The Southern Willamette Valley is experiencing very high pollen counts which are affecting people with allergies and even those without.

Dr. Kraig Jacobson is with Oregon Allergy Associates in Eugene. He takes daily measurements of pollen from grass and trees. The grass pollen was the highest of the year so far Monday morning at 890. Anything above 200 particles per cubic meter of air is considered very high. Jacobson advises staying inside to avoid exposure.

“Be indoors. Air conditioning removes about 80% of the pollen,” he said.

Jacobson said the reason the Eugene area experiences such high grass pollen is because the majority of rye grass seed is cultivated in the Willamette Valley.

“When we have all these thousands of acres in an enclosed valley. We’ve got the coast range to the

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