Current Broadcast Schedule | Browse season 18 | « Previous Episode · Next Episode »

High Lava Plains

For more than a 1000 years the volcanoes near Bend, Oregon have laid dormant. Internationally recognized expert Dr. Anita Grunder studies the layers of the High Lava Plains in order to understand the geologic process that created this vast moonscape. Using modern 3D technology, geologists study the High Lava Plains from above and below the Earth's surface. In the next 3-4 years they hope to gain more information about what exactly lies beneath.

Read More and Watch this story

Dragonfly Watching

They are among the most colorful and diverse insects in Oregon and have been around longer than dinosaurs. Steve Gordon and Cary Kerst show us where to go to see odonates (dragonflies and damselflies). Their dragonfly walks are especially popular with kids, but adults also find them fascinating.

Read More and Watch this story

Mountain Quail

The mountain quail was once extinct on Steens Mountain. Now, thanks to a reintroduction campaign headed by OSU graduate student Jamie Nelson, the mountain quail are being given a second chance. Thanks to livestock restrictions and habitat recovery on Steens the quail have a good chance of recovery, but they’ll have to deal with nest competition with non-native California Quail.

Read More and Watch this story

Stout Mtn. Photo-essay

East of Salem several hundred acres make up the privately owned Stout Mountain. Because the owner has chose not to develop the land it offers a view of what the Willamette valley once looked like before industrial and agricultural development. Rattle Snakes and Scorpions which are hardly seen throughout the Willamette valley can still be found on Stout Mountain, as well as other unique birds and plants.

Read More and Watch this story