MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) — Firefighters will conduct a prescribed jackpot burn on the Crooked River National Grassland beginning Tuesday, March 31. The project will treat approximately 311 acres of land located four miles southeast of Madras. The burn is situated within Pace Jackpot Burning Unit 3, near Buck Butte and east of Highway 26. Operations
Continue Reading
BOTHELL, Wash. (KTVZ) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Thursday it has opened applications for $1 billion in federal funding through the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. The initiative provides grants to states, local governments, territories and Tribal Nations to protect communities from disasters such as fires, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes.
Continue Reading
CABIN BUTTE, Ore. (KTVZ) — Discover Your Northwest will host the first annual Care for the Land ‘Spring Trash Bash’ on May 30th in the Cabin Butte National Forest Closure Area. The community cleanup event is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The event, part of the Care for the Land program,
Continue Reading
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — White-nose syndrome – which has killed millions of bats across North America – has been detected for the first time in Oregon bats, found in Columbia and Benton counties, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said Wednesday. White-nose syndrome is caused by an infection with the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans that disrupts hibernation,
Continue Reading
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Deschutes County announced Wednesday it has chosen Jeff Merwin to serve as its new solid waste director, following a nationwide recruitment. Merwin succeeds current director Tim Brownell, who will retire March 21. “We’re so pleased Jeff will step up to serve as our next solid waste director, especially at such an
Continue Reading
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Winter arrived on the calendar in Central Oregon, but the weather hasn’t looked much like it. Temperatures have been running well above normal in recent months, and mountain snowpack has lagged behind typical levels. Because snowpack helps supply the region’s rivers and groundwater through the summer, water conservation is becoming increasingly
Continue Reading
(Adding context, history, and background information from an Oregon Department Fish and Wildlife Biologist). BLUE RIVER, Ore. (KTVZ) — A Central Oregon man’s dream encounter came true Friday: capturing the McKenzie River Ranger District’s first confirmed wolf on video. Jake Rau spotted the animal feeding on roadkill deer along Highway 126 in Willamette National Forest.
Continue Reading
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Think Wild Central Oregon is caring for its third seriously injured bald eagle already this year. But while the first two didn’t survive 24 hours after arriving at the Bend wildlife hospital, this bald eagle – America’s official symbol – has made it through a week of care and is doing well. The adult
Continue Reading
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon air quality impacts from the 2025 wildfire season were “minimal,” compared to previous years, as the state’s largest wildfires broke out far from the most populated cities, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality reports. The DEQ on Thursday released the 2025 Wildfire Trends Report, which measures how particulate matter from the
Continue Reading
WASHINGTON (KTVZ) – Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Oregon) introduced legislation Monday to stop application of the provisions of the Endangered Species Act to the National Flood Insurance Program. Congressman Bentz’s legislation amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 “so that the insurance program remains focused on its intended purpose: protecting property and human life from flood risk,” Bentz’s office
Continue Reading
By Alex Brown, Stateline SALEM, Ore. — Oregon lawmakers have voted to increase the state’s lodging tax in order to help fund wildlife conservation. The tax increase passed the state Senate on Wednesday in a 20-9 vote, a week after approval in the House. The measure is expected to bring in roughly $37 million per
Continue Reading
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A pair of frisky young bongos, a critically endangered species of African antelope, is settling in at the Oregon Zoo — grazing in the grass, playfully sparring with one another and exploring their new habitat. “Banjo and Bentley are curious, engaged and active, just like young bongos should be,” said Kelly Gomez,
Continue Reading
WASHINGTON (KTVZ) — Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., introduced the O&C Renewal Act of 2026 on Tuesday in a bid to reaffirm timber production as the primary use of federal lands in western Oregon. He said the legislation seeks to restore sustained-yield forest management across more than 2 million acres of federal timberlands. The bill amends
Continue Reading
NEVADA CITY, Ca. (CNN) — Just six weeks after Bend resident and snowmobiler Chris Thomason of Thomason Auto Group, was killed in an avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada, another deadly slide in nearly the same area has claimed more lives. Authorities in Nevada County confirmed Saturday that search crews recovered the bodies of nine skiers
Continue Reading
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The City of Bend announced Thursday it’s launching an interactive campaign to celebrate its 100-year anniversary of providing water services. Prior to 1926, the community’s drinking water came from the Deschutes River. In the early 1920s, dams built at Crane Prairie and Crescent Lake led to algae blooms and tainted water
Continue Reading
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Senate co-chairs of the Oregon Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, Senator David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford) and Senator Anthony Broadman (D-Bend), spoke out Thursday in opposition to Initiative Petition 28, which they said “would make lawful hunting, fishing, and trapping illegal and turn nearly one million Oregonians into criminals.” IP28, the People
Continue Reading
By Mia Maldonado, Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Oregon Senate in a 17-11 vote Thursday advanced a Central Oregon lawmaker’s bill meant to safeguard public lands against the threat of privatization. Senate Bill 1590, sponsored by Sen. Anthony Broadman, D-Bend, would prohibit state agencies from using any funding, data, equipment or staff
Continue Reading
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The High Desert Food & Farm Alliance is investing $25,000 in 10 Central Oregon farms this winter through its On-Farm Efficiency Grant program, supporting projects that promote efficient, sustainable practices with lasting environmental and community impact. Grant recipients will use the grant funding – up to $3,000 to each recipient – for
Continue Reading
(Update: adding video of bald eagle) BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The folks at Think Wild Central Oregon wildlife hospital are thrilled to care for rescued animals of every persuasion, with a typical goal of returning them to the wild. So this was a sad week, as they were unable to save two adult bald eagles – America’s official symbol – for very different reasons. Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office
Continue Reading
WARM SPRINGS, Ore. (KTVZ) — Warm Springs Power and Water Enterprises and the Warm Springs Housing Authority have been awarded a $1 million state grant to bring high-performance solar and battery energy storage systems to three locations on the Warm Springs Reservation. The grant was awarded by the Oregon Department of Energy’s Community Renewable Energy
Continue Reading