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*ONE SPACE LEFT* Eastern Oregon Dark Skies Foray

The high desert of southeastern Oregon offers some of the most sensational stargazing on the planet! Join Portland Audubon’s Dark Skies Program Manager, Mary Coolidge, Eastern Oregon Field Coordinator, Teresa Wicks, and Environmental Educator, Abby VanLeuven on a rugged four day adventure. We will explore this uniquely beautiful landscape, seeking out birds and wildlife by day, including Big Horned Sheep, Pronghorn Antelope, Golden Eagle, Black Rosy-finch, Ferruginous Hawk and Green-tailed Towhee, and marveling at the heavens above by night.

Night Sky over Alvord Desert by Michael Montgomery
Pronghorn Antelope, photo by USFWS
Golden Eagle Golden Eagle, photo by Scott Carpenter
Big Horned Sheep, photo by Baker County Tourism
Big Horned Sheep, photo by Baker County Tourism

Register today to adventure with us in Eastern Oregon!

By choosing to travel with Portland Audubon, you are supporting our conservation work here in the Pacific Northwest. Sign up for this trip of a lifetime!

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Our trip will take us through Malheur National Wildlife Refuge south to the spectacular summit of Steens Mountain and beyond. We will spend an evening enjoying the night sky from the comfort of Crystal Crane Hot Springs and an evening conducting “light surveys” as part of Public Lands Day, and also have the opportunity to spend time with an astronomer and night sky photographer.

Participants will learn about some of the most important conservation issues playing out in Eastern Oregon as well as Portland Audubon’s efforts to address light pollution – a growing threat to the health of both people and wildlife. This is an active adventure trip that will include moderate day and night hikes on steep, uneven ground, with primitive camping on cold nights in some of the most truly stunning and remote parts of the state.

Bring your tent and sleeping bag for three nights of camping! The first night we’ll be camping at Crystal Crane Hot Springs, and then we’ll enjoy a rare opportunity to camp at the Riddle Brothers Ranch in the South Steens. Please join us under the stars in Eastern Oregon!

Trip Details

  • Trip Leader: Mary Coolidge, Teresa Wicks, and Abby VanLeuven
  • Fee: $395 members / $445 non-members
  • Deposit: $200 to secure your space
  • Group size: Limited to 12 participants

* Transportation and all meals provided EXCEPT dinner our first night out.

General Ecotour Information
Ecotour Policies

Group Birding & Trip Etiquette

Trip Leader

Mary Coolidge

Mary has served on Portland Audubon's Conservation team since 2008, and currently coordinates three of Audubon's hazard campaigns: Bird Safe, Lights Out, and Get the Lead Out. These advocacy and education campaigns raise awareness about important threats to bird survivorship, from urban areas to wild landscapes. Mary also works at the Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation in the Oregon Zoo’s California Condor propagation program, one of 5 breeding facilities in the U.S. and Baja working to recover this critically endangered species.

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Details

Start:
September 26, 2019
End:
September 29, 2019
Event Categories:
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Organizer

Tara Lemezis
Email:
tlemezis@audubonportland.org

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