Think Out Loud

 Earlier this year, Amazon recently purchased more than 1,000 acres near Boardman, OR. As reported in the Oregonian/OregonLive.com, it could be the site for the state’s first “exscale” data center. 

Kaleb Lay, director of policy and research at Oregon Rural Action, says that an uptick in data centers brings a number of concerns to the group, including water contamination, water use and growing demand for electricity. He shares more on their concerns.

 The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation have seen lower fish returns this year. According to Jerimiah Bonifer, the program manager for the tribe’s fisheries program, there are a number of factors that could be influencing this, including ocean conditions and drought.

At the same time, the tribe has recently completed the Coonskin Creek Fish Passage Project, making it easier for fish to pass through. Bonifer joins us to discuss the low fish yields and more.

The Blue Mountains — nearly 5 million acres that span the Malheur, Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman national forests — is long overdue for a new management plan. The current plan was developed in 1990, but efforts to revise it have proved so contentious that they have failed twice. The management plan was supposed to be revised every 15 years to respond to changes in forest conditions.

The latest proposal was published in early July, and the period for public comment will wrap up at the end of September. The issue has remained controversial, as public lands stakeholders have conflicting priorities for the area. We’ll hear from three different stakeholders: Jamie Dawson, the conservation director with the Greater Hell’s Canyon Council; Andy Geissler; the Director of Forest Policy for the American Forest Resource Council; and Tyler Dungannon, the conservation director for the Oregon Hunters Association.

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation recently launched a dashboard that looks at drought indicators on the reservation and how they impact First Foods. Community members can also submit their own observations and photos to illustrate the data collected by the tribes.

Lyndsi Lewis is the water quality coordinator for the CTUIR Water Resources Program. She joins us to talk more about the ecological — and cultural — impacts of drought.

The nonprofit Stepping Stones Alliance formed in 2020 to provide a year-round shelter for people experiencing homelessness in and around Umatilla County. The organization partnered with several cities and the county to build a temporary housing project, which opened in 2023. The facility includes an overnight shelter, as well as individual shelter units where “members” can receive wraparound services while seeking more permanent housing.

We’ll hear more about how the project is going from Executive Director Jesalyn Cole, who took us on a tour of the site. We’ll also talk with member Sean Scanlon, who came to Stepping Stones last year.

Two decades ago, there were roughly 10 indigenous plant nurseries in the country. Since then, that number has blossomed to around 100, including one operated by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The nursery only grows native plants, with its primary goal to grow vegetation to aid in restoration of natural habitats in Eastern Oregon. Gail Redberg is the CTUIR Nursery Manager. She gives us a tour of the facility, shares some of what they grow and why it’s important.

For decades, a wide array of groups have had representatives on the Hanford Advisory Board. They’ve provided input on a variety of issues around the cleanup of waste and contamination from the nuclear reservation in central-southeast Washington. Now, the Department of Energy under President Trump is curtailing the board. The advisory board is going from 70 members, including alternates, to 20. The new members will be selected by the government, and any group members or representatives of tribal nations will no longer speak for a constituency but only for themselves. Critics say these changes will reduce representation and accountability, while the DOE says the changes standardize the board and “enhance engagement with those that live closest to Hanford.”

We talk with Senior Correspondent for Northwest Public Broadcasting Anna King, who’s covered the Hanford Nuclear Reservation cleanup for the last 20 years, to learn more about the impact of this change.

For three decades, many residents in Eastern Oregon's Umatilla basin have been drinking nitrate-polluted drinking water. Some residents blame nearby food-processors and farms that use nitrogen-rich fertilizers for the issue.

Last week, a $6.2 million settlement was reached between Madison Ranches and the people living in Morrow and Umatilla Counties who filed the suit. Kaleb Lay, director of policy and research at Oregon Rural Action, took OPB’s Think Out Loud on a tour of affected areas, along with Jim Doherty, a rancher and former Morrow County Commissioner. We’ll also hear from Paulo Lopez whose well is polluted.

The Inland Northwest Musicians have been performing across nine counties in northeast Oregon and southeast Washington for nearly three decades. 

The group formed in 1999 to bring classical music to communities that may otherwise not have access to it. It consists of three ensembles: the Inland Northwest Orchestra, the Inland Northwest Chorale and the Willow Creek Symphony, a preparatory ensemble for new musicians of all ages. 

Lee Friese is the music director and conductor for all three ensembles. Alice Massey is a founding member of the group and serves as concert master of the orchestra. Payton Baxter has performed with the Willow Creek Symphony since she was 12 years old and now manages the group.

They all join us to talk more about bringing classical music to remote corners of the state.

More than 2 million Oregonians live in drought stricken areas. Dry summers in the Pacific Northwest affect various industries including agriculture, water supply, fisheries and hydropower. But could science change that?

Cloudseeding is an 80-year-old technology where tiny particles, often of silver iodide, are added to clouds via aircraft to help trigger rain or snow. Rainmaker, based in California, has been testing this technology using drones in areas across the country, including in Pendleton. Parker Cardwell is the chief operating officer for the company. He joins us to share more on what cloud seeding is and what the company has learned in Oregon.