Oregon Field Guide — Contaminated Ballast Water, High Lakes Fish Stocking, Opossums, Buffalo Ranching

Episode 206

Contaminated Ballast Water: Foreign ships entering Coos Bay carry microscopic stowaways in their ballast water that could impact Oregon's coastal ecology. Dr. Jonathan Geller of the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology studies the water in these ships looking for the larvae and unhatched eggs of non-native species in an effort to prevent the establishment of new colonies in the bay.; Read More and Watch this story

High Lakes Fish Stocking: Join the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as it stocks a couple of high mountain lakes via helicopter. Around 400 lakes are stocked with 200,000 trout each year, keeping anglers happy. The department continues to explore new options for stocking the lakes. However, fish are not native to these high mountain lakes and the National Parks System is currently doing a study on the impact of the fish on native frogs and salamanders.; Read More and Watch this story

Opossums: They're an introduced species in Oregon and have been getting a bum rap for years. Find out the surprising truth about opossums.; Read More and Watch this story

Buffalo Ranching: At a ranch near Umatilla, 300 buffalo graze the land. They're being raised for meat and to be sold as breed stock to other buffalo ranchers. They're easy to care for and their meat is healthier than beef.; Read More and Watch this story