A longstanding court battle over the federal government’s plan to manage dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers could be on hold until next summer. Continue Reading 20-Year Legal Battle Over Salmon To Be Paused Until Next SummerRead More
Environment
With cooler temperatures and more moisture in the air, preparations for next year’s wildfires have begun, and this means planned fires. Continue Reading Prescribed Burning Begins In State ForestsRead More
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will hear a report Friday on potential changes to the 2022 spring bear hunt season. Continue Reading Controversial Spring Bear Hunt Up For Debate In WashingtonRead More
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says a report should come out this summer on the four controversial dams on the Lower Snake River. Continue Reading Inslee Says Lower Snake River Dams Report Should Be Ready This SummerRead More
WSU researchers unlock key to elk hoof disease mystery. Continue Reading Unlocking An Elk Hoof Disease MysteryRead More
Salmon are now spawning in waters blocked by Grand Coulee Dam. It's the start of a larger effort to reintroduce salmon into the blocked area. Continue Reading Salmon Spawning Above Grand Coulee Dam A ‘Hopeful’ SightRead More
As the weather gets colder the thought of wildfire may be floating away like smoke in the wind. But while the season is wrapping up, the management of wildfire isn't over. Continue Reading Is Fire Season Year-Round Now?Read More
Maine's population of rare Atlantic puffins took a hit this year, as the number of chicks to survive a tough summer plummeted. The state's coastal bays and the Gulf of Maine is among the fastest-warming large water bodies on the planet, making the puffins' fate a test-case for how climate change could disrupt marine ecosystems worldwide. Read More
ICB Survey of the area East of the Salmon River where cobalt is being sought. Courtesy of IGS. BY RACHEL SUN Work to provide information on cobalt deposits in Idaho’s… Continue Reading Geological Survey Explores Idaho’s Salmon Region For Read More
New study shows how N95 masks help keep smoke particles out of your lungs. Continue Reading Donning An N-95 Respirator During Wildfire Smoke Events Could Protect Your HealthRead More
A new poll supported by environmental groups found Washington voters West and East of the Cascades support dam removal. Continue Reading Poll Finds Many Washington Voters Support Removing Snake River DamsRead More
Washington State Parks will need to search for a new permanent director, after Peter Mayer resigned Wednesday. Continue Reading Washington State Parks Director Resigns 7 Months Into The JobRead More
They went pound for pound, gut to gut. Coming into the final round, both animals had fervent support online. But in the end, 480 Otis was crowned the winner of the Fat Bear Week tournament — a competition made all the more unique by the fact that none of its entrants have any idea it exists. Read More
More than 120,000 gallons of oil that spilled into the Pacific Ocean has reached the Southern California coastline, closing parts of the beach as officials warn residents to stay away from the slick. Continue Reading A massive Read More
Federal regulators starting this spring will require dam operators to limit hot water pollution caused by the four Lower Snake River dams. Continue Reading Federal Regulators To Limit Hot Water In Snake, Columbia RiversRead More
Health officials are testing Tri-Cities, Washington drinking water twice a week for toxic algae since a half-dozen dogs were sickened or died recently after being on the Columbia River. And the rivershore is closed in Howard Amon Park in Richland. But toxic algae is a nationwide problem, and we still have much to learn. Read More
The draft Northwest Power Plan is dramatically different from previous versions. People can comment on the plan through Nov. 19. Continue Reading More Renewable Energy, Less Energy Efficiency In New Power PlanRead More
Northwest wildlife and wildlife habitat could get a helping hand next week from the federal government. Continue Reading NW Conservation Groups Push For Infrastructure Package Ahead Of U.S. House VoteRead More
KUOW special on Malden Washington's recovery after devastating fire. Continue Reading A Wildfire Burned 85% Of This Washington Town – This Is Their Recovery StoryRead More
Reporter Courtney Flatt finds out who is the person in a box of old pictures. Continue Reading How A Box Of Negatives Led To A Journey Through Northwest Mountaineering HistoryRead More
Pets dead or sick after coming in contact with Columbia River water near the Tri-Cities, Wash. Now health officials have confirmed the culprit, Anatoxin-a in toxic algae. Continue Reading Six Dogs Sickened Or Dead Near Read More
Research photos taken with a drone show multiple killer whales are close to giving birth in one of the Pacific Northwest's critically endangered pods. The late-stage pregnancies stirred excitement among whale watchers -- and also renewed worries about the availability of adequate food supply for the mothers and babies. Read More
The state of Oregon has set an ambitious goal to prepare more families in earthquake country to be "two weeks ready" after a disaster. Washington's emergency management agency is also seeking more funding to prepare people in a similar way. Read More
More white-tailed deer are dying in the Northwest of viruses that often cause more die-offs after hot summers and droughts. Continue Reading Northwest Deer Dying Of Drought-Related Viral DiseaseRead More
The number of ferruginous hawks in Washington continues to decline. The birds face multiple threats, including wildfires, urban sprawl and loss of prey. Continue Reading Ferruginous Hawks In Washington Deemed EndangeredRead More
Fire officials hope to avoid another Labor Day weekend marked by extreme fires. Continue Reading Fire Officials Ask You Not To Make A ‘Tougher Season’ Tougher This Labor Day WeekendRead More
Wildlife advocates sued Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer after he deputized hound handlers to track and kill cougars. Continue Reading Judge Rules Klickitat County Sheriff’s ‘Dangerous Wildlife Policy’ Read More
As wildfires have burned throughout the Northwest this summer, some forest stands have fared better than others. Managers say that’s thanks, in part, to thinning and prescribed burns, which have made the stands more resilient in the face of wildfire. Read More
Whoosh Innovations said its fish passage system could transport salmon quickly over the Snake River dams – and generate $60 million over 10 years by diverting water from fish ladders to hydropower turbines. Continue Reading Could A New Fish Passage Read More
Sea otters are undeniably cute, but cuteness only goes so far when major economic interests are at stake. That's an inference you can make from the emergence of organized pushback to the possible reintroduction of sea otters along the Oregon Coast. Read More
Scientists have discovered they can track fire lines and can quickly draw attention to spot fires using satellites. Continue Reading How The View From Space Is Helping Fight Wildfires On The GroundRead More
Northern leopard frogs are rapidly disappearing in the Northwest. Biologists hope this effort will help the population in Washington. Continue Reading Hopping Into The Wild: Endangered Frog Release Could Help Read More
Funding to help fix culverts could open up cold water habitat to Northwest salmon. Continue Reading U.S. Senate Infrastructure Package Could ‘Significantly Improve’ Salmon HabitatRead More
This summer’s heat wave led to some unhealthy hot water for salmon. But, fish managers said it hasn’t been as devastating for salmon runs as the warm water temperatures were in 2015. Continue Reading Fish Read More
If you’ve ever backpacked in the Northwest’s mountaintops, you’ve likely spent some time among whitebark pines. These important trees are bringing together researchers across the West, who want to save them from a fatal fungus. Read More
From Oregon to the Dakotas, hay stocks for hungry cattle are already low. On top of that, ranchers say summer pastures are dry from the widespread drought. Continue Reading Western Ranchers Are Cuttin’ Herds Like Mad To Prep For A Read More
Earthquake researchers are eager to dig into a trove of new data about the offshore Cascadia fault zone. When Cascadia ruptures, it can trigger a megaquake known as "the Big One." The valuable new imaging of the geology off the Oregon, Washington and British Columbia coasts comes from a specialized research vessel. Read More
There are thread-like worms on Mount Rainier that reserachers are looking at live at 32 degrees or they die... called ice worms. Continue Reading The Mysterious Return Of Glacier Ice Worms On Mount RainierRead More
More manatees have died already this year than in any other year in Florida's recorded history, primarily from starvation due to the loss of seagrass beds, state officials said. Continue Reading Florida Breaks Annual Manatee Death Record In Read More
Wolf poachers go mostly undiscovered — but that hasn’t stopped nonprofit organizations from putting up significant cash rewards for information about these incidents. While rewards generally don’t lead to convictions, Defenders of Wildlife’s Gwen Dobbs says reward offers in cases of wildlife poaching can help raise public awareness, “hopefully serving as a deterrent Read More
It’s back to the drawing board for state regulators, after the Washington Court of Appeals ordered the Department of Ecology to rework permits for confined animal feeding operations, known as CAFOs. A panel of judges ruled that current waste discharge permits don’t adequately protect groundwater and don’t take climate change into account. Read More
Right now, those all-time heat records are preliminary. It will take a committee, more measurements and tests before those numbers can be officially entered into the record books. Continue Reading Not Official (Yet): Read More
As forecasters warned of a record-breaking heat wave in the Pacific Northwest and western Canada last weekend, officials set up cooling centers, distributed water to the homeless and took other steps. Still, hundreds of people are believed to have died from Friday to Tuesday. Read More
Indiscrete comments made by an ExxonMobil lobbyist to undercover activists may figure prominently in upcoming congressional hearings about the role of oil companies in the battle against climate change. Continue Reading Read More
Scores of deaths along the U.S. West Coast and in the Vancouver metro area in Canada are being blamed on an ongoing heat wave that has broken records. Continue Reading The Heat Wave Has Killed Dozens And Hospitalized More Read More
Cities were reminding residents where pools, splash pads and cooling centers were available and urging people to stay hydrated, check on their neighbors and avoid strenuous activities. The National Weather Service in Coeur d’Alene said this week's weather “will likely be one of the most extreme and prolonged heat waves in the recorded history of the Inland Northwest.” Read More
A major heat wave is hitting the Northwest. Heat and its long-term effects kills more people in the U.S. than any other weather-related issue. Now is the time to prepare. Here are some steps you can take to get ready: Continue Read More
Several Northwest cities set record high temperatures for Saturday. Spokane was not one of them. Its official high of 98 fell two degrees short. In eastern Washington, Pasco, Hanford and Yakima were among those setting records for June 26. Read More
As the mercury climbs this weekend, water temperatures are also expected to increase. Warmer waters can spell bad news for salmon, especially if the temperatures stay warm for long periods of time. Continue Reading Heat Read More
A large energy storage project in Washington will have to reapply for important water quality certifications. The state recently denied the certification because officials didn’t have enough information about the Goldendale Energy Storage Project. Read More
