Explore Oregon Podcast: The state's most beautiful places and biggest issues

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Best combination outdoor adventures and brewpubs-restaurants across Oregon Dec 14, 2023

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In this episode of the Explore Oregon Podcast, host Zach Urness talks with guidebook author Matt Wastradowski about their favorite places for a combination outdoor adventure and meal or drink. They travel to every corner of the state, talking about some of the state's best brewpubs, cowboy diners and seafood stops that also happen to be near big mountains, wild rivers and excellent hikes.

Snow and ski area openings, water crisis, now-hidden gem of the Oregon Coast Nov 30, 2023

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In this edition, Zach talks about the massive winter storm arriving in Oregon's mountains — and ski areas that have announced openings — along with the drinking water crisis in Sweet Home and Lebanon, new permits for Mount Hood and a variety of other news stories. Urness touches on how to explore the landslide-closed road on Cascade Head and visit beautiful Harts Cove Trail, along with looking at Oregon's proposed drone rules and why Butte Creek Falls has been closed for three years.

An Oregon ghost town's illegal Black loggers showcased at museum in Joseph Nov 21, 2023

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In this episode, outdoors intern Olivia Stevens transports listeners to what was once a booming logging town in northeastern Oregon. It was also a town where Black people lived and worked at a time when it was illegal for them to do so because of Oregon's racist laws. Now, 100 years after the founding of Maxville, a descendant's efforts to bring to light the triumphs and challenges of Black loggers in Oregon are gaining widespread traction at the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center.

Hikes and science abound at NE Oregon's Zumwalt Prairie Preserve Nov 15, 2023

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In this episode, host Zach Urness talks with outdoors intern Olivia Stevens about her experience exploring the Zumwalt Prairie Preserve in northeast Oregon. While the Zumwalt may not be the main draw for visitors to the Enterprise and Joseph area, its managers make a compelling case for taking the a remote drive there. Visitors to the prairie can hike four beautiful trails for views of native grassland and nearby canyons. Stevens spoke with The Nature Conservancy, the environmental nonprofit that owns the 51-acre preserve, and visits with Oregon State University students about the importance and difficulty of preserving the prairie into the future.

Will this Oregon winter be snowy, rainy or dry? El Nino to have major impact Nov 08, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, host Zach Urness forecasts the upcoming winter with state climatologist Larry O'Neill. The two discuss whether this winter will be rainy, snowy, dry or warm, and looked at how the El Nino weather pattern would likely impact the next few months. Specifically, the two talked about how the strength of this year's El Nino could determine whether Oregon has a wet or dry winter.

A conversation with Oregon's godfather of sandboarding, Lon Beale Oct 30, 2023

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In this episode of the Explore Oregon Podcast, host Zach Urness talks with the godfather of sandboarding in Oregon and across the world — Lon Beale. They talk about how to get started sandboarding on the Oregon Coast and its dunes, why it's so much fun and how the sport started. Beale talks about some of the best places to ride, how the sport has advanced and how he designed the world's first modern sandboards. Beale is the owner of Venomous Sandboards and the Sand Master Sandboarding Park & Store in Florence.

Eugene author Bob Welch details 'section hiking' the PCT over 11 years Oct 25, 2023

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In this episode, outdoors intern Olivia Stevens takes listeners through a Eugene author's unusual strategy to finishing the Pacific Crest Trail. Rather than the traditional experience of completing the trail from the borders of Mexico to Canada in one go, Bob Welch hiked the 2,650 miles in 17 chunks over 11 years. Welch recently published a book about his experience, “Seven Summers (and a few Bummers): My Adventures on the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail.” He will speak about the book and sign copies at Tsunami Books in Eugene on Thursday at 7 p.m. and at the Corvallis public library at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 7. Stevens talked to Welch about the PCT, trail magic and the pros and cons of sectioning out the iconic trail from Mexico to Canada.

Why hasn't Oregon released investigation reports of the 2020 Labor Day Fires yet? Oct 18, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, host Zach Urness talks about why fire investigation reports from the devastating 2020 Labor Day Fires still have not been finished or released by Oregon officials. Zach was interviewed about his in-depth reporting on the subject by Dave Miller, host of Think Out Loud on Oregon Public Broadcasting. They talk about where the investigations stand after three years, why it's taking so long, what we know and how California does thing differently.

2023 wildfire season in review: Acres burned, homes lost, lessons learned Oct 16, 2023

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In this episode of the Explore Oregon Podcast, host Zach Urness breaks down Oregon's 2023 wildfire season and puts it in prospective compared to recent years. Zach details the acres burned, homes lost and air quality impact around Oregon, along with the biggest fires of the year and big takeaways from the season. Then he talks with Alex Robertson, a longtime firefighter and regional fire director for the U.S. Forest Service, about what firefighters saw in 2023.

Guide to northeast Oregon's Wallowa Mountains Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

In this episode of the Explore Oregon Podcast, host Zach Urness and outdoors intern Olivia Stevens talk about some of the best things to do in the Wallowa Mountains. Olivia highlights overlooked campsites, cultural sites and museums and some new hikes in northeast Oregon's Joseph-Enterprise-Wallowa Lake area. Then, Zach posts a full episode that breaks down everything to know about the area with an episode originally recorded in 2018.

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