Cover Story

  September 2022

Court Decision May Alter DNR Practices

by Tyler Brown The Washington State Supreme Court unanimously voted at the end of July to reaffirm a lower court ruling backing the Department of Natural Resources’ right to regulate timber sales for the public good while providing lawmakers more … Continue reading

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  September 2022

Bellingham Adopts Progressive Energy Code

by Luisa Loi Bellingham has exceeded Washington State Energy Code’s minimum requirements by adopting its own energy code and joining Seattle and Shoreline at the forefront of climate action in the state. It’s the city’s attempt to reduce its dependence … Continue reading

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  September 2022

Creating an Equitable Local Food System

by Luisa Loi  Many Whatcom residents — 30,000, according to the Whatcom County Health Department — don’t have access to healthy and affordable food, the local freshwater supply is limited, high demand is making farmland more expensive to buy, and … Continue reading

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  September 2022

Beekeepers Suffered Hive Losses This Past Winter

by Elisabeth Marshall Bees have been on my mind more than ever this growing year because we, and many others on the island, have had such poor fruit set — which I attribute to our unprecedented cold and wet spring. … Continue reading

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  September 2022

We Need to Slow the Spread of European Green Crab

by Ed Johnstone Efforts are ramping up to control the explosion of invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenas) in western Washington. The invasive species reached San Francisco in 1989 and was first detected in small numbers on the Olympic coast … Continue reading

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  September 2022

Tribes Need to Be at the Table to Conserve Wildlife

by Ed Johnstone Treaty tribes have been working for decades to get federal support for our essential wildlife programs. We’re counting on the U.S. Senate to pass the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA) to finally make it happen. The time … Continue reading

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  September 2022

Saving Bessie Timber

by Tyler Brown Less than a mile southeast of Lake Whatcom stands a 46-acre commercial timber parcel called Bessie Sorts. It contains a near old-growth forest resting on a large watershed with trees as wide as four feet, reaching up … Continue reading

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  September 2022

Serving Whatcom County for 30 Years

by Jennifer Stephens For the past 30 years, the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center has offered conflict prevention and intervention services for businesses, organizations, individuals, and families. With a mission of providing and promoting constructive and collaborative approaches to conflict, the … Continue reading

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  September 2022

Home Improvement as a Weapon Against Climate Change

by Vicki Thomas Even though we’ve been lucky to have a cool and wet spring and summer so far, last year was a much different story with multiple record-breaking heat domes and severe fires all over the West. Extreme weather … Continue reading

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  September 2022

September Song in Two Parts

by Joe Meche   Birding on the Water As July segued into August and our annual heat wave descended upon us, birding became less fun with the warmer weather. With the addition of crowds of humans and crowds of mosquitoes … Continue reading

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