BRIEFLY.

Byline: The Register-Guard

NEWS & NOTES

Youth Corps has openings

The Northwest Youth Corps has openings for Lane County youths (ages 11 to 15) willing to work outdoors on habitat and trail projects. The openings are for the third and final summer NYC session, which runs Aug. 15-Sept. 2. Participants can earn up to $165 for working five hours a day, five days a week in locations such as Hendricks Park, the West Eugene Wetlands, Mount Pisgah and Laurel Valley Organic Farm. The teens also participate in recreational activities such as hikes through old growth forests, to waterfalls and over sand dunes. For details, call 349-5055 or log on to: www.nwyouthcorps.org.

Bear teeth being collected

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife researchers are asking successful bear hunters throughout Oregon this fall to submit the bear's premolar tooth and female reproductive organs to help with a study designed to more accurately estimate Oregon's bear population. Tooth collection has been under way in southwest Oregon for seven years, but this is the first time researchers have asked for hunter submissions statewide. The teeth will help count bears using a unique method. Earlier this summer, researchers lured bears into bait stations by hanging small sacks containing tetracycline capsules wrapped in bacon. The chemical stains the bears' teeth, and the stain is visible under ultraviolet light. Since researchers know how many bears ate the bait, the ratio of stained to unstained teeth will allow them to calculate a total population figure. The bear meat is safe to eat and will not stain the teeth of people who eat the meat.

Raptors need good homes

The Cascades Raptor Center is looking for suitable homes for barn owls and American kestrels that it received as babies and which are now fully flighted and ready for release. The center is looking for property owners who can provide open, rural country for barn owls and kestrels and who are willing to put up a nest box on their property. Details: Louise Shimmel at 485-1320 or [e-mail].

`Teak surfing' ban adopted

The Oregon Legislature has approved a ban on "Teak surfing," or hanging on to the rear of a boat until the boat's wake builds enough to allow body surfing. The practice is considered extremely dangerous, due to the swimmer's proximity to the boat propeller and to the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning. Effective in 2006, anyone operating a motorboat with someone holding onto or occupying the portion of boat aft the transom faces a $360 fine.

PWC operators cautioned

A rash of personal watercraft (PWC) accidents that produced several serious injuries and one fatality prompted the Oregon Marine Board to issue a call for more caution on the state's waterways. Paul Donheffner, Marine Board director, said PWC operators can avoid accidents by holding their speeds down to 10 mph or less when approaching within 100 feet of another under way vessel.