
A tufted puffin preens itself at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Ore., in this undated file photo.
Oregon researchers look to fill gaps in understanding tufted puffins
Tufted puffin populations are in decline on the Oregon Coast. Last summer, the colony count was the lowest it had ever been since U.S. Fish and Wildlife began monitoring.
Latest Stories

Washington governor, environmental groups push for rehearing on Northwest pipeline expansion
According to Columbia Riverkeeper staff attorney Audrey Leonard, the government's environmental impact statement for the plan undercounted the upstream and downstream emissions facilitated by the pipeline.

Environmental nonprofit seeks endangered species protection for Crater Lake newt
The Crater Lake newt only exists in the rich, blue waters of the Oregon national park. Its population has been declining in recent years, mostly due to growing numbers of signal crayfish.

Invasive mussels inching closer to the Columbia Basin, federal report says more could be done to stop them
Fast-spreading invasive aquatic mussels are hitching rides on boats, kayaks and jet skis. So, people are working to keep them out of the Columbia River Basin, the only major river basin in the U.S. without an established quagga mussel population.

Volunteers help sagebrush, wildflowers grow where southeastern Washington fires burned
After wildfires, it can be hard for native plants to come back. That’s why volunteers are planting them and spreading seeds this fall in southeastern Washington, helping sagebrush and wildflowers take root again.
OSU study: Climate change, drought, wildfires have reduced value of private forestland by $11B
Oregon State University researchers looked at change in value of privately-owned forests in Oregon, Washington and California over the last 20 years.

Climate change is hastening the demise of Pacific Northwest forests
Iconic red cedars — known as the “Tree of Life” — and other tree species in the Pacific Northwest have been dying because of climate-induced drought, researchers say

9 times the US Army Corps of Engineers miscalculated badly at the expense of taxpayers, wildlife
The agency has a history of diving into big construction projects that exceed projected costs, fall short on projected benefits and, in some cases, create new problems that engineers hadn’t bargained for.

What the new federal climate report says about the Northwest
The report emphasizes various impacts of climate change on the Northwest, predicting warmer winter temperatures, reduced mountain snowpack, more frequent and severe droughts, increased extreme rainfall, and larger, higher-elevation wildfires.

EPA official says cleanup of J.H. Baxter site in Eugene will be a multimillion-dollar task
Since the site closed last year, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have been tag-teaming on gauging the level of pollutants and hazards at the shuttered wood-treatment facility.

Portland Audubon reports rare northern spotted owl sighting
OPB’s Paul Marshall spoke with Quinn Read, the director of conservation at Portland Audubon, about the owl’s rare appearance.