The new year is going to bring some new fees and permits to Oregon’s outdoors in 2026. Here’s a roundup of the permits you’ll need (and the effort to fight back against them), along with the price increases to fish, hunt, camp and explore: tinyurl.com/2xp2azud

Oregon is in for a wild morning on Christmas Eve day. A powerful wind system is forecast to spread up the Willamette Valley, bringing winds 40-55 mph, maybe 70. It could impact travel and knock out power. Latest forecast on when & where it'll hit: tinyurl.com/4dc9efhp

Wrote about the chances for a big windstorm on Christmas Eve — and then a really big windstorm. A lot in flux, but it could have an impact at exactly the wrong time. tinyurl.com/mr3npd9b

Oregon’s three largest and highest-elevation ski areas will open for the season tomorrow (Dec. 23). It’ll be very limited terrain with a base of just 19-22 inches of snow. But hey, it’s something: tinyurl.com/2ru9s3tf

Kudos to Sharyn Alfonsi for exposing the truth But Bari Weiss killing the 60 Minutes story about Trump sending innocent immigrants to CECOT is only part of the story The bigger issue is MAGA trying to take over all our broadcast networks and social media to spread their hateful propaganda

Woman comes to US at age 6. Graduates nursing school. Work permit. No criminal record. Snatched and imprisoned by ICE for 6 months now. About to be forced back to Honduras. A life destroyed and one less nurse. Merry Christmas. www.nola.com/news/educati...

The City of Detroit took yet another major body blow last week when a windstorm that brought gusts up to 110 mph brought down numerous trees and destroyed numerous homes around town — some of which were just rebuilt following the 2020 Labor Day Fires: tinyurl.com/mtyvajxy

Oregon wakes up to some flooding. What happens now? www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/l... via @salem_statesman

Silver Falls State Park is partly closed due to “massive” storm damage on its trails. Other OR state parks — Detroit Lake, Ecola and Saddle Mountain are also closed, among others, as damage from downed trees and flooding is only expected to get worse: tinyurl.com/mu24yxkx

Today’s incoming atmospheric river could bring one of the bigger flooding events of the past decade in Oregon, NWS meteorologists said, with around 16-18 streams currently forecast to see some level of flooding. Wind and wet soils could also bring widespread outages: tinyurl.com/34fptzsy

Numerous Oregon highways, mainly east of the Willamette Valley in the Cascade Range, are closed due to storm damage — downed trees and power lines. Some many be closed for an extended period. Here’s a the highways closed and the outlook for them: tinyurl.com/pswk8dsz

Search suspended for 26-year-old Bend climber missing on Mount Hood www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/l... via @salem_statesman

This summer, Brett Murphy, @peterdicampo.bsky.social and I went to South Sudan, where the U.S. had been supporting the response to a historic cholera outbreak in the world’s poorest country before pulling the plug. We found shuttered clinics and dead bodies. www.propublica.org/article/usai...

Wild weather week coming to Oregon. -Minor to moderate flooding forecast on a number of rivers in the W. Valley, Coast, Cascades. -Possible mountain snow by end of week, weekend and next week. Fingers crossed. -Wind warning today. Full breakdown: tinyurl.com/y4zfrw8a

Officials in Sweet Home and Lebanon said the third season of the extreme drawdown of Green Peter Reservoir went far better than the previous two years. The amount of muddy water coming out of the reservoir was at its smallest level since starting in 2023: tinyurl.com/yc4am7hp

I mean the key fact here is that they're turning the signatures in via "horse-drawn carriage."

The ‘deep drawdown’ of Detroit Lake faces deep skepticism and opposition in Salem and the Santiam Canyon, as locals worry about water quality and tourism even as the area struggles to rebuild from the 2020 Labor Day Fires. Just the latest in this never-ending story: tinyurl.com/7jj963be

The warmest November on record and a parade of atmospheric rivers carrying tropical moisture has left Oregon’s mountains with very little snow and a ski season likely delayed deep into December — and possibly the critical winter break period: tinyurl.com/mrny83jr

Reposted one of my favorite podcasts about one of my favorite places — the Grove of the Titans. It’s one of the rare stories where a loved-to-death spot was saved, at least from being trampled to death: tinyurl.com/52stea23

Federal wildlife officials decided Dec. 4 not to list Oregon Coast Chinook salmon as threatened or endangered, ending multiple requests from conservation groups to give extra protections to the iconic fish: tinyurl.com/y7jcw5sb

Someday, in the distant future, historians will wonder what our time was like. They will find this quote and they will understand.

Advocates report man hospitalized after apparent ICE arrest in Salem www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/p...

A “strong” atmospheric river is forecast to hit Oregon and the PNW early next week and could bring minor flooding. Got the details on where, when and how much rain is pouring (and some depressing news about its lack of snowfall in the mountains): tinyurl.com/56xj5pz7

I love unique/weird fishing trips and this was a doozy. We hiked across mud canyons and past ancient ruins, across the bottom of a reservoir, to hook trout in an Oregon river that only forms for a few weeks just outside Eugene. The fishing is surprisingly good, too: tinyurl.com/2j59b5ye

The hepatitis B vaccine had been recommended for all newborns since 1991. From 1990-2019, acute hepatitis B infections reported among children and teens fell 99 percent. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/w...

Oregon officials urge public to avoid sick birds as avian flu spreads www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/l... via @salem_statesman

In the latest podcast, @myodfw.bsky.social director Debbie Colbert talked about being the first woman to lead ODFW, her time as a field scientist and hot-button issues like hatcheries, wolves, whale entanglement and increased prices of fishing and hunting licenses: tinyurl.com/3a8zh238

A good reminder that most social media is just fake bullshit that is making money off of you.

Hoodoo Ski Area is taking a big step into the future this season with online sales / kiosks, dynamic pricing, electronic passes and host other tweaks. It's a big change from its old-school "sticky wickets" system: tinyurl.com/4wxz6nyb

The campaign hoping to refer Oregon's newly passed gas tax increase to next year's ballot now says it has more than 150,000 signatures -- roughly double of what it needs. #orpol

‘Treasure hunt’ for 200 tree ornaments begins on Oregon hiking trails www.statesmanjournal.com/story/travel... via @salem_statesman

"In an opinion issued Monday evening, U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken found that the sudden relocation of the helicopter last month could imperil lives as crabbing season gets underway."

What's the weather forecast over Thanksgiving week in Oregon? www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/l... via @salem_statesman

Thissss was not a good movie. Part I was a joy. The second was a baffling mess and even my daughters couldn’t find a way to like it.

Holy shit. So Elon decides it would be nice to know what region of the world people are posting from. So they add that little feature. 2 hours later they figure out that many Trump supporters with millions of followers are posting from other countries. Surprise! That "feature" is now gone.

Did anyone feel anything?? www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2...

If you've ever wanted to go Christmas tree hunting in Oregon's national forest but don't really know the ins and outs, I broke it down in this podcast I repost every year around this time. Permits, elevations, good spots, etc.: tinyurl.com/5nkx2dt4

ICE arrested a 17-year-old Oregonian during school lunch today, according to the superintendent.

PacifiCorp reached a $150 million settlement with 1,434 victims of the 2020 Labor Day Fires. It was a smaller award than previous settlements and far smaller than victims have been awarded by juries, but who may have to wait years for the $$. tinyurl.com/numsaku8

UPDATED: Federal immigration agents patrolling Eugene and Springfield www.registerguard.com/story/news/l... via @registerguard

This story by @diannelugo.bsky.social captures the fear and uncertainty gripping Oregon's largest Hispanic community amid ICE arrests. www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/p...

Capitol Chronicle is a great resource that helps supplement politics coverage for many newsrooms across our region. It's worth supporting!

Effort to save stranded whale on Oregon Coast fails; humpback will likely be euthanized www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2... via @salem_statesman

Awh man: Body of missing Hubbard hunter recovered from Mount Hood National Forest www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/l...

NEW: The Army Corps is moving forward with its controversial plan to drop Detroit Lake to the lowest level in its history, but in slow and methodical way intended to avoid impacting drinking water for 210,000 people in Salem and Stayton: tinyurl.com/232hdykt

The yearling humpback whale that was stranded on the Oregon Coast beach near Yachats, after being tangled in the lines of a crab pot, is unlikely survive, officials told the Lincoln Chronicle Sunday evening: tinyurl.com/nh3ynscs

Happy Ken Burns new doc day to all who celebrate!

Tough situation on the Oregon Coast this morning. www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2...

ICYMI, this really has been one of the more interesting stories we've reported on recently. www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2... via @salem_statesman

Oregon’s state parks are putting some high-profile projects on hold, including a new campground at Silver Falls and a visitor’s center at Smith Rock, amid a $14M shortfall: tinyurl.com/523zahpp