To battle inequality and sprawl, conservation groups are looking beyond rural areas.
Washington
Posted inMarch 19, 2018: Desert, Divided
A trapped coyote; human waste pollutes Denali; public lands on the runway
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
Northwest tribes aid a fight against fossil fuels
Two Pacific Northwest conflicts exemplify a union between tribal nations and anti-fossil fuel advocates.
Posted inArticles
The Cold War’s nuclear legacy still leaches
Washington’s Hanford site is a lesson for politicians considering new nuclear weapons.
Posted inMarch 5, 2018: Drilling Chaco
Why we should reconsider the starling
An author explores the unlikely relationship between a musical genius and avian pariah.
Posted inMarch 5, 2018: Drilling Chaco
Latest: Return of the giant orange-toothed rodents
Invasive nutria were eradicated from California but are coming back.
Posted inMarch 5, 2018: Drilling Chaco
Interior opens more Western waters to offshore drilling
Officials from both parties ask Secretary Ryan Zinke to reconsider.
Posted inFebruary 19, 2018: Unfrozen North
Latest: Washington state denies oil-by-rail terminal
Citing risks, Gov. Inslee rejects plans for the nation’s largest oil terminal.
Posted inMarch 5, 2018: Drilling Chaco
Fight over household wells highlights rural growing pains
Can Washington balance development with the needs of rivers, fish and water users?
Posted inArticles
The allure of horse-powered farms
Photos of Washington homesteads, where an old practice draws young farmers.
Posted inJanuary 22, 2018: A Separatist State of Mind
Climate change forced me to leave the place that I love
After finding their dream town, a family fled drought and fire.
Posted inJanuary 22, 2018: A Separatist State of Mind
When Atlantic salmon escape in the Pacific, who cleans up?
Coastal tribes will be dealing with this summer’s Atlantic salmon spill for years.
Posted inFebruary 5, 2018: Caught Between Crises
‘Atmospheric rivers’ aid the West — and imperil it
Improved storm forecasts could help reservoir managers store more water while avoiding floods.
Posted inArticles
2017 in natural disasters
From massive wildfires to melting ice, the calamities that affected the West this year.
Posted inArticles
Why hatchery fish may fail in the wild
New research gives insight into how to better help struggling Northwest salmon populations.
Posted inArticles
The disappearance of Washington’s killer whales
The endangered whales are at a 30-year low, tied to depressed chinook salmon runs.
Posted inArticles
The Park Service needs to do more to connect
The agency has worked so hard to attract white, outdoorsy men that it has trouble going further.
Posted inArticles
Ski resorts prepare for warmer Northwest winters
Shrinking snowpack has led some resorts to use costly, water-intensive snowmakers.
Posted inOctober 30, 2017: The Changing Face of Woods Work
Latest: More pushback against coal export terminals
Proposed terminal in Longview, Washington, denied key water permit.
Posted inArticles
A Northwest tribal sovereignty battle, centered on culverts
21 tribal nations wait to see if the Supreme Court will hear a decades-old case about salmon.