time in office comes to a close and we look ahead to 2021, the Trump Administration will be remembered for many things—but conservation will not be one of them. During his time in office, his administration has led an assault on the environment: reversing, revoking, or rolling back nearly 100 rules and regulations […]

Posted inOutside

Geoff Babb and the AdvenChair are Ready to Roll

Locally produced all-terrain wheelchair provides opportunity for those with limited mobility to explore the outdoors—and it’s finally available to buy
by Damian Fagan

On Nov. 10, 2005, Geoff Babb, a retired Bureau of Land Management fire ecologist and avid outdoor recreationalist who loved to ski and mountain bike, was rushed to the hospital after having a brain stem stroke. The near-fatal stroke left Babb with limited mobility. His recovery, aided by his wife, Yvonne, and then twin 12-year-old […]

Posted inOutside

Winter Raptors

Birds of prey flock to Central Oregon to dine “al Rodentia” in winter
by Damian Fagan

Driving through Central Oregon in winter, past agricultural fields or open sagebrush flats dotted with juniper, one is bound to notice hawks or eagles perched on powerline poles, fence posts, irrigation wheel lines—or perhaps soaring overhead. Birds of prey concentrate in the region due to an abundance of prey, including waterfowl, songbirds, rodents, carrion and […]

Posted inOutside

Nature Rx: Take a Hike

In honor of National Take a Hike Day Nov. 17, three hikes to explore in Central Oregon
by Damian Fagan

OK, so maybe National Take a Hike Day on Nov. 17 has lost a little oomph this year. I mean, what else have we been doing during the pandemic but hiking? Right, all those other “ings” such as fishing, camping, boating, biking, running, surfing, taking your kids to work (from the dining table to the […]

Posted inNews

Stewards of the Snowshoe Trails

A dedicated group of snowshoers with the Central Oregon Nordic Club maintains winter trails at sno-parks in the Cascades
by Damian Fagan

As winter approaches, a crew of snowshoe trail maintenance volunteers on the Deschutes National Forest has already been out assessing trail stewardship needs along 23.5 miles of trails. The group maintains spots for snowshoers at various sno-parks along the Cascades Lakes Highway. Having so many miles of dedicated snowshoe trails is relatively rare on national […]

Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

The Nose Knows: Working K-9s of Central Oregon

Local canines work in drug detection, search and rescue, and wildlife crimes
by Damian Fagan

Dogs have been taking a bite out of crime (sorry, couldn’t resist) for over 120 years. First used in Belgium around 1899, dogs have assisted law enforcement in activities such as apprehension, tracking, drug detection, evidence collection, search-and-rescue, poachin, and even arson, to name a few. Highly trained teams of dogs and their handlers work […]

Posted inOutside

Seeing the Forest for the Trees

Worthy Brewing to host the Forest Revival Concert to see more trees planted and forests restored
by Damian Fagan

Pioneer nurseryman John Chapman (1774-1845) might be buried in the duff of history if he wasn’t better known as Johnny Appleseed. Best remembered for his planting of wild apple trees wherever he traveled, Worthy Garden Club, the philanthropic arm of Worthy Brewing, has invoked Johnny’s folklore to seed Operation Appleseed by pledging $1 million toward […]

Posted inNews

Will Wildfire Smoke Have Long-Term Effects?

A citizen science project collects data on the effects of smoke—and aims to find answers about how to protect people’s health
by Damian Fagan

The recent rash of wildfires across the western United States has destroyed small towns, burned thousands of acres of forests, displaced hundreds of people and created a super plume of smoke that currently stretches across the U.S. and parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Though the wildfires have had a devasting effect, one government agency is […]

Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

Green Building with Hemp

Hempcrete offers a non-toxic alternative to other building materials
Damian Fagan

The hemp industry is budding in Central Oregon. By “hemp,” I’m referring to the “sober cousin” of Cannabis sativa—industrial hemp, not marijuana. Drive around the tri-county area and you’ll see fields full of lush, dark green industrial hemp plants. Grown for cannabinoids, such as CBD oil, these plants represent the present status of hemp production […]

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