Oregon WildBlog

Wolf 755M (right) was the alpha male of the Lamar Canyon Pack seen here with 889F (left) the fourth wolf with whom he has tried to restart a pack after his mate was shot and killed outside Yellowstone Nat'l Park.

By whatever name he’s known, the story of Journey (OR-7) has captured imaginations around the world. It’s but a chapter in the broader story of wolf recovery. And like that bigger story, the end is uncertain. As a number of news outlets have recently noted, the battery that has powered the collar that made Journey famous just outlived its life expectancy.

Any day now, the battery that has sent signals to a satellite and back down to earth may fail; leaving a collared wolf - unconcerned with his name or what people think of him - to continue on with his day-to-day life.

Senator Ron Wyden is hosting another round of town hall meetings this month, offering you a great opportunity to let the senator know, in person, you oppose his plan for more clearcuts and fewer protections for wildlife on our public O&C lands and backyard forests.

I live on a 17-acre farm in Lobster Valley, near Alsea in Benton County. Our property lies along Lobster Creek, a tributary of the Alsea River and a haven for fly fisherman and angling enthusiasts. Our farm borders the Siuslaw National Forest and some private land, including a Christmas tree farm, and the O&C lands in our area are located about a mile up the Lobster Creek drainage.

Brief statement on the untimely passing of Oregon Wild staffer, and wildlands hero, Tim Lillebo, and information about his memorial.

Statement from Oregon Wild Executive Director Sean Stevens:

Even as the wolf was being cruelly hunted into extinction, humans did something only Homo sapiens can do: We kept the wolf feared, hated,and alive in literature - especially children's stories.

By Rick Lamplugh

When Mary and I arrived at the Joseph, Oregon rendezvous site, we joined others in pitching our tent in the backyard of a rustic, rental house, its brown paint faded by the weather. From the yard we had a view through the pines of the tip of nearby Mt. Joseph and the distant Zumwalt Prairie.

In the mid-1980s the organization now known as Oregon Wild was only a very small group, but despite our size, we resolved to end the logging of old-growth forests in Oregon. At the time, two square miles per week of Oregon's ancient forests were being clearcut.

We were desperate to make news in this pre-internet era, when daily newspapers were the sole papers of community record, and the majority of citizens actually read them.

I am – quite literally – a card-carrying wildlife advocate (it's my job title). Though not everyone is as big a wildlife geek as I, I'm comfortable knowing I stand with the vast majority of Americans in valuing native wildlife.

I'm lucky to spend my days working to protect the wildlands, wildlife, and waters that play an irreplaceable role in maintaining our quality of life.

I just wish part of my job wasn't necessary.

Oregon White-topped Aster, Aster [Sericocarpus] oregonensis

As late summer begins to advance into fall, one of the most commonly seen wildflowers of the season is the late-blooming Aster. Members of the Sunflower Family, Asteraceae, the Greek word “aster” means “star” in reference to its supposedly star-like flowers.