Jim Anderson

jim@northwestnaturalist.net
Posted inOutside

Owyhee Canyonlands Have a Chance!

A new bill from Oregon’s senators seeks to protect one remote part of the state
Jim Anderson

Oregon’s two senators, Sen. Jeff Merkley and Sen. Ron Wyden, have taken the land conservation bit in their teeth and are running with it to protect the Owyhee Country from rack and ruin. The two Democratic senators have co-written a bill named the “Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act.” In doing so they have […]

Posted inOutside

Another Type of Smoke Signal

An ode to a sleeping volcano
Jim Anderson

The title of this piece was inspired from the Oct. 24 edition of the Source Weekly, specifically Josh Jardine’s column, “Memories of the Volcano.” But the volcano I remember is one familiar to us all, Bachelor Butte, or as the downhill skiers know it, Mt. Bachelor. That’s not just a pile of rocks with a […]

Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

A Place for Injured Wildlife

A rehab facility east of Bend offers help for birds and more
Jim Anderson

On a weekend in July, the new wildlife rehabilitation facility, Think Wild, east of Bend, created traffic jams with its open house. The facility once housed another wildlife rehab facility that went belly-up. Think Wild is a new organization, sort of like the Phoenix rising from the ashes. Its board of directors is made up […]

Posted inOutside

A Resurgence of West Nile

And how building a haven for bats can help protect humans and livestock
Jim Anderson

There’s been a small rash of West Nile virus in eastern Oregon this year. West Nile is a virus transmitted by the native Culex mosquitos. It was first detected in the U.S. in 1999 and has since spread to 45 states. A horse in Crook County became ill in September. The vet looking into it found it to be the […]

Posted inOutside

William L. Finley, Oregon’s First Game Warden

…and the protection of an elegant bird
Jim Anderson

Federal law states: “The possession of feathers and other parts of native North American birds without a permit is prohibited by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1916.” This protects wild birds by preventing their killing by collectors, and their commercial trade in feathers—extending to all feathers, regardless of how they were obtained. There’s no exemption for molted […]

Posted inNews

A Valuable Commodity

How the beaver contributed to Oregon becoming a state
Jim Anderson

Three species of rodents on our planet have had more impact on the welfare of Man than all the horses, chickens and cattle combined. One is a native to North America—the North American Beaver, Castor canadensis, another beaver native to Eurasia, Castor fiber, and the Norway Rat, Rattus norvegius. The beaver helped Native Americans and […]

Posted inOutside

The Glory Days of Flying

From vomit cleaner to budding pilot in the days before WWII
Jim Anderson

One day, back in West Haven, Connecticut, in 1941, living on my grandfather’s farm, an Aeronca “Flying Bathtub” came swooping over me. I was helping my uncles and grandfather bring in the hay on a sweet summer day, and the last thing I thought would happen was a buzz job by that pot-bellied flying machine. […]

Posted inOutside

One of a Kind

The wonder of outdoor creatures, inside the Sisters Library
Jim Anderson

Dear readers, you’re in for a very special treat. All you have to do is arrive at 10am at the Sisters Library any day from Tuesday through Saturday, during regular business hours. As you walk up to the front entrance you can’t help but notice the huge, circular stained-glass art above the doors. That was […]

Posted inOutside

Counting Life’s Flowering Treasures

The ebb and flow of local populations of the mariposa lily
Jim Anderson

Bill Kuhn, who lives among the sagebrush, juniper and mariposa lilies, is somewhat like me: a worrywart. Every time he and I sit by the fire we get to chinwaggin’ about what’s going to happen to the juniper, sagebrush and wildflowers—that are the love of our lives—after we go out among the stars. Kuhn’s also […]

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