Outside Features
Madras COTA chapter creating multi-use trails for just about everyone, and every skill level
The land east of Madras is sparsely covered with juniper trees, sage and other desert plants. It's great habitat if you're a sage grouse, but maybe not the best place to create a biking trail system—at least to the untrained eye.
By Chris Miller
Jul 17, 2019
Outside Features Brennan Morrow COTA e-bikes Bend e-bikes
Natural World
Tortoiseshells and other butterflies are welcome visitors in Central Oregon
Oh, boy, are we having fun! Right now, during these warm first weeks of July, the California tortoiseshell butterfly, one of the more dashing of the nymphalids, is popping out by the hundreds of thousands—if not millions —in the foothills of the Cascades, known as the Skyline Forest.
By Jim Anderson
Jul 17, 2019
Natural World Nature butterflies Pandora Moth Skyline Forest
Outside Features
A Central Oregon whitewater matriarchy is raising an emerging paddler generation
Water pulling us ever closer toward the blind entrance of the Class III Fish Ladder rapid, my R2 shredder partner, Chloa Ulrich, shows not a stitch of fear. Throughout our McKenzie River route, she's gently ruminating about nutrition, weighing the pros and cons of the histamines in fermented food.
By K.M. Collins
Jul 3, 2019
Outside Features Rafting John Day River Alaska Rogue River
Natural World
Insects are vital to life as we know it
The links between insects and a healthy environment are so vital to life as we know it, they should be taught in kindergarten so that everyone learns the facts at an early age. You can thank an insect pollinator for one out of every three mouthfuls of food you eat—which is what makes spraying chemicals to kill insects in an apple orchard so deadly.
By Jim Anderson
Jun 26, 2019
Natural World Yellowstone National Park Glacier National Park insects food chain food pyramid
Go Here
Next-level athletes try and tackle nearly 100 miles on different terrain
Plenty of people can race in a road or mountain bike race. Fewer can do both, all in one day.
By Nicole Vulcan
Jun 19, 2019
Go Here
Natural World
The tales of two trumpeter couples in Central Oregon
The Western U.S. population of trumpeter swans, Cygnus buccinator —Cygnus from the Latin for swan, and buccinare for "to trumpet"—fell into deep trouble when their feathers and skin became a valuable commodity in the late 1800s. That same species you see today on the Deschutes River, Lake Aspen and Sunriver's ponds, were at one time threatened with extinction by market hunters and feather merchants.
By Jim Anderson
Jun 19, 2019
Natural World
Outside Features
Bend Pickleball Club hosts players from all over the U.S.—including a much-younger crowd than in previous years
Founded in 2013, the Bend Pickleball Club was formed to provide more ways to play the beautiful game here in Central Oregon – which is exactly what they did. In partnership with the Bend Park and Recreation District, BPC raised money and help build 16 new pickleball courts at Pine Nursery Park.
By Isaac Biehl
Jun 19, 2019
Outside Features
Outside Features
A local, Latinx-led group forms to encourage participation in the outdoors
A new partnership is aimed at opening up outdoor activities for people who might not otherwise feel confident taking part. "I want to make the outdoors more inclusive and accessible for people who don't have the tools to get out there, and for the Latinx community in general," says Zavier (Zavi) Borja, who grew up in Madras.
By Caitlin Richmond
Jun 12, 2019
Outside Features Zavier Borja outdoor activities Smith Rock State Park hiking Latino Outdoors
Natural World
The only golden eagle cam operating in the U.S., located just north of Sisters, has been transmitting some pretty exciting footage over the last few weeks. Viewers have been witnessing what appears to be a very cruel event in the life and times of golden eagles: the starvation of one of the young.
By Jim Anderson
Jun 5, 2019
Natural World Golden eagles Gary Landers Jim Hammond Greg Moring
Cascades Reader
