Cover Story

  May 2019

Glaciers of the North Cascades: A Dwindling Water Resource

by Erin McConnell   It’s a sunny August day, and all four members of the North Cascades Glacier Climate Project (NCGCP) research team are pretty beat. Today marks one full week into the field season, and the day-long backpacking treks … Continue reading

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  May 2019

Lake Whatcom Water Quality Continues to Decline

by April Markiewicz   “Something is going on.” That is the phrase being used behind the scenes to describe some of the latest data in the Lake Whatcom Monitoring Project 2017/2018 Report by Matthews et al. (2019). Lake Whatcom (for … Continue reading

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  May 2019

Scientist’s Advice for Climate Task Force

by Ray Kamada To Whatcom Watch Readers: I’m Ray Kamada, a retired atmospheric scientist (specialties were research in air pollution, turbulence, boundary layer and mesoscale meteorology in terms of theory development, computer modeling, field studies, and data analysis, with some … Continue reading

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  May 2019

Spring Birds, Nests, and Nesting Boxes

by Joe Meche The Birds During this time of year the seasonal transition is mostly complete. Many of our wintering birds have left and made room for the species that are coming in to spend the spring and summer with … Continue reading

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  May 2019

Three Incredible Days in Atlanta

by Betsy Gross Editor’s Note: The column is digressing this month and covering a climate conference Betsy attended on March 14, 15 and 16 in Atlanta, Georgia. “You came to learn; you will leave to serve.” With these words, the … Continue reading

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  May 2019

More Hatchery Fish Needed

by Lorraine Loomis The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) plans to strategically release an additional 50 million Chinook from its hatcheries this year to benefit starving southern resident orcas. Opponents of the proposal argue that we must choose … Continue reading

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  May 2019

Washington Wolf Population Rose Slightly in 2018

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said the state’s wolf population has grown slightly to a minimum of 126 wolves, with 27 packs and 15 breeding pairs. The news comes despite state wildlife managers killing several wolves at the … Continue reading

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  May 2019

The Nooksack River: A Treasure to Preserve

by Ron Kleinknecht Part 3 Efforts to Reclaim the Nooksack   In Parts 1 and 2 of this series (1, 2), I described the Nooksack River and how its three forks joined from the glaciers and watersheds surrounding the Mount … Continue reading

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  May 2019

poetrywatch

Boris Schleinkofer, poetrywatch editor “When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.” — … Continue reading

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  May 2019

Fire Season, Again

by Peter Heffelfinger Earlier this year, I attended a lecture by a fire ecology professor from WWU. on the upcoming fire season in the Pacific Northwest. The talk was presented by the Friends of the Forest, the local environmental group … Continue reading

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