How will bolstered support for tribal sovereignty and the environment change the U.S.-Canada agreement?
Columbia River
Posted inJanuary 21, 2019: What Killed Washington's Carbon Tax?
What killed Washington’s carbon tax?
The curious death of 1631 and what it says about the future of addressing climate change.
Posted inArticles
Update: New law makes it easier to kill salmon-eating sea lions
In the Columbia River, up to 920 sea lions can be removed each year to protect fish.
Posted inDecember 10, 2018: Critical Mass
There’s no easy fix for our nuclear past
At Washington’s Hanford nuclear site, failing infrastructure and make-do plans as the West prepares for a new round of radioactivity.
Posted inDecember 10, 2018: Critical Mass
The arresting quiet of a crane migration in Washington
Sandhill cranes, cattle and the surprising benefits of their coexistence in the West.
Posted inMay 28, 2018: The River of Lost Souls
A bird’s song adds wonder to the world
If a song defines a place, what does it mean to lose it?
Posted inArticles
The House passes a bill limiting water for salmon
The legislation would override a court ruling calling for more water over dams.
Posted inNovember 13, 2017: Solace and Perspective
How much do salmon still shape the Northwest?
A new book seeks answers about the future of the iconic fish.
Posted inJuly 24, 2017: Down the Dark Mountain
Why we should celebrate unlovely fish
An angler documents his pursuit of the uglier species.
Posted inAugust 8, 2016: Line of Descent
Columbia River ‘shadow tribes’ face a housing crisis
The feds have promised lodging at traditional fish camps — but haven’t delivered.
Posted inArticles
In Utah, a massive water project is gaining ground
The project could divert 86,000 acre-feet from Lake Powell to the retirement community of St. George.
Posted inArticles
To save Washington’s Yakima Basin fish, just add water
A drought plan in one of the West’s most forward-thinking watersheds reconciles salmon and agriculture.
Posted inArticles
Livin’ on the dredge: Army Corps mucks out the Snake
Do the benefits of barge traffic outweigh the cost of dams?
Posted inArticles
Hurdles mount for Northwest coal exports
How high are the stakes for Western coal producers?
Posted inOctober 14, 2013: The New Geronimo?
The Latest: In Oregon, a record number of spawning salmon
BackstorySome 16 million salmon and steelhead once returned to the Columbia River Basin each fall, but impediments like the Bonneville Dam near Portland, Ore., decimated their numbers. Costly recovery efforts and courtroom battles brought only marginal improvements, and populations were largely supported by hatchery stock. In 2006, court-mandated spillovers — running less water through turbines […]
Posted inWotr
Singing about a land where free rivers flow on
Woody Guthrie is 100 years old this year, and alive as you or me. Music has a way of cutting the corner on mortality. What do you hear in his songs about America? I’m swept into a tangle of love, gratitude, unease, anger, respect, heartbreak, awe, curiosity and joy. His songs contain that jumble of […]
Posted inDecember 12, 2011: Out on a limb
Tribes try selective fishing to boost catch without harming wild salmon
“Power up!” yells Capt. James Ives as a pulley motor begins hauling a heavy fishing net onto the Dream Catcher‘s deck, here on the Columbia River in northeastern Washington. Three crewmembers from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation fold the net, piling its floats on one side of the boat and pleating its lead-weighted […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2011: Obama and the West
A Nez Perce elder spreads love for lamprey
Elmer Crow waits patiently while a crowd of fifth-graders settles on the lawn outside the Morrison Knudson Nature Center in Boise, Idaho. One by one, the students stop squirming as they realize that the Nez Perce elder is watching them, hands folded behind his back. Crow’s face is solemn but his eyes are playful. The […]
