Welcome to the Oregon Paleo Lands Institute

Find Time! Explore Oregon’s Geologic and Natural Heritage With Us.

Our mission: Protect, promote, and educate about Oregon’s ancient and living landscapes, including the Earth’s most accessible place to view the past 50 million years of life, while supporting the rural communities of the John Day Basin.

The Oregon Paleo Lands Institute will help you discover Oregon’s past and explore its present landscapes. With the John Day basin as our “home base”, we provide trips, classes, and adventures throughout Oregon. You can fine-tune your skills in photography and art, collect fossils, learn about bats, butterflies, bunchgrass, and bears, earn college credit, float a wild and scenic river, or join us on a cycle trip. Let us guide you on a day hike through Painted Hills onto an ancient beach where pterosaurs flew and plesiosaurs swam. We’ll take you and your family on a customized day hike to collect fossils, touch a 44-million-year-old tree, visit a lakeshore 33 million years old, or volunteer to assist paleontologists in their research.

 


Support OPLI!

Your gift to OPLI is fully tax-deductible.

Your support of OPLI is vitally important in the coming year.

If you have been a member in the past and have let your membership lapse, we hope you will renew your membership today. Support throughout the year is important to help keep both the Field Center and our programs going and growing.

Joining our "Sustainable Funders" program with a gift each month, is a great way to support OPLI and increase your ability to give - instead of a one time gift at year end. Contact us to set up a convenient paper-free monthly gift.

Please be sure to take advantage of any employer gift-matching programs where you work and consider supporting our work through a corporate or business sponsorship.

Thank You!

To Join or Donate on line please click the links in the right column,

OPLI In the News

The Oregonian, September 20, 2009: New field center in Fossil shows off area's riches

The (Bend) Bulletin, August 28. 2009: Digging history in Fossil

More Stories

OPLI Field Center

OPLI Field Center
Summer Hours
June 8 - Labor Day

Tuesday - Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed Monday

Come in and explore the Field Center!

  • Learn about the 80 million year old "Mitchell Plesiosaur"
  • Explore the microscopic world of rocks and minerals
  • Learn how to dig and identify fossils
  • Participate in Hands-on Science Activities

Check out our Retail Shop - books, games, and more!


Current Exhibit:
The Mitchell Plesiosaur-
Tiger of the Cretaceous Seas

Plesiosaur

Learn More

Our Book & Gift Shop

Our retail store features a variety of science & nature books, hiking guides & maps, puzzles and games for kids, jewelry and local arts, Wheat Springs Bakery popped wheat snacks, and more!

Visitors Guide to the John Day Basin
John Day Basin Natural History Discovery Book

Experience the John Day Basin with OPLI!

Experience the stunning landscapes of the John Day Basin with OPLI this season. We offer Day Hikes, Adventure Trips, and can arrange a Custom Trip as well.

2010 Day Hikes and Adventure Trips

There are many ways to support our mission. If you would like to learn more about our Board of Directors, Council of Advisors, or other Volunteer opportunities, or make a financial contribution, please give us a call at (541) 763-4480.

Become a Member

Please consider supporting OPLI's educational and recreational mission by becoming an annual member. Just click the button below to learn about the available membership levels.

Donate

Help us connect people with Oregon’s extraordinary geologic history, the lessons of past climate change, and the Northwest’s changing ecosystems. We are the only learning center in Oregon dedicated to the geologic landscape. With your support, we can make outdoor exploration and learning a family activity.

For a print-and-mail Donation/Membership Form click here, or to donate on-line, click the button below.