Environment

Environment

Orchards are shown in the foreground of the Wenatchee Valley on Monday, November 19, 2018, in Wenatchee. KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer CREDIT: KUOW PHOTO/MEGAN FARMER

Contaminated Former Orchards In Central Washington One Step Closer To Being Safer

Homes, schools, parks and daycares on Central Washington’s former orchards could soon be one step closer to sitting atop less contaminated ground. A workgroup is finalizing a report to help spread the word about pesticide contamination from more than a century ago – and to give advice on how to help clean it up. Continue Reading Contaminated Former Orchards In Central Washington One Step Closer To Being Safer

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A coho salmon gapes for air, one of the symptoms of "urban runoff mortality syndrome," in Miller Creek in Normandy Park, Washington. Screenshot from University of Washington video

Scientists Pinpoint Chemical That’s Been Killing Northwest Coho Salmon. It Comes From Tires

Coho salmon returning to freshwater each fall often die, gasping for breath and swimming aimlessly, before they are able to spawn. Scientists now know why. After years of chemical sleuthing, scientists have pinpointed the toxic substance that’s been killing large numbers of coho salmon in Northwest creeks. Continue Reading Scientists Pinpoint Chemical That’s Been Killing Northwest Coho Salmon. It Comes From Tires

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Ferry House at Ebey's Landing. CREDIT: Rspang, CC BY-SA 4.0 bit.ly/2L7w2LH, via Wikimedia Commons

Opinion: A Magical Hike On Whidbey Island At Ebey’s Landing Whitewashes Native History

“Despite ‘Leave No Trace’ ethics, there are so many white fingerprints on public lands that it’s like a setting for a CSI episode. Ebey’s Landing, a national historic reserve, is no exception,” Claudia Lawrence writes in this opinion piece first published by Crosscut. Continue Reading Opinion: A Magical Hike On Whidbey Island At Ebey’s Landing Whitewashes Native History

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A northern spotted owl. CREDIT: Todd Sonflieth/OPB

Much More Than A Spotted Owl Fight: Northwest ‘Timber Wars’ Of 30 Years Ago Revisited In Podcast

Here’s a quick game: When you hear, “spotted owl,” what do you think of? If you were in the Northwest in the 1980s and 1990s, you may think of logging and a fight over endangered species versus jobs and lumber towns surviving. But there’s much more background in that fight than you may remember. Continue Reading Much More Than A Spotted Owl Fight: Northwest ‘Timber Wars’ Of 30 Years Ago Revisited In Podcast

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Adult fall Chinook salmon in the Priest Rapids Hatchery. CREDIT: PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY

Idaho Chinook Salmon Numbers Rise, For Now…But Extinction Looms

The number of chinook salmon returning to the Middle Fork of the Salmon River and its tributaries is just a tiny fraction of historic numbers, experts said. “More is better, but it’s still abysmal numbers,” said Russ Thurow, a research fisheries scientist with the U.S. Forest Service based in the small city of Salmon. “We’re bouncing around just above extinction.” Continue Reading Idaho Chinook Salmon Numbers Rise, For Now…But Extinction Looms

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