Natural World Archives - Page 15 of 56 - The Source

‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ Author Comes to Central Oregon

Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer to speak at virtual Nature Night

by Sarah Mowry March 10, 2021May 30, 2025

One of the benefits of the pandemic (yes, there are a few benefits…) is that previously inaccessible experiences are now open and there for many more people. With virtual museum tours, zookeeper talks or free online courses, the many ways to expand our minds has certainly increased. One such opportunity is coming soon to our […]

Outside

Blindsided by a Mole

An Oregonian’s book about moles inspires a look at what these creatures are all about

by Jim Anderson March 3, 2021June 25, 2025

Even though I’m nearing the end of my sojourn here on this beautiful earth—our home away from home—I still appreciate fresh new experiences to keep me young. Such was the case when I entered Tsunami Books on Willamette Street in Eugene. I was so taken by the way the books were laid out, and the […]

Outside

Monarch butterflies need your green thumb

Growing and planting milkweed can help

by Sarah Mowry February 24, 2021August 1, 2025

As spring draws nearer by the day, many people in Central Oregon start to get eager for the resumption of warm weather and springtime habits. For some, gardening tops that list, and they jump the season by starting garden seeds indoors. Tomatoes and other vegetables are the usual suspects, but this year, why not add […]

Outside

Winter Wildlife Tracking

Take some time on a snowy winter day to see where animal tracks might lead you

by Sarah Mowry January 27, 2021March 12, 2024

If you’re like many central Oregonians this winter, you’re spending a lot of time outside in the snow. Whether skiing, sledding or snowshoeing, taking the time to pause and observe wildlife tracks in the winter can be a great way to learn a little more about the wildlife with whom we share these snowy playgrounds. […]

Outside

Conservationists Howling Mad After Gray Wolf ESA Delisting

Controversial action by the USFWS has conservation groups going to court

Damian FaganJanuary 6, 2021September 24, 2024

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, […]

Outside

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 December 30, 2020September 7, 2023

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 […]

Outside

Birds in Binoculars

It used to be called “bird watching.” Now, it’s just “birding.”

by Jim Anderson December 23, 2020May 17, 2024

There is a well-developed pastime taking place across the nation that keeps thousands of people occupied from dawn to dark. You can usually find them congregated around bodies of water, binoculars glued to their eyeballs. The sounds coming from these groups are usually subdued, with sudden outbursts, such as, “Are you sure?!”, “NO…!”, “Hey!” or […]

Outside

The Cleanup Crew

Carrion beetles perform a much-needed service in the natural world

by Jim Anderson November 25, 2020July 9, 2024

Did ya’ ever think When the hearse goes by That some sweet day you’re gonna die? They’ll put you in a neat pine box And cover you over with soil and rocks Well, all goes well for about a week And then the pine box begins to creak The bugs crawl in, the bugs crawl […]

Outside

Winter Raptors

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

by Damian Fagan November 18, 2020February 6, 2024

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 […]

Outside

Oh! Rats

Reflections on the deadliest pandemic recorded in human history

by Jim Anderson October 28, 2020May 13, 2025

Several years ago, I heard a tragic story of a young child from Simnasho living on the Warm Springs Reservation who died from bubonic plague; it got a lot of people’s attention. The story I heard was that her pet house cat killed and carried a Belding’s Ground Squirrel into her home. A flea from […]

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