Author

Alex Baumhardt
Alex Baumhardt has been a national radio producer focusing on education for American Public Media since 2017. She has reported from the Arctic to the Antarctic for national and international media, and from Minnesota and Oregon for The Washington Post. She previously worked in Iceland and Qatar and was a Fulbright scholar in Spain where she earned a master's degree in digital media.
Some Oregon trout withstand rising water temperatures, study finds
By: Alex Baumhardt - December 27, 2022
In September 2020, the Archie Creek fire near Roseburg, Oregon, burned all 5,000 acres of the Hinkle Creek watershed, home to rainbow, cutthroat and steelhead trout. Oregon State University scientists who had been studying the fish for years figured the loss of tree cover would mean warmer stream temperatures that would stress, and ultimately kill, […]
To combat climate change, Oregon bans sale of new, 100% gasoline-powered cars by 2035
By: Alex Baumhardt - December 20, 2022
All new cars sold in Oregon by 2035 must be considered zero-emissions vehicles. On Monday, Oregon’s Environmental Quality Commission voted unanimously to adopt the Advanced Clean Cars II Rule, requiring auto manufacturers to begin producing and delivering a growing number of zero-emission vehicles to Oregon beginning in 2026, so that they make up 100% of […]
Climate change likely playing role in 40% drop in Pacific gray whale population
By: Alex Baumhardt - November 24, 2022
Scientists are investigating the causes of a nearly 40% decline in the Pacific gray whales that pass along the Oregon Coast each winter and spring on their way from Baja, Mexico, to the Arctic. One primary suspect is food scarcity with Arctic feeding grounds impacted by warming temperatures and the loss of sea ice from […]
Oregon joins Western states in opposing more natural gas from Canadian pipeline
By: Alex Baumhardt - August 31, 2022
Oregon has joined California and Washington in opposing a project that would increase the amount of natural gas flowing from Canada to the West Coast. A 1,400-mile pipeline owned by Calgary-based TC Energy sends billions of cubic feet of natural gas to utilities supplying consumers in the Northwest and California each day. The pipeline runs […]
Oregonians in dozens of counties, cities will vote on psilocybin bans in November
By: Alex Baumhardt - August 24, 2022
Oregonians in 57 cities and 26 of the state’s 36 counties will vote in November on banning or postponing psilocybin treatment centers in their areas. The centers were first approved by state voters in 2020 with almost 56% of the vote supporting Measure 109. The vote made Oregon the first state in the nation to […]
As fire season begins, new rules protecting Oregon workers from heat, smoke are challenged
By: Alex Baumhardt - July 16, 2022
With temperatures rising and fire season officially declared, advocates are visiting farms and job sites in Oregon, educating workers about new state rules to protect them from extreme heat and wildfire smoke. Oregon’s 86,000 farmworkers face among the highest risks from heat and smoke in summer, but many don’t know that new rules guarantee shade […]
New limits coming for Chinook fishing in Oregon over historically low numbers
By: Alex Baumhardt - June 1, 2022
Due to years of drought and poor ocean conditions, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will restrict fishing for wild Chinook salmon in parts of the state from late summer through the end of the year. Numbers of wild Chinook in several coastal tributaries are forecast to be at historic lows this fall, and […]