Natural World
Memories of the waste dump that is Alkali Lake
Back in the '70s I was hired to help fulfill one of the great ideas that went with what Sunriver is today. Sunriver is what it is because landscape architect Bob Royston, out of San Francisco, planned it that way and John Gray made it happen.
By Jim Anderson
Jan 15, 2020
alkali lake lake county dump DEQ toxic chemicals
Natural World
Meeting a jokester of a state geologist and more from the '50s and '60s
In the mid-1950s I was working with Bob Couch cutting lodgepole on the west side of Newberry. One morning I fired up the old corn-binder, checked the tie-downs and was out on the logging road in minutes.
By Jim Anderson
Jan 8, 2020
Natural World
From blending up gophers to owning up to the harvest of the neighbor's cat,
our nature columnist recalls the days of having his very own Great Horned Owl
"Way back, when the Sun was a tiny thing and the Big Dipper was a little tin drinkin' cup," (thanks Reub Long) I was living in the Jones House in Bend with Dean and Lily Hollinshead. One evening the phone rang.
By Jim Anderson
Dec 18, 2019
great horned owl bird gopher pet OMSI
Natural World
If you don't want black widows, let some other spiders live among you
One the things I think I'm going to miss when I go out among the stars is the, "Oh, by the way," meetings of people in the post office, grocery stores, hardware stores, thrift shops and other places in town. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't get that wonderful greeting, and then something new in our beautiful world of nature comes to my attention.
By Jim Anderson
Dec 11, 2019
Natural World
A tale of wildcat rehab—and catching jackrabbits with a chair tied to a Jeep
Editor's note: Last week, we published an online-only story titled "Bobcat Bludgeoning Raises Concerns," detailing the efforts by a local vet to change the rules around wildlife euthanasia. Right about that same time, Jim Anderson filed this story, which had a far happier ending.
By Jim Anderson
Dec 4, 2019
bobcat wildlife trapping jackrabbit hollinshead
Natural World
Scorpions do live among us—but they're not the dangerous kinds
Back in the Good Old Days, I'd get a phone call at least once a month all winter from someone all in a dither about stumbling over a scorpion somewhere in the house, woodshed or chicken coop.
By Jim Anderson
Nov 27, 2019
scorpion pest nature
Natural World
A new bill from Oregon's senators seeks to protect one remote part of the state
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.
By Jim Anderson
Nov 20, 2019
Natural World
An ode to a sleeping volcano
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.
By Jim Anderson
Nov 13, 2019
Natural World
And how building a haven for bats can help protect humans and livestock
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.
By Jim Anderson
Oct 23, 2019
Natural World
...and the protection of an elegant bird
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 feathers or those taken from road-or window-killed birds.
By Jim Anderson
Oct 16, 2019
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