Oregon Public Broadcasting

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Managing Cougar Populations

Although cougars are common in Oregon, they're hard to find. The animals, which can weigh up to 200 pounds and measure six-feet long, are so stealthy that locating and tagging them for study is extremely difficult, yet this method remains the best way to try and find out how many cougars there are and what affect they're having on ungulate populations. Some believe that the passage of Measure 18 banning the hunting cougars with dogs is what's at the root of a cougar population increase of almost 2,000 cats statewide over the past few years. The research shows that cougars are the main reason the elk population isn't continuing to grow, but the studies are so narrowly focused they leave many questions unanswered.

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Indian Village Excavation

An area at the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette rivers was once home to a thriving Indian village. Hidden underground in a section of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge near Vancouver are clues to an ancient culture that occupied the land from around 1450 up to 1835 when tribes disappeared, succumbing to diseases brought by European traders. Lewis and Clark were greeted by villagers when they visited the area 200 years ago. Their journals show they camped in a clearing near the huge plank houses that sheltered about 100 tribe members. Excavations in the 1990s uncovered over 10,000 artifacts. These excavations continue slowly today as scientists painstakingly examine fragments trying to make sense of village life that was lost in time.

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Kayak Fishing

Most people can't put the concept of kayaking and fishing together. But for one Oregon couple, it's the only way to fish. Field Guide journeys to the waters off the beautiful Beverly Beach to see how these two kayak fishermen can get into areas that big boats can't and catch prized lingcod.

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