Environment

Eugene’s drinking water is among the best in the nation. That’s according to the Eugene Water and Electric Board’s annual quality report release this week.

Oregon's Owyee Canyonlands may need more protection than currently exists. A new study says the area's remoteness has helped protect it so far, but local resource extraction proposals could threaten it.

Officials have drafted a management plan for one of the most popular hiking spots around Eugene / Springfield. The public can comment on the future of Buford Park and Mount Pisgah in several ways.

Three Oregon lawmakers have been hit with an ethics complaint filed by environmentalists. It was filed Monday with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission against three representatives who helped pass the so-called wolf delisting bill in February.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will loan the city of Newport more than $5 million to make some much needed improvements.

University of Oregon students held a “mock wedding” Thursday. The event marked the end of Divest UO’s 9 week sit-in at the administration building on campus.

Thanks to a wet winter, the Bonneville Power Administration says this will be a “normal” water year for the northwest. That’s an improvement over last year.

There’s good news and bad news about Lane County’s Air Quality from a recent American Lung Association report. The area gets an “A” for its low ozone levels. But too much wood smoke makes the air unhealthy some of the year.

One of the two olive ridley sea turtles rescued on Oregon beaches last winter has died.

The City of Eugene has purchased 100 acres of land north of Lane Community College. The city hopes the acquisition will help connect Eugene’s ridgeline system with Mt Buford Park and Springfield.

This weekend, hundreds of birders flocked to Harney County for the 35th annual migratory bird festival. It’s been about 2 months since the armed occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge ended. Eugene’s Noah Strycker was at the festival.

State water supply levels have Oregon farmers optimistic this year. Last April, mountain snowpack and reservoir levels were much lower than average. This year, talk of drought is somewhat quiet.

A federal magistrate judge in Eugene Friday ruled that a lawsuit brought by 21 teens against the federal government can go to trial. The youth say their constitutional rights are being violated by the government’s inaction on climate change.

It’s not every day that the governors of Oregon and California, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, the head of a major power company, and representatives of multiple tribes all gather at the mouth of a river.  But April 6th was an historic day for the Klamath River.

South Eugene's Amazon Park Playground will close, and undergo a major renovation this summer. 

Following months of rehabilitation at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, sea turtles Thunder and Lightning have been transferred to San Diego.

Corvallis officials want to restore oak savannah on 100 acres of land north of the city. They plan to remove invasive weeds and shrubs and cut down Douglas Fir trees this summer.

It's Whale Watch Week on the Oregon Coast and with a typically mixed forecast, grab your rain gear and head outside.

Attorneys for the U.S. Government Wednesday asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by 21 youths who want immediate action to curtail climate change. Hundreds of schoolchildren watched the hearing in Eugene.

Glass manufacturing is in the spotlight since high levels of cadmium and arsenic were traced to a Portland factory last month. KLCC’s Rachael McDonald checked in with Lane Regional Air Protection Agency to find out if there’s reason to be concerned about local glass-makers.

The trafficking of certain animal parts around the world continues to encourage the black market poaching of endangered species. Following the failure of a bill in the State legislature to ban the commercial sale of certain animal parts, the group Save Endangered Animals Oregon, have decided to put the bill directly to voters. KLCC’s Desmond O’Boyle speaks with Campaign Director, Scott Beckstead.

During a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee meeting, Oregon U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley pressed the top official on air quality to investigate the recent discovery of heavy metals in Portland.

The National Weather Service says Oregon’s Cascade Mountains are at 105 percent of normal for snowpack at this time of year. That’s making snow enthusiasts happy.

Next month, a federal judge in Eugene will hear arguments asking him to dismiss a lawsuit brought by 21 young people against the government demanding it do more to combat climate change. 

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department has released plans for its newest state park, just south of Tillamook.