April Ehrlich
April Ehrlich is a reporter covering lands and environmental policies in Oregon and Southwest Washington at OPB, after joining as a breaking news editor in November 2021. She previously worked at Jefferson Public Radio in Southern Oregon, where she was a reporter, show producer, and radio host. While there, she focused much of her reporting on wildfire coverage, including an investigation with NPR into federal disaster assistance programs and how they routinely fail people in marginalized groups.
April’s reporting has won numerous Public Media Journalists Association awards and regional Edward R. Murrow awards, as well as a national Murrow.
Latest Stories
PacifiCorp appeals class action ruling over 2020 Oregon wildfires
In its appeal filed Tuesday, PacifiCorp argued that thousands of people and businesses across the state should have never been grouped together into a class-action certification. The company also contends there is no proof showing it is at fault for causing fires across multiple regions, including in Santiam Canyon, Southern Oregon and the coast.
Lithium project in southeastern Oregon gets public input extension
The public now has until April 25 to review environmental impacts that could come during a company's search for lithium, a metal that's critical to renewable energy and electric vehicles.
Controversial logging bill makes it through Oregon committee
The bill would allow counties and the timber industry to sue the state forester if Oregon logs less than it promises.
Oregon lawmakers ask insurers to pause dropping policies based on internal wildfire risk maps
Two Oregon lawmakers are calling on major insurance companies to stop using their own internal wildfire risk maps to drop homeowner's policies — at least until next year.
BLM rushes review of Oregon lithium project following Trump’s executive order
A proposed Southeast Oregon mine’s been under review for three years. Now the Trump administration is giving people four days to comment before proceeding.
‘The Evergreen’: OPB journalists help us make sense of federal government changes
We take a tour of OPB’s newsroom and hear from reporters covering politics, climate, health, business and more about what federal policy changes mean for people in the Northwest.
Oregon fire officials say PacifiCorp didn’t cause Santiam Fire, contradicting federal reports, jury decision
The Oregon Department of Forestry report comes five years after the 2020 fire, as PacifiCorp pushes for legislation that would limit utilities' wildfire liabilities
Oregon lawmakers propose wildfire funding solutions bill
House Bill 3940 is a mash of options proposed by a wildfire funding work group that looked into the challenges of paying to mitigate, suppress and fight fires.
Portland councilors discuss safety of storing oil in an industrial hub sitting on a quake zone
The city’s six-mile hub of fuel storage and shipping terminals along the Willamette River is expected to crumble due to an earthquake phenomenon called liquefaction, a type of riverside quicksand effect that could release millions of gallons of fuel.
Oregon streams, fish protections face budget cuts under legislative proposals
Environmental groups and timberland owners are calling on Oregon lawmakers to support a yearslong agreement that will be financially slashed under current budget proposals.