Oregon Field Guide

Most folks run Oregon's Rogue River in a rubber raft. We catch up with two guys who take on this classic river in a classic way: by wooden boat. Also, find out how the culinary technique of fermentation is allowing one couple to pursue their dream of a simple life in the country. And discover how Oregon's high desert offers quiet, solitude, and on some nights, a whole lot of stars.

Go tide-pooling along the Oregon Coast with the former head of NOAA, OSU professor Jane Lubchenco, and her grandchildren; Visit the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Ore.; join backcountry skiers and volunteers at the historic Tilly Jane A-Frame on Mount Hood.

There’s plastic in the ocean, in our rivers and even in the food we eat. How did the Pacific Northwest, a region that prides itself on environmental stewardship, come to this?

A water trail on the Columbia River makes for a special multi-day paddle trip. They’re called ghosts of the forest, because spotting a great grey owl in the wild takes extreme patience. Let's have some fun with an epic model railroad replica of an iconic Oregon landscape.

Wildlife of the northwest who depend on fire to survive, stories behind abandoned Oregon’s relic homesteads and a cartographer who sees map creation as art.

Burrowing owls establish a home in one very unlikely place, tide pools’ treasures of remarkable creatures and a peak eclipse experience.

Astoria is the home of the Seamanship, whales and the unnatural sounds of the sea, sailing the Alvord Desert and autumn splendor on the Deschutes & Metolius Rivers

Scientists are finding that certain songbirds are thriving in Oregon's old growth forests, even as they're declining in numbers elsewhere. Every year, volunteers snorkel Northern California’s entire Salmon River watershed to count — and hopefully protect — its Spring Chinook. And meet master gardener Ron Spendal who has taken it on himself to learn more about mason bees, a backyard favorite.

Visit Siletz Bay for Bill Lackner's annual free clamming and crabbing clinics. Then learn why wildlife managers are transporting sea lions out of Willamette Falls, and follow the Siskiyou Mountain Club as they carve out a trail system in the once fire-ravished landscape of Oregon's Kalmiopsis Wilderness.

Three beginning skiers take on a 22-mile trek through the Three-Sisters backcountry using a unique hut system. Oregon is home to a dazzling array of native bees. But no one knows just how many species live here, or if their numbers are declining or holding steady. Now a statewide project wants to find out. And every year, steam enthusiasts bring their boats to Klamath Lake.