Think Out Loud Oregon Public Broadcasting

When we talked with Chas Hundley in 2017, it was after he’d been running his first paper, the Gales Creek Journal for about 4 years and was about to take it — along with a second news site, The Banks Post — to print. To do that he had to leave his job in tech, and devote himself full time to local journalism. Now, 10 years and one global pandemic later, he’s still at it, largely on his own. But in that time he’s gone to weekly printing and launched the online Salmonberry Magazine, which focuses on the Tillamook State Forest area. Hundley joins us to share more about his journey and his hopes for these publications — and the communities they serve — in the next 10 years. 

By 2029, the Knott Landfill outside of Bend is expected to reach capacity and will no longer accept any more solid waste. Now, Deschutes County officials are looking at two potential locations for a new landfill. Tim Brownell is the director of solid waste for the county. He joins us to share more on how to plan and build a landfill, as well as the timeline for opening.

Though data about clients at Oregon’s new legal psilocybin clinics is protected by privacy rules, it appears that many are coming from outside the state. Freelance journalist Grant Stringer talked to multiple clinic owners and clients in a story for The Oregon Capital Chronicle. We talk to him about what he learned.

A new study from Oregon Health & Science University used TikTok to survey teens and young adults about their understanding of menstrual health. It found that although the vast majority of respondents would prefer to control or stop their period using hormonal medications, nearly two-thirds were unsure whether it would be safe to do so. Researchers also found that health literacy was lowest among respondents who identified with a Christian family background or who lived in the U.S. South.

Maureen Baldwin, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at OHSU, joins us with more details on how parents and health care providers can help fill gaps in menstrual health knowledge.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed shooting over 400,000 barred owls over the next 30 years in order to save endangered spotted owls. Barred owls have migrated here from the Eastern U.S. and adapted well to the environment — they can survive in more habitats and eat more species than the spotted owls. USFWS has experimented with shooting barred owls in the past, and now proposes doing it on a much larger scale. Kessina Lee, the state supervisor of Oregon’s USFWS office, and Robin Brown, barred owl management strategy lead for USFWS, join us to discuss the proposal.

Yesterday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that wolverines will now be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The ruling was hailed by conservation groups which have been advocating to protect wolverines in the contiguous U.S. for more than 20 years, including suing the agency twice. There are roughly 300 wolverines spread across Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Washington. The new federal listing does not apply to wolverines in Alaska. Wolverines are already listed as a threatened species in Oregon and hunting or trapping of the animals is prohibited. Earlier this spring, several wolverine sightings were reported along the Columbia River and in the Central Cascades, most likely of the same animal. Bethany Cotton is the conservation director for Cascadia Wildlands, based in Eugene. She joins us to talk about the impact of this ruling, and ongoing threats to the survival of wolverines in the West.