Oregon Field Guide is a weekly television program produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting focusing on recreation, the outdoors, and environmental issues in the state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon zeitgeist, it is produced and hosted by Steve Amen. Named for the field guides used to identify plants, animals, and natural phenomenon, the wide-ranging series covers Oregon natural history, outdoor recreation, conservation, agriculture, rural life, and other local subjects. Produced with deep narratives rather than short segments, 13 half-hour and one full-hour episodes are shown per year.
Browse every episode and jump into details.
Oct 9, 2016
A stand-up paddleboard adventure down the John Day River, the longest undammed river in Oregon. Field Guide takes you behind the scenes as we head into the Oregon wilderness in search of a hidden geologic wonder. A visual journey of the forests and waterfalls of the upper north fork Lewis River.
Oct 13, 2016
We investigate why natural meadows are disappearing from the Pacific Northwest. 98 year old Frankie Dugal carries on a ranch tradition of horse-hair “mecate” ropemaking and is passing it on to the next generation in the southeast Oregon town of Jordan Valley. We travel to Washington's Methow Valley to see how they're adopting a new form of recreation - fat bikes.
Oct 20, 2016
Bar pilots brave weather & dangerous seas as they help commercial ships navigate the treacherous Columbia bar. Join us for a tour of Wasco County and get a look at small town living as we meet some of the interesting characters that call Dufur, Oregon home.
Oct 27, 2016
Oregon Field Guide revisits a story that originally aired in 2009. When it seemed that Oregon's urban-rural divide had grown into an unbridgeable chasm, a handful of ranchers from rural Grant county invited Portland school students to live and work alongside them, to see their side of life.
Nov 3, 2016
Who's watching out for the 600 sensitive species of Oregon wildlife? Find out why many biologists say Oregon is falling behind when it comes to protecting species across Oregon. Inspired by our recent visits to the Valhalla slot canyon, we wondered just how these unusual features form. And see how the Columbia River system's once-abundant smelt runs are officially threatened.
Nov 10, 2016
Join us on a remote expedition down 22 miles of the Wenaha river in Oregon's Blue Mountains where we encounter low water, log-jams and the blackened forest burned by the Grizzly Bear fire of 2015. We'll take you outdoors to a preschool with no buildings and visit with Erl McLaughlin of Enterprise, a wheat rancher, who spends his winters collecting and refurbishing tractors of every shape and size.
Nov 17, 2016
Prior to the eruption of Mt St Helens, few people realized there were mountain goats living in the area. Oregon Field Guide joins a survey to check on these high-climbing, sure-footed mammals. Meet Lynn and Bob Tompkins, an eastern Oregon couple who started Blue Mountain Wildlife, a raptor rescue facility. And see how bird advocates are testing out a replacement chimney for roosting swifts.
Feb 2, 2017
A look at how the isolated, storm-battered lighthouse on Tillamook Rock earned the nickname "Terrible Tillie." See the pleasures of river snorkeling and all lies beneath even the smallest bodies of water. And a simple broadcast of the comings and goings of ships passing Astoria has evolved into the most popular show on KMUN. It illuminates the sometimes invisible world of mariners.
Feb 9, 2017
Oregon Field Guide joins geologist Dr. Liz Safran and river guide Audrey Gehlhausen for a journey through the geologic wonderland of the Owyhee Canyonlands. Beginning in the small town of Rome, Oregon, our cameras reveal a raw and breathtaking landscape sculpted by lava flows, landslides and volcanic eruptions.
Feb 16, 2017
The once spectacular glacier caves documented by Oregon Field Guide in 2013 are disappearing far faster than anyone predicted. Why? What role is climate and weather playing in the formation and destruction of these caves?
Feb 23, 2017
We follow prisoners at the Snake River Correctional Institution as they grow and transplant specially selected sagebrush seeds to assist the BLM in future eastern Oregon restoration efforts. And the beauty and sounds of Oregon - a visual celebration from around the state - under the stars at Oregon's Star Party, at the great Steam Up in Brooks, Oregon, blooming gardens and frozen lakes!
Mar 2, 2017
Bats across the Northeast started dying by the millions back in 2006. The culprit was a mysterious disease called white-nose syndrome and now its in the Northwest. South Prairie is a mysterious 85-acre lake in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest of SW Washington. It appears each spring, and disappears each summer. What's the secret? We remember Jeff Douglas and show one of his favorite stories.
Mar 23, 2017
After 28 seasons, Steve Amen is retiring from Oregon Field Guide. Join us as we celebrate Steve, his legacy, and what's next for the show.
Quick answers about this season's release timeline and episode lineup.
Oregon Field Guide Season 28 premiered on October 9, 2016.
Oregon Field Guide Season 28 has 13 episodes.
The season opens with Season 28 Episode 1, "John Day River Paddleboarding and Behind The Scenes on Valhalla". It aired on October 9, 2016.
Go to Season 28 Episode 1