Fires across the region have blanketed the Northwest in smoke. Blazes in California and British Columbia are also adding to the thick, reddish-gray haze. Continue Reading Fires In Canada And California Add To Northwest’s Smoky HazeRead More
An Oregon-based group of shipwreck hunters wants to find the historic remains of the first steamship to provide service in the Puget Sound in the 1800's. The shipwreck search was inspired by one Port Townsend, Wash., man's obsession. Read More
The U.S. Drought Monitor says the entire state of Washington is abnormally dry. In Oregon, nearly 90 percent of the state is facing moderate to severe drought. Continue Reading The Entire Northwest Is Abnormally Dry, Read More
Weather predictions across the West are calling for excessive heat and more dry weather this week. That forecast is anything but good news in the Northwest, where significant risk of wildfire continues to increase. Continue Reading Read More
A variety of forest experts say that one of the best ways to reduce the threat of these mega-blazes is to use fire itself. They say we need to increase the pace of prescribed fire and let some wildfires continue to burn when it’s safe to do so. Of course, there’s not nearly as much political support for letting fires burn as there is for putting fires out. Read More
Fire officials say this year is on par with 2014 and 2015 – two of the worst seasons on record in the Northwest. Things are ramping up nearly a month earlier than previous years, and resources are stretched thin. Continue Reading Resources Read More
An animal advocacy group says the federal government shouldn’t perform sterilization surgeries on wild horses in southeastern Oregon to control their numbers. Continue Reading Can Oregon Control The Wild Horse Population? Advocacy Read More
An initiative that would ban state funding for abortion is heading to the November ballot in Oregon, setting up an election battle over abortion in what has been regarded as one of the most pro-choice states in the country. Continue Read More
The West is way behind on reducing the buildup of hazardous fuels we created. And much of the work we do to reduce those fuels is missing the key ingredient: fire. Continue Reading Efforts To Reduce Wildfire Risk Fall Short, Buck ScienceRead More
Northwesterners are hearing a lot about mountain lions lately. Since May, an extremely rare fatal attack in the Washington Cascades, a Willamette Valley pool party interrupted by a wandering cat and a viral Facebook video of a mountain lion lounging in a southern Oregon woman’s living room have made headlines across the region.
Are the Northwest’s mountain lions acting Read More
Three decades after Oregon blazed a trail by enacting statewide sanctuary laws, voters will have a say in repealing them this fall. Continue Reading Measure To Repeal Oregon’s Sanctuary Law Makes November BallotRead More
East of The Dalles, Oregon, the Substation Fire has charred over 50,000 acres and is still spreading. A lot of that charred ground so far is golden, soft white wheat. And when grain burns, farmers can lose a lot of money – even if they have crop insurance. Read More
A fast-growing wildfire east of The Dalles, Oregon, that forced evacuations Tuesday, July 17 and the following day is expected to make a push to the south and east due to dangerous fire conditions in the area, fire officials said. Read More
An Oregon woman who was badly injured and stranded for a week after her Jeep plunged 250 feet over a cliff into the ocean near Big Sur in California says she survived by drinking fresh water dripping from moss until she was rescued by a couple hiking along the beach. Read More
Nearly 100 public water systems around Oregon—including the state’s largest—will be required to begin testing for harmful contaminants from algae blooms under new rules unveiled by the Oregon Health Authority. Continue Reading Nearly 100 Read More
The Oregon Supreme Court announced June 27 it would not certify ballot language for Initiative Petition 43, a proposed ban on military-style semi-automatic weapons in Oregon. Instead, the court referred draft ballot language back to Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum for revision, finding substantial flaws in her office’s last attempt. Read More
Federal officials anticipate a big wildfire season in the Northwest throughout July, August and possibly into September. Continue Reading Big Wildfire Season And Summer Of Drought Await The NorthwestRead More
After issuing two drinking water advisories for toxins produced by a harmful algae bloom, the city of Salem is testing out a possible solution. Continue Reading Salem Tests A New Way To Remove Toxins From Drinking WaterRead More
New genetic research on the Northwest’s wolves finds they descended from a mix of two different types — some from the northern Rocky Mountains and some from coastal rain forests. That means the packs that form in our region have more genetic diversity — a key to survival. Read More
With funding help from the Bonneville Power Administration, the tribes have worked to move lamprey around the dams and up to the Umatilla River. Tribal members were excited when they saw the fish start returning. In 2011, Jackson thought 129 fish in the river was a major step. Read More
Oregon has already declared drought in several counties, and two more counties are under review by the governor's office. That's a common theme -- drought is stretching across the Western United States. Continue Reading ‘This Is Read More
Beginning next month, driver’s licenses in Washington state will be changing. Regular licenses and ID cards will be marked with the words “federal limits apply.” Oregon is going down this path too, but not until mid-2020. Continue Reading Read More
Over the past year, more than 10,000 tons of Oregon’s recycling has been dumped in landfills because there was nowhere else for it to go.
It’s one of the consequences of new restrictions on shipping recyclables to China. Continue Reading This Is Why A Read More
Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson is being treated for a “small, cancerous brain tumor,” he announced Wednesday. Richardson, Oregon’s Secretary of State since 2017, revealed in his regular newsletter that he was diagnosed with cancer in May and that he’s feeling “blessed and optimistic.” Read More
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Two projects that would convert cropland in Oregon and Washington into large solar farms are hitting new bumps. Last week the Oregon Court of Appeals issued a ruling that blocks a planned 80-acre solar project on farmland outside Medford in southern Oregon. Read More
One of the Northwest’s largest dairies has faced some big troubles in its first year of operation. The rise and rapid fall of Lost Valley Farm has deeply frustrated environmentalists and has shocked neighboring farms and fellow dairy operators. Read More
Lost Valley Farm, based in Boardman, is Oregon’s second largest dairy. It’s faced opposition from the beginning. Environmental groups worried about the risk of liquid manure and wastewater pollution that leaking out of storage areas. Continue Read More
In what is likely a record, the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office in recent weeks fielded nearly 1,600 pages of comments criticizing a ballot title for Initiative Petition 43. Continue Reading Oregonians Deliver Loads Of Comments About Proposed Read More
In July, seven Oregon craft breweries will start selling beer in reusable glass bottles in the country’s first statewide refillable beer bottle program. Continue Reading The Refillable Beer Bottle Is Making A Comeback In OregonRead More
Before there was an Oregon, Idaho and Washington state, there was the Oregon Country. Early settlers and pioneers voted to form a provisional territorial government 175 years ago this week. The vote was close and featured arguments that may sound surprisingly familiar today. Read More
Some students in the Hermiston School District will not participate in a statewide voluntary reading program after school administrators deemed one of the books inappropriate. The decision was based on a book about a transgender girl. Read More
A Northwest company is aiming to build the country’s first house-sized reactor that can put electricity onto the grid. Continue Reading Northwest Company Gets Closer To Building Small Nuclear ReactorsRead More
In congressional testimony Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said he has heard the strong opposition from the West Coast to the Trump administration's plan for offshore oil and gas drilling. He expressed doubt drilling would ever happen along the Pacific Northwest coast. Read More
Sage grouse are found in 11 Western states. But they’re in trouble. In Oregon, their fragmented habitat is threatened by human development, invasive species, wildfires and overgrazing. Researchers are just starting to look into raven depredation, a more controversial problem for the birds. In a policy shift, the federal government wants sage grouse work to focus on the Read More
After a six-year delay, Timberline Lodge says it is moving forward with construction of a mountain bike park on Mount Hood. Continue Reading Mount Hood Bike Park Moves Forward After Lawsuit DismissalRead More
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is ditching part of the federal tax plan after all. After weeks of speculation on her intentions, Brown announced Friday that she’ll sign Senate Bill 1528, ensuring that Oregon won’t follow the lead of the federal government in granting a tax break to a subset of businesses. Read More
Washington and Oregon have joined a lawsuit alleging U.S. Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt is violating the Clean Air Act. The lawsuit says the government needs to limit methane emissions from existing oil and gas facilities. Read More
Drone testing by a defense contractor has stopped after one of the company's prototypes crashed and set off a small wildfire near the Pendleton, Oregon, airport. Continue Reading Defense Contractor Stops Drone Testing After Crash And Fire Read More
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum says a move to include a question about citizenship on the 2020 census could wreak financial havoc on Oregon.
Rosenblum joined officials from 16 other states in filing a lawsuit to block what they call an “unconstitutional and arbitrary decision." Read More
What began as a hopeful experiment spiraled into a historic battle between a new-age spiritual group, their rural neighbors — and eventually the federal government. Continue Reading Documentary Examines Roots Of Rajneeshee Religious Group Read More
Members of Oregon’s congressional delegation say they’ve revived funding for an expired federal aid program that provided money to rural counties whose economies relied heavily on federal timber harvesting. Continue Reading Read More
A backlog of rape kits in Oregon is a year away from being eliminated following the passage of a state law mandating quicker testing, officials say. The kits collect biological material following reported sex crimes. Continue Reading Oregon Read More
It may still be wet and muddy out there, but it’s also the time of year when wildland firefighters start to gear up for hot, dry weather and wildfires. This year, the Washington Legislature approved $1.7 million in preventative fire management money (different from fire fighting) for the upcoming season. Fire managers are also waiting to see how much, if any, federal Read More
A youth detention case in Oregon could prove significant for immigration policy, possibly giving ICE more power over local jails. Or it could undercut their efforts to arrest people in the country illegally, especially in jurisdictions that are reluctant to cooperate with the agency. Read More
Most of Washington has had above average snow this winter, but the situation gets more dicey the farther south you travel. About half of Oregon is experiencing moderate drought already, and it looks like the Klamath Basin is once again going to be a focal point of water conflict in the West. Read More
There’s a lot less snow in the western U.S. than there was a century ago. That’s according to new research that found dramatic declines in snowpack as the seasons have gotten warmer. Continue Reading Snowpack Has Drastically Declined In The West This CenturyRead More
Ryan Payne, one of the leaders of the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, was sentenced Monday in Portland to three years and one month in prison and three years probation. Continue Reading Malheur Wildlife Refuge Occupation Leader Read More
An industrial mining explosives manufacturing company pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Friday for failing to notify authorities of the release of 13,000 pounds (6.6 tons) of ammonia into the air at its St. Helens, Oregon plant. Continue Reading Read More
Former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber allegedly violated state ethics laws 11 times during his third and fourth terms as governor, according to an investigative report. Continue Reading Ex-Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber Violated Ethics Laws 11 Read More
The whales off the West Coast depend on sound to communicate, navigate and find food. So, what happens to their health when we fill their habitat with noisy ship traffic? Continue Reading How Do Whales Respond To Noise Pollution? Drones May Tell UsRead More
