Originating near Crater Lake, the Rogue River flows through 215 miles of mountains, valleys and unspoiled wilderness in southwestern Oregon. The Rogue is also home to renowned salmon fisheries, the future of which is made uncertain by logging.
“There’s been a real ripple effect over the last 30, 40, 50 years, where fisheries started to decline,” said Josh Laughlin, conservation director of the Cascadia Wildlands Project . CWP is a local group focused on protecting and restoring the forests, waters and wildlife of the Cascadia bioregion, and Thursday evening, it will present a slideshow about conserving the Rogue River Canyon.
“It’s such a local world-renowned resource,” Laughlin said. “Once students see this area, whether it’s walking through the 40-mile river trail or floating for four days through the river canyon, it’s an experience they’ll never forget. They’ll want to safeguard this legacy for future generations and take their children there decades from now.”
The goal of the slideshow, which will be followed by a discussion, is to get members of the University community aware of and involved with this issue. The event, one of three sponsored by the University’s Outdoor Program this week, will take place in the OP office on the EMU’s ground floor.
Tonight, OP will announce the winners of its annual Outdoor Photography Competition at a reception in the EMU’s Aperture Gallery.
OP Office Manager Rithy Khut said the judges – representatives from some of OP’s sponsors such as

Backcountry Gear, Berg’s Ski and Snowboard Shop, and REI – will be looking for eye-catching photos with aesthetically pleasing color balances, as well as adherence to the guidelines.
“We’re not considering outdoors like a person standing outside a city landscape,” Khut said. “We’re thinking more like a person in nature.”
He added that the competition had five categories: landscapes, action shots, flora and fauna, digitally altered and people in the outdoors.
Democratically chosen based on comments from readers of OP’s photo sharing Web site on flickr.com, the 38 finalists include a close-up shot of a hibiscus, a photo of the Willamette National Forest’s Sahalie Falls and an action shot of rock climbers rappelling in Minnesota.
Prizes include cash and gift certificates to REI. Category winners and runners-up will have their photos on display in the Aperture Gallery.
Eugene resident Brad Bassi, “an international adventurer” in Khut’s words, became, along with Eric Nemitz of New Hampshire, the first person to canoe the Ungava Peninsula of northern Quebec last summer. Tomorrow evening in the OP office, Bassi, who has led OP kayaking trips in the past, will share his photos and experiences from his 40-day excursion.
“It’s that sense of wonder,” Khut said. “There are still places in the world you can go that no one else has been, seen or done. You can sort of live vicariously though people… who do these amazing trips. It gives you a sense of inspiration for trips you can do yourself.”
[email protected]