Mark Penninger has been measuring animals for the record books for many years. But a set of elk antlers found by a crew of cone collectors for tree propagation and turned into ODFW, was a true jaw dropper for Penninger, who talks about how he measured the antlers for Northwest Big Game Records Inc. and how they rank as the second-largest typical Rocky Mountain elk antlers ever recorded in the state. Want to learn about how exactly antlers are measured for the record books? This episode is for you. 

ODFW's North Coast District Wildlife Biologist Paul Atwood covers the basics of Oregon's coastal Roosevelt elk. They're quite a bit different than their Cascade relatives, and hunting them in the rugged, wet Oregon Coast Range is a very different kind of adventure. 

There are two main populations of Roosevelt elk in Oregon, the coastal Roosevelt and the Cascade Roosevelt. Cascade Roosevelt elk tend to act a little more like Rocky Mountain elk due to the landscapes they inhabit. ODFW's Big Game Manger Brian Wolfer talks about the biology, life history strategy and thoughts around hunting these Roosevelt elk in the Cascade Mountains. 

ODFW's Brian Ratliff hunts Rocky Mountain Elk mainly with archery equipment but also with a rifle often while exploring Eastern Oregon by horseback. He's also been the District Wildlife Biologist for Baker for more than a decade, which gives him a lot knowledge about some of Oregon's most iconic ungulates. Part two of our three-part series on Oregon's elk focuses on hunting Rocky Mountain elk on the east side of the state from sage brush steppe to the alpine regions and everything in between. 

DeWaine Jackson has researched a lot of Oregon's wildlife over the course of his career with ODFW. It's a different role than that of a district wildlife biologist, but the information he provides helps everyone understand the complex population dynamics so that they can make decisions that will help protect and preserve wildlife. Elk might be the most charismatic megafauna in the state, and Jackson's research is now using new techniques and technology to study fecal DNA to answer important questions about elk populations. 

While lamprey, with their eel-like bodies and suction cup mouths full of sharp teeth and vampire-like feeding habits might seem scary, they're actually not dangerous to humans at all. In fact, they're a very important part of the ecosystems they live in. These anadromous fish provide marine-derived nutrients to the stream systems they migrate into, and the protein-dense nutrition they provided for Native Americans may have also provided a buffer for salmon populations. We explore these amazing, older-than-the-dinosaurs fish with ODFW's Statewide Lamprey Coordinator Ben Clemens. 

Oregon has six species of geese that reside or pass through the state each winter, making the state fairly goose rich. Whether you're a birder looking to get your eyes on more than 11 different subspecies or a hunter looking for opportunities, ODFW migratory bird coordinator Brandon Reishus explains goose biology, habitat preferences, migration differences and what makes parts of Oregon so good for the goose and the gander. 

Oregon’s rivers, streams, and aquifers support a wide range of benefits for both humans and the environment—sources of water for drinking, agriculture, recreation, and essential habitat for fish and wildlife. A clean and reliable source of water is critical for meeting Oregonian’s basic needs and for supporting Oregon’s economy, but it all hangs under the shadow of climate change. In this episode, we talk to ODFW's Ben Walczak, Clackamas River Water Provider's Kim Swan and PGE's Nick Ackerman about a partnership to tackle the impacts of drought. 

Sage grouse may be known for their elaborate courtship displays in the Sage Brush Sea of Western North America, but conserving the species has raised their profile to the national level as private land owners, public land managers and state and federal fish and wildlife agencies worked together in partnership to change the paradigm of a species in peril. In this episode, we talk to ODFW sage grouse conservation coordinator Skyler Vold and OSU Associate Professor Christian Hagen about the species' profile in Oregon. We cover their biology, conservation efforts and hunting these fascinatingly iconic birds. 

Mussel fatigue, it's a thing. In fact, our freshwater mussels are strained and in need of some attention. This week's Beaver State Podcast looks at Oregon's freshwater mussels through the lens of a large-scale habitat improvement project along Murderer's Creek in the John Day Basin. This creek happens to have very high mussel populations, so biologists are studying the impacts of the habitat improvements on the local mussel populations and trying to answer the question: What happens when you move a mussel?