Erin Ross, Author at Northwest Public Broadcasting

Study: Evidence Does Not Support Hunting As A Way To Control Cougar Population

By Erin Ross February 27, 2020

Problem encounters with cougars have increased in Oregon's Willamette Valley. CREDIT: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Most Western states rely on hunters to keep cougar numbers in check. It makes a sort of logical sense: if cougar populations are high, attacks on elk, bighorn sheep and deer should be high. So should attacks on livestock and humans. But a new study casts doubt on the effectiveness of sport hunting as a means of predator control.Read More

The Mosquito And The Northwest Orchid: A Love Story. Sort Of.

By Erin Ross February 11, 2020

A mosquito feeds from a blunt-leaf orchid. The yellow balls attached to its antenna are balls of pollen, or pollinia. CREDIT: Kiley Riffell

Don’t feel bad for not noticing the blunt-leaf orchid. Native to bogs in the Pacific Northwest among other places, this unassuming little flower is easy to miss. It’s green all over like the moss it grows out of — right down to its green flowers.Read More

Scientists Discover Microplastics In Northwest Oysters And Clams

By Erin Ross November 13, 2019

Microplastic fibers, like this one from an Oregon river, are less than 5mm and often show up in vivid color under the microscope. CREDIT: TODD SONFLIETH / OPB

Several studies have shown that microplastics, which are tiny pieces of plastic that make up other larger plastic items, can make their way into fish, crustaceans, clams, oysters and ultimately into us, the people that eat them. Read More

Residents Say A Columbia River Gorge Mine In Washington Violates Federal Law

By Erin Ross August 13, 2019

Drone images, taken by a nearby resident, show rock crushing operations at the Zimmerly mine. A 2018 court case found that the mine’s permit did not cover rock crushing operations, and the mine temporarily removed crushing equipment in April 2018. Operations resumed in July, and this image was taken on Aug. 3, 2019.

Residents of Washougal, Washington, say a controversial rock-mining operation is disrupting their neighborhood’s peace and quiet and violating the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act.Read More

‘Hyena-Pig’? ‘Murder-Cow’? Scientists Identify Pre-Historic Animal Roaming Northwest

By Erin Ross July 15, 2019

The John Day mesonychid would have shared its range with large herbivores like Protitanops, a relative of modern rhinos. CREDIT: National Park Service

Hyena-pig. Murder-cow. With no modern analog, scientists have resorted to combinations of common animals to describe it. Dug up decades ago in the Hancock Mammal Quarry near John Day, Oregon, the bone from this prehistoric creature languished, misidentified in museum storage, until Selina Robson pulled it from its drawer.Read More

The Economic Toll Of Headlines That Prompted Agent Orange Scare In Wallowa Lake

By Erin Ross July 4, 2019

A barrel that once contained either 2,4,5-T or 2,4-D was removed from Wallowa Lake. When combined at high strengths, those chemicals create Agent Orange, an herbicide that was used during the Vietnam War, with devastating consequences.

For the better part of a month, Joseph, in Oregon’s northeastern corner, has been associated with the toxic herbicide Agent Orange, which the military used liberally during the Vietnam War. National headlines suggested barrels of Agent Orange were found in nearby Wallowa Lake. That's not the case.Read More

Lab Results Show Eastern Oregon’s Wallowa Lake Free Of Herbicide Barrel Contaminants

By Erin Ross June 28, 2019

Wallowa Lake in eastern Oregon, supplies drinking water to the city of Joseph. CREDIT: AARON SCOTT/OPB

After almost 10 months of waiting, residents of Joseph, Oregon, can feel more confident drinking their water and swimming in nearby Wallowa Lake, according to lab test results released Thursday.Read More

Are There More Cougars In Our Space Or More Of Us In Theirs?

By Erin Ross June 26, 2019

It’s hard not to notice that cougars are making it into the news these days. It’s also hard to miss how they’re getting there: by entering neighborhoods and putting residents on edge.Read More

EPA Begins Removing Herbicide Barrels From Eastern Oregon’s Wallowa Lake

By Erin Ross June 18, 2019

The Environmental Protection Agency has begun removing potentially contaminated barrels from Wallowa Lake. Despite initial fears, the barrels seem to have been full of lake water, though the EPA is waiting for test results to confirm that the water and barrels are indeed clean.Read More

Scientists Are Getting New Tools To Monitor The Northwest’s Volcanoes

By Erin Ross March 22, 2019

File photo. Glacier Peak volcano Washington's central Cascades. CREDIT: Walter Siegmund/Wikimedia/Creative Commons BY-SA 3.

Eighteen volcanoes are classified as “very high threat” in the United States; eight of them are located in the Pacific Northwest. And right now only Mount St. Helens is considered well-monitored. The National Volcanic Early Warning and Monitoring Systems Act, passed in February, sets out to change that.Read More

Snowpack In The West Has Resisted Climate Change, But That Won’t Last Forever

By Erin Ross January 14, 2019

A snow-machine rider takes a snowpack reading as part of Community Snow Observations, a NASA-sponsored citizen science project. CREDIT: Oregon State University/Flickr

For the last 35 years, the snowpack in the West’s mountains has resisted the impacts of global warming. But that could soon change, according to a new study out of Oregon State University.Read More

Oregon May Be Over-Hunting Cougars — Which Could Cause More Conflicts

By Erin Ross November 9, 2018

Groups of Oregonians, particularly hound hunters, say that Oregon’s cougar population is growing out of control. Cougar advocates, on the other hand, say that Oregon is over-hunting cougars, which research suggests can lead to an increase in problem encounters.Read More

Hunt Planned For Cougar Suspected Of Killing Oregon Hiker

By Erin Ross September 13, 2018

This March 8, 2006, file photo provided by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife shows a cougar in the Beulah Wildlife Management Unit in Oregon's Malheur County. Oregon authorities say a dead hiker whose body was recovered this week was likely killed by a cougar, marking the first verified fatal attack by a wild cougar in the state and the second in the Pacific Northwest in 2018. CREDIT: BRIAN WOLFER/ODFW/AP

The search is on for the cougar suspected of killing a hiker near Mount Hood. It is the first confirmed fatal attack by a wild mountain lion in the state. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife plans to use mules and dogs to search for the mountain lion.Read More