Oregon
Stargazer’s paradise: Oregon area named world’s largest dark sky sanctuary
With clear skies and sparse trees, the Oregon outback has long been regarded as a stargazersâ paradise. Now the region is home to the worldâs largest dark sky sanctuary, offering pristine views of the night sky across 2.5m acres.
The Oregon outback international dark sky sanctuary received the certification this week, becoming the largest of 19 sites around the world with the same designation. The sanctuary covers Lake county in south-eastern Oregon, a remote area roughly half the size of New Jersey, and could eventually expand to include more than 11m acres.
The regionâs skies are already among the darkest in the world, according to a statement from DarkSky International, and the certification will ensure the area remains protected.
âAs the population of Oregon and the trend of light pollution continue to rise, the unparalleled scale and quality of the outbackâs dark skies will long serve as a starry refuge for people and wildlife alike,â said Dawn Nilson, an environmental consultant who authored the areaâs application for the certification.
The high-desert region is also home to one of the oldest known human occupation sites in North America and portions of the Pacific Flyway, a key aerial highway for migratory birds, and is an important habitat for bighorn sheep and sage grouse. Its skies are commonly described as âinky or velvety blackâ, and the isolation of the region and lack of buildings and power lines often shocks visitors, according to Travel Southern Oregon.
The area is incredibly remote â and stunning, said Bob Hackett, the executive director of Travel Southern Oregon, who helped facilitate the nomination.
âIf you drive up, youâre going to be in the middle of 2.5m acres of sagebrush and rock and antelope, and itâs going to be a very remote experience by design. Thatâs why itâs so dark,â Hackett said.
âItâs surprising sometimes to see that many stars all at once. It catches you and it makes you pause because you feel like you can touch it,â he said. âItâs a very personal experience that most people are going to experience by themselves or with a close friend or family and thatâs right. That vastness of the whole cosmos up there â it almost makes you get closer to the people youâre with on the ground.â
Given its remoteness, visitors should be prepared before traveling to the area, he added.
The certification involved a years-long arduous effort by federal, state and local officials, community members and several legal jurisdictions. It required parties to agree to the plan as well as monitor the night sky and institute lighting improvements, DarkSky International said in a statement. Almost 1.7m acres of the sanctuary are overseen by the US Bureau of Land Management.
Tourism officials hope that the designation will help boost tourism in the region in a way that benefits local communities.
âWe are going to leave this landscape better for the work that we did and also drive community economic development in a way [communities] choose,â Hackett said.
The Oregon sanctuary is among more than 200 places around the world that have sought to protect the night sky, according to DarkSky International. Other locations include Californiaâs Death Valley, Exmoor national park in the UK and Ainos national park on the Greek island of Kefalonia. The initiative began more than 20 years ago to encourage the protection of dark sites through âeffective lighting policies, environmentally responsible outdoor lighting and public educationâ, according to DarkSky International.
CURRY COUNTY, Ore. (KPTV) – A Texas man wanted for child sex crimes was arrested in Curry County on Tuesday afternoon.
The Curry County Sheriff’s Office says Kenneth Leatherwood of Bastrop, Texas, was arrested with the help of Oregon State Police and U.S. Marshals just after 12:30 p.m.
Leatherwood, who is accused of sex-related crimes involving a child in Texas, was reportedly found camping in a heavy wooded area near Lucas Lodge in Agness.
Investigators say Leatherwood has been on the run from Curry County law enforcement since June 16 after reports that he had been seen with a stolen car in the Agness area.
Leatherwood was also believed to have stolen weapons with him.
His dog was also found and returned to the suspect’s family in good shape, according to the sheriff’s office.
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PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – Fireworks are on sale in Oregon until July 6, but state and local rules limit where they can be used and what types are allowed.
In Portland, fireworks use and sales are banned year-round.
Fireworks are also banned on beaches and in state and national parks.
Statewide, fireworks that fly into the air, explode, act unpredictably or move more than 12 feet horizontally are illegal. Banned fireworks include sky lanterns, missiles, rockets, Roman candles, firecrackers, cherry bombs and M-80s.
Fountains, sparklers, ground spinners and smoke devices are among the fireworks allowed under state rules.
Officials said people should not call 911 to report illegal fireworks. They said reports should go to the non-emergency line for the area.
First responders said there were 263 fires across Portland during last year’s fireworks season, and 27 were caused by fireworks.
For more details about fireworks regulation in Oregon, click here.
In Washington, fireworks sales legally begin Sunday and run through July 4.
Copyright 2026 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.
GEARHART, Ore. (KATU) — Another gray whale washed up on the Oregon coast last week, this time in Gearhart, according to Seaside Aquarium.
The 41-foot-long male had been dead for months before washing up on the beach, Seaside Aquarium general manager Keith Chandler said.
He noted that there have been 19 total whale strandings or carcasses washing up on beaches just this year on the Oregon coast region.
The Cascadia Research Collective is reporting at least 30 on Washington coastline alone. | TIMELINE
Of those deaths, more than half were at least partially attributed to malnutrition. That could have been the cause in more strandings, however, necropsies were not performed in roughly a dozen of the 30 strandings.
Chandler said strong wind from the west this year has been contributing to why coastal towns are seeing a lot of whales and other things washing up on shore. However he also noted that many of the Grey whales washed ashore were emaciated with necropsies showing signs of malnourishment.
“The food sources have been compromised. The warmer water means the nutrients that they’re getting aren’t as good, so the whole food chain is kind of not as healthy,” Chandler said.
He pointed to the warming waters with climate change as the main reason noting that warm water plankton–Grey Whale’s main food source–is thinner and has fewer nutrients than plankton in cooler waters.
Chandler says this whale will not have a necropsy done because of its level of decomposition.
“The fresher ones, the team from Portland State [University] will come down and they’ll go in and do measurements, take samples and stuff, measurements of the internal organs. But on one this decayed, you won’t gain anything from it scientifically. And it’s just kind of a mess to do when they’re this rotten,” he said.
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You can report a whale stranding to the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network Hotline by calling 1-866-767-6114.
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