Cascade elk season starts

The general Cascade bull elk rifle hunting season starts this Saturday and runs through Oct. 24 in several Central Oregon wildlife management units and in units on the western slope of the Cascade Range.

In Central Oregon, the general season includes the Metolius, Upper Deschutes and West Fork Rock units. Hunters must purchase their tags by this Friday.

Elk numbers continue to grow slowly in the Cascade units, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Elk densities are moderate, but hunter densities are high in the roaded portions of the Cascade units.

Other Central Oregon units offer controlled elk hunting during later seasons. The Paulina-East Fort Rock, Maury, Ochoco and Grizzly units have seasons slated for Oct. 29-Nov. 2 and Nov. 8-16.

For more information, visit www.dfw.state.or.us or consult the 2014 Oregon Big Game regulations.

Musician raises money for bison

Bend-based musician Charles Button has recorded a double album called “White Buffalo — Bigger Than Real,” with half the proceeds to be donated to the White Bison Association. The album’s release date is Thursday, Button said, and there will be a release event from 4-5:30 p.m. at Ranch Records (831 NW Wall St., Bend) that day.

Button is a veteran musician and Native American Music Award winner who lives on a ranch with his wife, Cynthia Hart-Button, where they oversee a herd of 19 rare white buffalo, he said. His namesake band has been gigging busily around town for a few years.

“White Buffalo” includes two discs, one featuring what Button called “ambient Native American music” and the other packed with pop, rock and blues songs. Button wrote or co-wrote all 26 of the tracks and had help from some well-known friends, including percussionist Walfredo Reyes Jr., who has played with Santana and Chicago, saxophonist Phil Kenzie (Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart), guitarist Michael Thompson (Cher, Ray Charles) and a host of local players.

Samples of songs from the album can be heard at www.charlesbutton.com.

—Bulletin staff report