The town of Carnation has declared a state of emergency and is threatening dam managers with a lawsuit.
Washington
Posted inNovember 2024: The Once and Future Prairie
In Washington’s Yakima Valley, quinceañeras connect people and place
Teens are making the tradition their own with high-top sneakers, glowing dresses and Tiktok dances.
Posted inNovember 2024: The Once and Future Prairie
Is a farm that hosts weddings still a farm?
Agritourism divides a rural Washington county.
Posted inArticles
A lens on the Latino vote in Yakima, Washington
Organizers work to get out the vote within the diverse Latino population in the Yakima Valley.
Posted inArticles
In rural Washington, a ‘constitutional sheriff’ and his growing volunteer posse provoke controversy
Where some see a ‘rural neighborhood watch’ that saves money, others worry about liability and ties to extremism.
Posted inOctober 2024: Latino Vote
Latino voting power is building in Yakima
Activists in central Washington focus on informing voters and getting them to show up to the polls.
Posted inOctober 2024: Latino Vote
Poder latino
En el centro del estado de Washington, los organizadores latinos están promoviendo el voto y eligiendo a sus propios candidatos
Posted inOctober 2024: Latino Vote
The downballot issues driving the West’s 2024 elections
From climate and public lands to shifting political allegiances, the region faces critical choices at the ballot box.
Posted inArticles
The Department of Energy promised Yakama Nation $32 million for solar. It’s nearly impossible to access.
Held up by a series of bureaucratic hurdles, the funding could expire before the government lets the tribal nation touch a dime.
Posted inSeptember 2024: When Migrants Go Missing
What tribal leaders think about Interior’s dams report
The federal government has acknowledged the harms of Columbia River dams. Now what?
Posted inSeptember 2024: When Migrants Go Missing
‘I wanted to bring people together in a way that expressed connection and community’
#iamthewest: Giving voice to the people that make up communities in the region.
Posted inSeptember 2024: When Migrants Go Missing
Kinkajous, coprolites and geothermal jamborees
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
Washington solar project paused amid concern about Indigenous sites
Avangrid Renewables said they plan to review comments from tribal nations and private landowners.
Posted inAugust 2024: In the Wake of the Floods
Indigenous celebration of Hanford remembers the site before nuclear contamination
At the fourth annual Hanford Journey, Yakama Nation youth, elders and scientists share stories about a land that is a part of them.
Posted inArticles
When the dams come down, what happens to barge traffic?
Farmers and transportation experts are figuring out how to transport goods if the lower Snake River dams are removed.
Posted inArticles
Will the Northwest Forest Plan finally respect tribal rights?
Tribal representatives are pushing the U.S. Forest Service to respect treaty rights and bring cultural fire back to the region’s forests.
Posted inJuly 2024
In green energy boom, one federal agency made the Yakama Nation an offer they had to refuse
Federal rules and a lack of protection for sacred places left the Indigenous nation with an impossible choice.
Posted inJune 2024: The Idea of Wilderness
Hate groups in western Washington echo the past
The bigotry displayed when white supremacists disrupted a Pride celebration in Centralia repeats a pattern that dates back to 1919.
Posted inArticles
The West’s wetlands are struggling. Some have been overlooked altogether.
Wetlands are carbon-storage powerhouses — and many are unmapped.
Posted inArticles
Killing one owl to save another
Is it ever the right thing to do? Two ethicists weigh in.