College of Agricultural Sciences

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Wildfires and drought have led to $11.2 billion in damages to privately held timberland in California, Oregon and Washington over the past two decades, a new Oregon State University study found.

That represents about a 10% reduction in the value of private timberland in the three states. Based on recent climate change attribution studies by other scientists, the authors of the study attribute about half of the economic damages to climate change.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Firsthand observations of a wolf hunting and killing a harbor seal and a group of wolves hunting and consuming a sea otter on Alaska’s Katmai coast have led scientists to reconsider assumptions about wolf hunting behavior.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Art About Agriculture’s annual exhibition of agriculture and natural resource-themed artwork by Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a touring show that will be on display from Nov. 17 to Dec. 31 in Portland.

The juried show in the Antoinette Hatfield Hall Rotunda at Portland’5 Centers for the Arts will feature 65 pieces of art from artists representing 20 counties in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – New court actions upholding climate stability as a protected right are needed to break the climate change impasse, an Oregon State University economist concludes in a just-published paper.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University can now boast about its new arboretum status for the tree-filled campus after accreditation from ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program, an international organization that recognizes excellence in tree-focused gardens.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Four decades of conservation spending totaling more than $9 billion in inflation-adjusted tax dollars has failed to improve stocks of wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin, according to Oregon State University research.

The study led by William Jaeger of the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences is based on an analysis of 50 years of data suggesting that while hatchery-reared salmon numbers have increased, there is no evidence of a net increase in wild, naturally spawning salmon and steelhead. 

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Scientists analyzed more than 650 dam removal projects over 55 years in the United States totaling $1.52 billion inflation-adjusted dollars to develop a tool to better estimate the cost of future dam removals.

The analysis arrives at a time of increasing awareness of the disruptive impact dams can have on ecosystems, while thousands of dams are increasingly being removed because they are aging, unsafe, no longer serving their original purpose or in need of costly repairs and maintenance.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University has been selected to co-lead a $30 million U.S. Department of Agriculture regional food business center that will support farmers, ranchers and other food-related businesses to access new markets and navigate federal, state and local resources. 

The Northwest and Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center, which Oregon State will lead with Colorado State University, will serve Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.