Oregon
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Curt Melcher retiring in April
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Curt Melcher is retiring in April, creating an opening for a position that plays a major role in managing the state’s flora and fauna at a critical time.
Melcher, who has been director since 2014 and recently served as president of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, announced his retirement on Wednesday.
“It’s been an honor and privilege to serve as the director for the last nine years,” Melcher said in a statement. “I appreciate and respect the mission driven staff that serve the resource and our customers.
ODFW’s next director will be selected following a recruitment process expected to start in January, the agency said. The Fish and Wildlife Commission will make the appointment in partnership with Gov. Tina Kotek’s office and hopes to conclude the recruitment prior to April 1.
Melcher guided the department through difficult issues such as budget shortfalls, the rise of wolves and the complex politics of Oregon’s salmon and steelhead runs. Melcher took over a department facing a $32 million budget shortfall and has faced continual decisions over what programs to keep, and which to cut.
“Under Melcher’s leadership, the agency’s finances have been stabilized while avoiding a fee increase for hunters and anglers for a decade,” the ODFW news release announcing his retirement said.
Melcher grew up in northwest Oregon and graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.S. degree in Biology. He has been with ODFW since 1985, starting his career doing fish surveys on the Columbia and Willamette rivers before rising to deputy director from 2007-2014.
Melcher touted his record on conservation that included conserving new properties of 16,000 acres on the Minam River, 10,000 acres on the Lower Deschutes River and numerous properties in the Willamette Valley, the news release said. He also highlighted “development of historic cooperative agreements with six Tribes that enhance their sovereignty and give each Tribe a stronger voice in protecting fish, wildlife and their habitats—a mission both the Tribes and the agency share.”
“Director Melcher will leave a well-run agency,” said Mary Wahl, chair of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission. “The Commission has deep respect and appreciation for the highly competent and dedicated ODFW staff, and for Director Melcher’s leadership of the Agency.”
In seeking out a new director, Wahl said the commission would look for someone with a “strong record protecting and managing our fish, wildlife and habitat assets, and one who will be an exceptional leader creating a vision for ODFW’s work that meets the challenges Oregon faces from accelerating climate change and biodiversity loss impacts, and threats to our cold water sources.”
Melcher highlighted the department’s employees.
“We have a dedicated and talented workforce and I leave the agency in good hands,” he said.
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 15 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 Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.
In this photo provided by Wheeler County Fire & Rescue, a firefighter looks on as the Butte Creek Fire burns on a hillside near Clarno, Ore.
Wheeler County Fire & Rescue
A wildfire that started in unincorporated Wasco County over the weekend grew to nearly 1,800 acres, fire officials said Monday morning. The fire continued to grow to 3,000 acres as of that evening.
The Butte Creek Fire was first reported just before 3 p.m. on Sunday on the east side of the John Day River, just north of Clarno, Oregon.
The fire is burning on private and U.S. Bureau of Land Management lands. Investigators haven’t said yet what caused the fire. No closures or evacuations were in place as of Tuesday morning.
Officials urged boaters in the general area to use caution, as helicopters could be pulling water out of the John Day River to help fight the fire.
The Butte Creek Fire is the first large wildfire of 2025 in Oregon.
Earlier this month, Gov. Tina Kotek announced that Oregon is expected to have a hot and dry summer, setting up a potentially devastating wildfire season ahead.
Parts of the state benefited from decent snowpack and rainfall this winter, Kotek said. But early precipitation in the season could mean that grasses, brush and other vegetation dry out early and become wildfire fuel.
In this photo provided by Wheeler County Fire & Rescue, the Butte Creek Fire burns on a hillside near Clarno, Ore. The fire was first reported on May 25, 2025.
Wheeler County Fire & Rescue
Oregon’s in store for a bad wildfire season. But state officials aren’t worried about federal staffing
The wildfire season in the Pacific Northwest can last from May through October, but it’s typically at its most intense from July to September. During that time, firefighting resources may be stretched thin as crews fight several big fires at once.
Last year, Oregon saw its most destructive fire season since record keeping began in 1992, with nearly 2 million acres burned.
By late July 2024, the state had become the nation’s top firefighting priority. At one point that August, there were more than 13,000 firefighters battling Oregon blazes.
More than 1,000 wildfires burned across the state that year, including six “megafires” that at their peaks had fire perimeters larger than 100,000 acres each.
Record 2024 Oregon wildfire season keeps NWS meteorologists extremely busy
For news coverage and essential resources to help you stay informed and safe during wildfire events in the Pacific Northwest, visit opb.org/wildfires/.
Tips to manage poor air quality
Smoke from wildfires is increasingly impacting the Willamette Valley. Here are a few tips to manage poor air quality.
Oregon’s first major wildfire of the season, the Butte Creek Fire, has been mapped at 1,776 acres burning on the John Day River 9 miles north of Clarno in eastern Oregon as of May 27.
Firefighters were suppressing the blaze with multiple crews, engines, dozers and aircraft.
No evacuations or closures were in place. However, boaters on the popular stretch of the John Day River “are being asked to use caution as helicopters will continue dipping water out of the John Day River today,” according to Central Oregon Fire Information.
The fire was burning mostly in grass and rangeland forest.
Oregon is forecast to see the hottest temperatures of the season so far over the coming week, with temperatures reaching 90 degrees in eastern Oregon.
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 18 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors and BlueSky at oregonoutdoors.bsky.social.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are always on the look to add 5-star talent, and they may get another chance at one that has already committed to Oregon.
It appears that while Richard Wesley has committed to Oregon, which he did earlier this month, things may not be all sunshine in paradise as he’s still looking to take visits elsewhere. Wesley has an offer from 24 programs, so he really will have the picking of his choice when it comes to where he’ll play his collegiate ball.
Wesley plays for Sierra Canyon High School and is from Chatsworth, CA. He is a four-star recruit in 247Sports player rating system but then jumps to a five-star recruit in their composite scoring, sitting at the No. 2 EDGE rusher in the Class of 2026.
Ohio State is apparently going to get a shot at Wesley as he is going to take an official visit to Columbus. Texas, Texas A&M and Oregon are the other programs that he will have an official visit to as well per On3’s Hayes Fawcett.
The Buckeyes visit is set to be on August 30, and if you keep up with the Ohio State football schedule, that’s going to come just in time for Columbus to host the Buckeyes versus the Longhorns for Week 1 college football action.
Ohio State had an opportunity to recruit Zion Elee, the top defensive end in the class, but he committed to Maryland. The Buckeyes do appear to be the favorite for Cincere Johnson but don’t have a top-five defensive end in the Class of 2026 set to come to Columbus. Adding a player like Wesley, especially from a Big Ten rival like Oregon, would be a huge get for Matt Patricia and the Buckeyes defense.
That’s just another reason why Ohio Stadium is going to have to be rocking on August 30!
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