Oregon Field Guide — Log Drives, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Sustainable Prisons Project

Episode 2205

Log Drives: Log drives banned 50 years ago have left hundreds of Oregon rivers and streams damaged. New research shows they still have not recovered from the ecological harm of floating millions of trees to market using splash dams. Oregon allowed log drives for nearly 70 years, ending in 1957.; Read More and Watch this story

Sharp-tailed Grouse: When we visited eastern Oregon 20 years ago to learn about the reintroduction of sharp-tailed grouse, things were looking good. But now the birds are in trouble, and biologists can only hope that some newly restored prairie might be enough to keep them from vanishing once again.; Read More and Watch this story

Sustainable Prisons Project: In 2003, Evergreen State College and Washington state’s Department of Corrections began teaming scientists with inmates. In 2010, this successful alliance is taking on large-scale habitat and endangered species restoration projects with partners like the US Army. But the environment is not the only beneficiary; education, environmental awareness and sustainability practices are changing the culture and economy of the state’s corrections system.; Read More and Watch this story