Lens on Learning PROGRAM Series
Bringing Speakers on the Natural World To Crooked River Ranch
Upcoming FANs programs (details below):
March 4, 4-6pm: New Bird Book by Chuck Gates
March 18, 4-6pm: Comet Impact by Eric Iseman
April 15, 4-6pm: Paiutes of the Malheur by David Wilson
May (date TBD): Geology by Al Albin
March 4, 4-6pm: New Bird Book by Chuck Gates
March 18, 4-6pm: Comet Impact by Eric Iseman
April 15, 4-6pm: Paiutes of the Malheur by David Wilson
May (date TBD): Geology by Al Albin

New FANs Guide to the Common Birds of the Deschutes Canyon Area
Presented by Chuck Gates
March 4, 2023 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Juniper Room at Crooked River Ranch
Books will be available for purchase!
Click HERE to register!
Come join us at the Juniper Room to hear Chuck Gates, the author of FANs newest field guide talk about the wacky, wonderful world of birds and the adventure of producing this “hot off the press” book!
Guide to the Common Birds of the Deschutes County Area is is a field guide to more than 100 common birds that are found on the sagebrush plateau and in the river canyons where Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties meet in Central Oregon. The guide is designed to fit in your pocket or small pack. It measures 4-1/4" x 8-1/2" and features heavy weight water resistant paper.
Use it to identify birds that you see on the many trails in the canyons of the middle Deschutes and lower Crooked Rivers and lower Whychus Creek and the surrounding sagebrush plateau. In addition to the factual information in this guidebook, readers will find the author's personal voice and sense of humor. It is a delight to read!
Chuck is the creator of the "Oregon Birding Site Guide" (www.ecaudubon.org/locations) and co-creator of "Central Oregon Nests and Young" (www.ecaudubon.org/nestsandyoung). He is a former Board Member of the Oregon Field Ornithologists and the East Cascade Audubon Society. Chuck developed the Central Oregon Bird Database and currently monitors the official county checklists for Oregon's 36 counties. He is the top bird lister in both Crook and Jefferson counties.
Chuck's interest in birds began with a Natural History course in college, but it really took off after college. He was teaching at Culver High School (his alma mater) when a freak storm blew hundreds of gulls into the local football field. Community members came to him for an explanation of why this happened. Of course, he did not know. His pride bruised, he set out to find out all he could about birds. Almost a lifetime later, that journey continues.
Cost to purchase the book is $15.00 for FANs members or $20.00 for non-members. Proceeds from the sale of this guide support the work of the Friends and Neighbors of the Deschutes Canyon Area (FANs). Books will be available for sale before and after the program.
Seating is limited in the Juniper Room, so registration is required and opens one month before the event at www.fansofdeschutes.org. All programs are free for FANs members! A donation by non-FANs members of $5 to help cover costs is much appreciated!
Presented by Chuck Gates
March 4, 2023 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Juniper Room at Crooked River Ranch
Books will be available for purchase!
Click HERE to register!
Come join us at the Juniper Room to hear Chuck Gates, the author of FANs newest field guide talk about the wacky, wonderful world of birds and the adventure of producing this “hot off the press” book!
Guide to the Common Birds of the Deschutes County Area is is a field guide to more than 100 common birds that are found on the sagebrush plateau and in the river canyons where Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties meet in Central Oregon. The guide is designed to fit in your pocket or small pack. It measures 4-1/4" x 8-1/2" and features heavy weight water resistant paper.
Use it to identify birds that you see on the many trails in the canyons of the middle Deschutes and lower Crooked Rivers and lower Whychus Creek and the surrounding sagebrush plateau. In addition to the factual information in this guidebook, readers will find the author's personal voice and sense of humor. It is a delight to read!
Chuck is the creator of the "Oregon Birding Site Guide" (www.ecaudubon.org/locations) and co-creator of "Central Oregon Nests and Young" (www.ecaudubon.org/nestsandyoung). He is a former Board Member of the Oregon Field Ornithologists and the East Cascade Audubon Society. Chuck developed the Central Oregon Bird Database and currently monitors the official county checklists for Oregon's 36 counties. He is the top bird lister in both Crook and Jefferson counties.
Chuck's interest in birds began with a Natural History course in college, but it really took off after college. He was teaching at Culver High School (his alma mater) when a freak storm blew hundreds of gulls into the local football field. Community members came to him for an explanation of why this happened. Of course, he did not know. His pride bruised, he set out to find out all he could about birds. Almost a lifetime later, that journey continues.
Cost to purchase the book is $15.00 for FANs members or $20.00 for non-members. Proceeds from the sale of this guide support the work of the Friends and Neighbors of the Deschutes Canyon Area (FANs). Books will be available for sale before and after the program.
Seating is limited in the Juniper Room, so registration is required and opens one month before the event at www.fansofdeschutes.org. All programs are free for FANs members! A donation by non-FANs members of $5 to help cover costs is much appreciated!
Evidence of Comet Impact on Ice Sheet and World-Wide Coastal Flooding Myths
Presented by Eric Iseman
March 18, 2023 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Juniper Room at Crooked River Ranch
Seating is limited in the Juniper Room, so registration is required.
Click HERE to register.
Eric Iseman will talk about the latest scientific proof of a cataclysmic event that led to the extinction of the Mega Fauna and the Clovis Culture at about 12,800 years before present. The lecture will show a number of images of the flood scapes of Washington State, the largest known flood in human history.
Eric retired as an Oregon State Parks Ranger after 20 years of service. He spent many of those years leading hikes throughout Smith Rock State Park and Fort Rock Cave where he also gave educational talks about Native American culture and history. He participated in archaeological excavations with the University of Oregon at Paisley Caves and coordinated Smith Rock State Park's annual Archaeology Celebration. He is a noted native rock art researcher involved in preserving the ancient pictographic images of this land's rich tribal heritage.
Eric has lived at Crooked River Ranch since 1997. He attended University of California Santa Barbara and University of Oregon studying history, geology and ecology. He is a noted native rock art researcher involved in preserving the ancient pictographic images of this land's rich tribal heritage.
The new FANs “Guide to the Common Birds of the Deschutes Canyon Area” will be available to purchase along with the Guides to Common Weeds and Native Plants.
All programs are free for FANs members! A donation by non-FANs members of $5 to help cover costs is much appreciated!
Presented by Eric Iseman
March 18, 2023 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Juniper Room at Crooked River Ranch
Seating is limited in the Juniper Room, so registration is required.
Click HERE to register.
Eric Iseman will talk about the latest scientific proof of a cataclysmic event that led to the extinction of the Mega Fauna and the Clovis Culture at about 12,800 years before present. The lecture will show a number of images of the flood scapes of Washington State, the largest known flood in human history.
Eric retired as an Oregon State Parks Ranger after 20 years of service. He spent many of those years leading hikes throughout Smith Rock State Park and Fort Rock Cave where he also gave educational talks about Native American culture and history. He participated in archaeological excavations with the University of Oregon at Paisley Caves and coordinated Smith Rock State Park's annual Archaeology Celebration. He is a noted native rock art researcher involved in preserving the ancient pictographic images of this land's rich tribal heritage.
Eric has lived at Crooked River Ranch since 1997. He attended University of California Santa Barbara and University of Oregon studying history, geology and ecology. He is a noted native rock art researcher involved in preserving the ancient pictographic images of this land's rich tribal heritage.
The new FANs “Guide to the Common Birds of the Deschutes Canyon Area” will be available to purchase along with the Guides to Common Weeds and Native Plants.
All programs are free for FANs members! A donation by non-FANs members of $5 to help cover costs is much appreciated!

Northern Paiutes of the Malheur: High Desert Reckoning in Oregon Country
Presented by David H. Wilson, Jr
April 15, 2023 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Juniper Room at Crooked River Ranch
Books will be available for purchase!
Seating is limited in the Juniper Room, so registration is required.
Click HERE to register.
Author and 2023 Oregon Book Award Finalist, David Wilson, will discuss Northern Paiutes of the Malheur.
“In 1879, the Northern Paiutes, a tribe living around the Malheur River, in Oregon, were forcibly removed from their reservation by the United States government. In this searing and painstakingly researched account, Wilson challenges the accepted story of their exile, which placed blame on their primary chief, Egan, for inciting hostilities against white settlers. Charting the Paiutes’ history – their beginnings as a tribe of “kin-cliques” without central leadership, their first encounters with settlers, and, finally, the Bannock War of 1878 – Wilson argues persuasively that they were victims not only of land theft but of a misinformation campaign whose effects have lasted more than a century.” The New Yorker, September 19, 2022.

About the author: David H. Wilson Jr. grew up in northern Ohio, but after months of canoeing in far northern Canada he succumbed to the lure of the Oregon Country. Since 1974, Portland has been home for him and his wife, and now their three children and two grandchildren. He taught law as an adjunct at three law schools and practiced employment law for 35 years. Decades of exploring the mountains and waters east of the Cascade Mountains sparked a curiosity about those who preceded him to this remarkable land. The result, eight years later, is Northern Paiutes of the Malheur.
All programs are free for FANs members! A donation by non-FANs members of $5 to help cover costs is much appreciated!