Oregon
Debbie Colbert picked to become next director of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has a new leader — and they didn’t have to look beyond the building to find her.
Debbie Colbert, the current deputy director for fish and wildlife programs at ODFW, was picked to lead an agency that oversees 1,200 employees and the state’s vast range of fauna.
Colbert replaces Curt Melcher, who had been director since 2014 and retired in April.
Colbert, 52, of Corvallis, becomes the first woman to ever hold the position in the agency with a history dating back to the 1800s. The vote by the ODFW Commission to appoint her was unanimous.
In many ways Colbert was the safer and more conventional choice between two candidates interviewed on Friday.
In the public question and answer period, Colbert held the line on many of the agency’s hottest topics, including support for hatcheries, the central role of hunting and the challenge of managing the state’s population of wolves.
The job is one of Oregon’s more difficult, often putting the agency in the middle of the state’s urban-rural divide over issues such as wolf and cougar management, hatchery versus wild fish, and the cost for fishing and hunting licenses, among many other issues.
“I think that fish and wildlife are the bridge and not the divide in Oregon,” she said during the public hearing. “We have diverse perspectives but that’s not a bad thing. It means people care. My approach will be to show up, listen and find common ground.”
Colbert expressed a desire to “build a bigger tent” and reach out to Oregonians who didn’t feel as though they have a voice in the agency.
“I am very committed to positioning the agency so it engages all Oregonians,” she said. “Our tent extends to everyone who wants to protect and enhance fish, wildlife and their habitats.”
She also said she would “double down on finding alternative revenue” to support the agency’s finances and mission that went beyond hunting and fishing licenses.
The other candidate interviewed Friday was Kaitlin Lovell. Lovell leads the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services on stream restoration and previously worked for the advocacy group Trout Unlimited. In the public interview, she talked about the need for new ideas that can dust off “stagnation.” She also noted she does not hunt and is vegetarian, but pointed to the ways she’s been able to work with people from all walks of life to get results.
Lovell had become the more controversial candidate on hunting and angling groups on social media, especially given the historical critiques of hatcheries by Trout Unlimited.
Colbert struck a tone that emphasized support for hunting. “If you look at my record and talk to hunters or hunting organizations I’ve worked with, they would tell you I have a deep respect for the connection hunting brings for so many and for their families,” she said.
She also offered support for hatcheries — including new investments in them — which some environmental groups have targeted as a negative in the effort to help native wild fish rebound.
“I do not see a future in which hatcheries are not necessary to meet demand (for fishing) and for conservation,” she said.
Ultimately, she noted that she was looking forward to the job.
“I am honored to be part of this and am so excited about work that agency has ahead of it,” she added.
Debbie Colbert’s background
Colbert has worked for two decades on natural resources issues, according to the biography provided by the hiring committee.
Since 2021, Colbert has served as ODFW’s deputy director for fish and wildlife programs, overseeing fish, wildlife, habitat, and regional programs statewide as well as legislative engagement.
“In this leadership role, she has been thrilled to collaborate with ODFW’s many talented staff, hunters, anglers, tribal leaders and staff, volunteers, landowners, state and federal agency staff, elected officials, and statewide advocacy groups,” the biography said.
Colbert’s career includes stints in field work as a fish sampler for the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, as a researcher at sea for several months and studying nutrient cycling in Tillamook Bay. During her time at ODFW, Colbert worked for five years as deputy director for administration and in her current position since 2021 as deputy director for fish and wildlife programs.
Previously, Colbert served six years as the board of trustees administrator at Oregon State University.
Colbert earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and has a master’s in oceanography and a doctorate in interdisciplinary oceanography. She was selected as a 2022 National Conservation Leadership Fellow.
“Debbie is passionate about working with diverse groups to advance Oregon’s fish, wildlife, and habitat,” the biography said.
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 16 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors.
Oregon State Baseball Stays Alive With 9-2 Win Over Yale
Through the first four innings, the game was a pitcher’s duel, with the only base runner being Washington State’s Cam Macleod, who was hit by a pitch in the third inning. Oregon starting pitcher Will Sanford was putting on a clinic, striking out ten Cougars in the first four innings.
In the top of the fifth, the Duck bats started working. Burke-Lee Mabeus hit a double to right center, and then Maddox Molony was walked. Oregon had two base runners, but two outs on the board, and the eighth player in their rotation, Jax Gimenez, was coming to the plate. Gimenez got the job done, hitting a short single to right to score Mabeus and put Oregon up 1-0.
The Good, The Bad, and What’s Next After Oregon State’s NCAA Tournament Win Over Yale
Washington State came close to evening things in the bottom of the fifth. After striking out Dustin Robinson and forcing a ground out from Ryan Skjonsby, Sanford walked Ollie Obenour. Cam Macleod then hit a single, WSU’s first hit of the game, to put a runner in scoring position. Sanford remained clutch on the mound however, striking out Kyler Northrup, his twelfth K of the game, to end the inning.
Sanford picked up his 13th strikeout in the bottom of the sixth, and his 14th in the bottom of the seventh, but ended his day shortly after, having walked Dustin Robinson. Tanner Bradley came in for Oregon and finished off the inning, keeping the Ducks one run lead in place.
Oregon State Comeback Bid Falls Short in Eugene Regional Opener, 3-2
Washington State starter had his day end in the top of the eight, after picking up his seventh strikeout. His game will be overshadowed by Sanford, but Myers also had an impressive day, allowing five hits, two walks and one run in his 7.1 innings pitched. Scott Rienguette came in to close out the inning, giving Washington State six outs to get a run.
The Cougs didn’t get one in the bottom of the eighth, going three up three down, and got into trouble in the top of the ninth. Angel Laya led off with a single, and was replaced by pinch runner Elijah Cook. Cook moved to second on a bunt, and then Brayden Jaksa was walked. A fielder’s chocie from Burke-Lee Mabeus got Washington State a second out, but runners at the corners.
Eugene Regional Preview: Meet The Washington State Cougars
Naulivou Lauaki then came to the plate, and blasted the ball over the center field wall, giving Oregon a 4-0 lead headed into the final frame. Gavin Roy grounded out for the first out, but Max Hartman then singled to give the Cougars some hope. A wild pitch Matt Priest advanced Hartmna, but Priest struck out swinging. Dustin Robinson then struck out, sending Washington State to the loser’s bracket.
Washington State and Oregon State will play one last time tomorrow, with the winner having the tough task of taking down the Ducks twice on their home field to keep their Omaha hopes alive.
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Watch video of high seas rescue off Oregon coast
A cruise ship, the Silver Whisper, rescued a Canadian man whose vessel broke down nearly 500 miles off the Oregon coast May 26.
A cruise ship rescued a Canadian man stranded on his boat nearly 500 miles of the Oregon coast on May 26, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The 74-year-old man, who the agency did not name, was sailing from Hawaii to British Columbia when his vessel ran into gale-force winds and 30-foot high waves. The 29-foot boat’s engine failed and the mast broke, injuring the man’s shoulder.
He’s made the same trip four times before, Coast Guard officials said, and had food, water, a life raft and a life jacket on board. The mariner used his handheld satellite communicator to contact the U.S. Coast Guard’s Northwest District, which the agency used to track him.
He was rescued 489 miles off the coast of Tillamook.
“This mariner’s experience and preparedness allowed the Coast Guard and other agencies to communicate with him and effect a rescue,” Coast Guard Northwest District Search and Rescue Program Manager Scott Giard said. “His foresight to bring a satellite communicator averted a tragedy.
Coast Guard officials deployed a C-27J cargo plane from Sacramento, California, to function as their “eye in the sky” as they coordinated the rescue because he was so far from the shore.
The plane assessed the state of the sea and the damage to the vessel. It was also equipped with life rafts, communication gear and rations that could sustain a survivor while responders coordinate the rescue, officials said.
Coast Guard officials contacted a cruise ship, the Silver Whisper, that went 120 off its charted course to rescue the stranded Canadian man. The Coast Guard found the Silver Whisper by tapping into its Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue system, a global network that tracks the positions of commercial ships that participate in the program.
Eder Campuzano is the local news editor for the Statesman Journal. He can can be reached at ecampuzano@statesmanjournal.com. Find him on Bluesky at @ederc.bsky.social or Threads @ederc.
The Oregon Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 29, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from May 29 drawing
19-24-47-59-65, Mega Ball: 07
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from May 29 drawing
1PM: 6-7-9-9
4PM: 4-3-8-0
7PM: 1-2-5-0
10PM: 3-9-9-3
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Oregon Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 7:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 7:59 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 4: 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. daily.
- Win for Life: 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Megabucks: 7:29 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Oregon editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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