Oregon WildBlog

A 'Wildlands' Winner

By Joe Keller.

I love my jobs. Except when I don’t. 

I am privileged to be paid a modest salary fighting for public values that are also my own. My wife and I (mostly my wife) also run a small farm and bed and breakfast in one of the most spectacular landscapes in North America.

Thanks to the wisdom of those who came before us, over one million acres of my county is publicly owned – some of it protected as the Wilderness that it is. I’ve got a pretty good life and a great back yard!

Happy Wolf Awareness Week! Hopefully there are opportunities in your community to celebrate the role of wolves as a keystone, iconic species. If there aren’t any coordinated events, perhaps use this week as an opportunity to spend time in nature, exploring the wild landscapes that wolves positively impact.

It’s time to celebrate the turning of the leaves, the crisp air, and even cheer on the first snowflakes of the year! We have a variety of events over the next month that are fun, educational, and inspiring and we hope you can get outside (and inside) with us to learn more about the wild places and wildlife that we experience regularly here in Bend. Enjoy the fleeting time we call autumn with some Oregon Wild events. Hopefully this makes those shorter days feel worthwhile! 

Some rain has fallen, a chill is in the morning air, and it’s officially fall hiking season! Thank goodness, because it’s hard to hike where there is fire… I’m hoping for a pleasant and long transition into winter so I have plenty of time to get to more ancient forest hikes before the snows lock me out. So many more places to explore before then! 

To Oregonians who know and love the places like Angel’s Rest and Larch Mountain, the Eagle Creek fire felt like a punch in the gut.  But, as aerial photos of the Columbia Gorge are proving, this fire – like so many others across the state – was actually beneficial.

From the Center for Western Priorities' 9/18/17 Post