Oregon Field Guide

Open Water Swimming, Pine Butterflies, Radon

Open Water Swimming When you think about competitive swimming you probably picture what you see at the Olympics. Long pools. One swimmer per lane. But many people prefer something different: swimming across open lakes. Late in the summer of 2011, Eel Lake near Coos Bay, Oregon featured some serious racing - and a goofy obstacle course. Pine Butterflies An exceedingly rare population explosion of pine butterflies fills the Malheur National Forest with a virtual snowstorm in August. The mysterious outbreak may occur for 2 or 3 years and then disappear for 3 decades. The beauty extracts a price: the butterflies, while caterpillars, ate needles off 250,000 acres of trees. Radon Public health authorities tell us that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the US, and the highest among non-smokers. But scientists have only been aware of radon as a health hazard since the early 1980s. So, just how big a health risk is radon? We take a look at the geologic conditions that account for radon’s presence in Oregon as well as the current health science, testing and mitigation thinking on the subject.