Environment
State agriculture officials offer $5 million in grants to fight voracious grasshoppers and Mormon crickets
The state is offering $5 million in grants to help owners of rangeland in Oregon cope with an expected infestation this summer of grasshoppers and Mormon crickets. The insects are native to the West and infestations are cyclical, with the latest cycle starting in 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 2020, the […]
Water contamination worsened as DEQ went easy on Port of Morrow
The state’s chief environmental agency knowingly let the Port of Morrow pollute year after year, contributing to drinking water contamination for thousands, an investigation by the Capital Chronicle showed. To protect jobs, the state Department of Environmental Quality addressed the industrial pollution with deals instead of enforcement. Agency officials accepted the port’s plans over the […]
Transportation Department asks public where to put new electric vehicle chargers
The Oregon Department of Transportation is asking the public to weigh in on where to put $100 million worth of electric vehicle charging stations on the state’s main travel corridors and in rural areas. Anyone can partake in short surveys and drop a pin on an interactive map indicating where they think chargers should be […]
Oregon Gov. Brown, fire officials warn of challenging 2022 wildfire season
A rainy late spring is delaying the start of fire season in Oregon, but state officials said Monday they still anticipate a challenging summer and fall. Large fires are already blazing in New Mexico, and fire risk in the Northwest is expected to worsen as summer continues. During a press conference Monday, Gov. Kate Brown […]
Oregon cities get federal money for cleanup, reuse of contaminated land
Eight Oregon communities will share in $4.4 million from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to clean up contaminated buildings and industrial sites. The money comes from the EPA’s Brownfields Program. These are sites across the country where communities haven’t been able to expand or create development projects because of contamination such as asbestos, lead and […]
Democrats from the West push update of 150-year-old federal mining law
WASHINGTON D.C. – Democrats in Congress are hoping to overhaul the nation’s 150-year-old system for mining the elements needed for battery manufacturing, as high gas prices and Russia’s war in Ukraine underline the need to transition from oil and gas to renewable energy sources. U.S. House Natural Resources Chairman Raúl Grijalva of Arizona and U.S. […]
Climate change is pushing toxic chemicals into drinking wells
Don Myron is probably best known as the guy who survived one of the deadliest fires in Oregon’s history by sheltering overnight in a river with a patio chair. So there was never any question that Myron would rebuild his home in Oregon’s Santiam Canyon after the house was destroyed in the Labor Day wildfires […]
Oregon, Washington detect first cases of bird flu in backyard flocks
Oregon and Washington officials on Friday confirmed that both states have had their first cases of a highly pathogenic bird flu and about 150 backyard chickens, turkeys and geese were destroyed this week. The disease has been present in North America since at least December and has primarily been spread by migrating waterfowl or scavengers […]
With federal investment, seven Oregon highways to get charging stations every 50 miles
An electric vehicle charging station could soon exist every 50 miles on some of Oregon’s main highways. The Oregon Department of Transportation announced Friday it would direct $100 million over the next five years to growing a network of charging stations for cars, trucks and SUVs. Some will charge even medium-duty vehicles such as delivery […]
State’s billion-dollar timber case might be better resolved by Legislature
The state court case of Linn v. Oregon has involved a stake of a billion dollars and turned on a subtle interpretation of state law, but it ought to cause Oregonians to reflect on the meaning of … value. The value, that is, of their state lands. The case Linn County v. State of Oregon […]
Powerful port pollutes water for years with little state action
Guadalupe Martinez points to a 24-pack of bottled water by her kitchen sink with just a few bottles left, one of thousands she’s brought home over the last 18 years. “Ever since we’ve been living here, we’ve been buying water,” she said. The 54-year-old grandmother knows she can’t drink the water that comes out of […]
THEIR WORDS: Those running for governor answer for rural matters
Rural Oregon would get a lot more attention from Salem based on positions staked out by those running for governor. Every candidate running was invited to address questions on key issues facing the state. Journalists across the state drafted the following 15 questions, which were distributed to candidates by the Agora Journalism Center at the […]