Environment
Environment
![A Pacific lamprey moves through the Soda Springs Dam on the North Umpqua River.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Lamprey-featured-500x500.webp)
Lamprey Swim Past Oregon’s Soda Springs Dam, After 10 Years Of Waiting
Two Pacific lamprey have made history. The eel-like fish have made it past the Soda Springs Dam on Oregon’s North Umpqua River.
![Smoke from a wildfire. It’s tough to keep wildfire smoke out of homes. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory give some practical tips to help.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/wildfire-smoke-500x500.webp)
Scientists Work To Protect Indoor Air Quality From Wildfire Smoke
Even with smoke, you can breathe easier. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have practical tips to keep the air clean inside homes despite the smoke in Northwest skies.
![Applause and concern are swirling around a new feasibility assessment of restoring sea otters along the 900 miles of vacant historical range in Oregon and northern California.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/otter-500x500.webp)
Some Otterly Pleased By New Report On Bringing Sea Otters Back To Oregon Coast, Others Paws Down
A federal study ordered by Congress concluded it would be feasible to reintroduce sea otters to the Oregon and northern California coasts. However, that finding doesn’t mean the super-cute predators will be relocated into their former ocean habitat anytime soon.
![While hiking, Nancy Lust, with Friends of Rocky Top, watches a truck dump waste into a landfill in Yakima County. Lust lives near the landfill and has fought to learn more about what's getting disposed of near her home.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/putrid-500x500.webp)
‘It’s Putrid.’ Yakima County Neighbors Raise Air, Groundwater Concerns About Nearby Landfill
Up on a hilltop in Yakima County, Carole Degrave used to spend hours outside, watching wildlife, eating an apple, and enjoying the calm. In her backyard, wind chimes blow softly in the breeze. A 30-year-old apricot tree shades the center of her yard.
![Alexa Maine surveys the Middle Fork of the John Day River, searching for freshwater mussels.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CTUIR-scientists-500x495.jpg)
CTUIR Scientists Snorkel Rivers To Help Save Freshwater Mussels In The Northwest
Checking every inch of a streambed for freshwater mussels requires a snorkel and a wetsuit. It’s a messy job, but it’s vitally important as these keystone species are declining throughout the West.
![Kate Deters, a scientist with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, is about to make an incision in a juvenile Pacific lamprey so that she can insert an acoustic tag, which is about the size of a long grain of rice. The tag will allow scientists to track this lamprey as it travels downstream.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/lamprey-featured-500x500.jpeg)
Scientists Use Tiny Tags To Learn How Young Lamprey Travel Through Dams
Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are tagging and releasing lamprey to learn more about their journey to sea from inland rivers.
![Ice Harbor Dam](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Bonneville-Power-Administration-Ice-Harbor-dam-500x500.jpg)
Federal Report Recommends Breaching Lower Snake River Dams To Restore Salmon
To recover healthy salmon populations, one or more of the Snake River dams must be breached, in addition to other actions, according to a new draft report released Tuesday by federal officials.
![mysteries of the deep.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Scientists-Head-To-Sea-3-500x500.jpg)
Unlocking the Ocean’s Black Box With Science
Part 1: To Unravel Some Of The Ocean’s Mysteries, Scientists Head To Sea At least twice a year, scientists board the Bell M. Shimada, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
![Erik Steimle, vice president of Rye Development, stands near where his company would like to build an upper reservoir for a pumped storage project near Goldendale, Washington.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/pumped-storage-500x500.jpg)
Comments Sought On ‘One Of Best Pumped Storage Sites’ In Washington
Storing renewable energy is critical in the Northwest. A draft review for the region’s largest proposed energy storage project is available for public comment.
![The deck crew on NOAA's Bell M. Shimada hauls the CTD machine back on deck after it collected water samples from the ocean.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/crew-life-500x500.jpg)
More Than Work: Living On A Ship, Crew, Officers Become Friends, Family
The Bell M. Shimada is designed to gather scientific information. But the collaborative effort of the crew and officers makes scientific endeavors at sea possible.
![Jennifer Fehrenbacher looks at planktic forams under a microscope. The research is part of a two-week survey of the Northern California Current ecosystem.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/forams-500x500.jpg)
This Single-Celled Sea Critter Could Help Scientists Learn About Climate Change
One single-celled oceanic organism could provide big answers to questions about climate change.
![Rebecca Smoak, a graduate researcher at Oregon State University, and Maria Kavanaugh, an assistant professor at OSU, place plastic Nalgene bottles in an incubator to grow phytoplankton on the Bell M. Shimada, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/phytoplankton-500x500.jpg)
Growing Phytoplankton To Learn More About The Ocean’s Food Web
Phytoplankton make up an extremely important part of the ocean’s food chain, serving as food for organisms that feed young salmon and other fish in the ocean.