My Outdoor Buddy

Your Source for Outdoor Adventure

Northern California and Southern Oregon

Headline News from Northern California & Southern Oregon

Barren rocks, bitten hard by wind and water, become ideal canvasses for nature's artistic touch. Photo by Larry Arbanas

Barren rocks, bitten hard by wind and water, become ideal canvasses for nature's artistic touch. Photo by Larry Arbanas

Keep bird feeders clean: Dirty feeders can spread disease to backyard birds
by ODFW, DECEMBER 19, 2017

ODFW is urging people to keep their bird feeders clean and free of bacteria so wild birds stay healthy this winter. Calls to ODFW from Oregon bird lovers seeing dead birds in their yard and around their feeders are increasing with colder weather. Testing by the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory identified the cause of one recent bird die-off at a feeder...
Full Story

Drought’s Toll on Forests Continues
by Water Deeply, DECEMBER 18, 2017

California’s drought may have officially been declared over in the spring, but the effects of the five-year drought are still taking a toll on the state’s forests, new information shows. Last November, the number of trees that died in California forests since 2010 was estimated by the U.S. Forest Service at 102 million, with 62 million dying in 2016 alone. The latest aerial survey shows that tree mortality...
Full Story

Boone and Crockett Club: Congress Takes Another Positive Step For Federal Forests
by Boone and Crockett Club, DECEMBER 18, 2017

The group behind the creation of our national forest system - the Boone and Crockett Club - today applauds Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) for introducing legislation to improve the highly-regarded Good Neighbor Authority. The new bill titled the Good Neighbor Authority Improvement Act will strengthen the Forest Service's ability to partner with states on forest health...
Full Story

8 Telltale Signs That the Used Boat You’re Buying Could be a Storm-Damaged Lemon
by Scott Croft, DECEMBER 17, 2017

While many of the more than 63,000 boats damaged as a result of 2017 hurricanes will be repaired and have more years of life on the water, some used boat buyers in 2018 could end up with storm-damaged lemons. The nation’s largest advocacy, services and safety group for recreational boaters, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), cautions used...
Full Story

Oregon anglers head to California to get the groundfish limits
Southern Oregon
by Larry Ellis, DECEMBER 16, 2017
Crescent City Coast

The lack of precipitation on the southern Oregon and northern California coastline has created a mini-drought situation in rivers like California's Smith, or Oregon's Winchuck and Chetco Rivers, which are dropping and clearing to Sparkletts-water visibility. At the time of this writing, the Chetco was nearing the 1,000 cfs mark and was still predicted to be on-the-drop during the middle of...
Full Story

Washoe Lake Report
by NDOW, DECEMBER 15, 2017
Washoe Lake

Washoe Lake has benefitted from the historic winter of 2016-2017 and has reached levels not seen in over a decade. Fishing is slow due to the frigid temperatures and low numbers of fish currently residing in the lake. Stocking of several thousand channel catfish and white crappie has occurred in both Little Washoe Lake and Washoe Lake during the 2017 season.