Albany Democrat-Herald

Steve Amen, executive producer and host of Oregon Field Guide, believes he has the "greatest job on earth" and that he is blessed to live in Oregon.

"I grew up on a small farm in Wyoming," Amen said during this morning's fifth annual "Eggs and Issues" ag appreciation breakfast at the Linn County Fair & Expo Center, sponsored by the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce. "It's hard to imagine that a show like Oregon Field Guide could survive as long there."

The program, which is Oregon Public Broadcasting's highest-rated locally produced series, is entering its 19th season. Amen has been with OPB for 20 years, and before that spent seven years in commercial news as a producer, reporter, executive producer and news director.

"We could only do this type of show in Oregon. We never run out of story ideas," Amen said. "We probably have 50 or 60 ideas on the table right now for the upcoming season. Oregon is filled with great places, interesting wildlife and a variety of exciting ways people can recreate."

Amen, who has won both national and regional Emmys for his work, gave several hundred mid-valley farmers and agribusiness people a behind-the-scenes look at the lengths his staff will go to produce the half-hour weekly series. He said it costs an estimated $35,000 to produce each show.

A video showed Amen's crew crossing a dangerous stretch of ocean by holding onto a steel cable as waves pounded them into nearby rocks. "We slept on a tarp so we could film nesting seabirds the next morning," Amen said.

Amen has visited every corner of the state, with occasional forays into Washington. He encouraged the audience to visit the tram in the Wallowa Mountains that will take them 8,000 feet up Mount Howard and provide a breathtaking view of the Eagle Cap Wilderness Area; the Steens Mountains; the Malheur Caves; Balancing Rocks in the Deschutes National Forest; the Rogue River; and Oregon's many other captivating outdoor areas.

Photos he took from an airplane during the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, showed "nature at its most spectacular."

Amen also appreciates Oregon's abundance of wildlife, from snow geese and white pelicans to sure-footed Rocky Mountain goats and bighorn sheep to majestic elk.

The series has also allowed Amen to view how Oregonians recreate including ice climbing, sand boarding, parachute surfing and mountain biking.

"The world's stupidest sport, though, has to be mountain unicycling," Amen said, drawing laughter from the crowd. "There are no brakes, no neutral. You travel as fast as gravity will take you. It's catching on in the Bend area."

Amen, who is in his mid-50s, said he has slowed down a bit in recent years when it comes to the more demanding assignments, giving younger reporters a chance to explore the state.

Many of the show's segments have been repackaged and sold in 17 foreign countries, Amen said.

Chamber president Emerson Smoker Sr. said the annual breakfast is a way to show the community's appreciation for agriculture in the mid-valley.

Alex Paul can be reached at alex.paul@lee.net or 812-6076.