Avangrid withdrew its application from the Washington state permitting process following years of objections and delays.
Washington
Posted inJuly 2026: Lost in the Weeds
Bears vs. backpacks, busted-up boulders, a sheepish spectacle and the Yoda of Love
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
White Salmon has been fighting for free mail for decades
The small Washington town exemplifies a broader problem across the West, where some pay for a service others get for free.
Posted inArticles
Heat waves increase the West’s wildfire risk
A new study found that 42% all the area burned by Western fires had occurred during or right after a heat wave.
Posted inJune 2026: River Revival
Dredging the Columbia River at the expense of tribal and aquatic communities
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has transformed the estuary and robbed the river of sediment over the last century.
Posted inMay 2026: Pinecone Cowboys
Get to know the Pacific newt
From Vancouver Island newts to California’s high country newts, the toxic Taricha genus includes some unique and deadly Western species.
Posted inArticles
As Roadless Rule rollback looms, grassroots hearings take root
In absence of federal meetings, nonprofits step up to hold public comment on Forest Service plan to lift protections from roadless areas.
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Tribal leaders reflect on a year of uncertainty — and possibility
Federal turnover and policy shifts have forced Indigenous communities to adapt.
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Heavily contested pumped hydro-storage project gets federal go-ahead
The project in the Columbia Gorge would involve tunneling through a Ḱamíłpa sacred mountain.
Posted inFebruary 2026: The Recording Artists
The little-known photographer who documented a changing Okanogan, Washington
A century later, Frank Matsura’s images are still at the heart of families’ memories.
Posted inJanuary 2026: Deep Time in the West
How to find deep time in Seattle
A geologist connects Earth’s history to the amazing stones that clad the city’s buildings.
Posted inArticles
‘Train Dreams’ is an ode to the lonely labor of forestry
In the new film adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novella, I saw my own Forest Service career reflected back at me.
Posted inJanuary 2026: Deep Time in the West
“Legend-dairy” mountain peaks, visiting bears and remembering a blubbery blowout
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
Western Washington faces a long recovery after record-breaking flooding
An unusually swift series of atmospheric rivers hit the region, worsened by warm temperatures.
Posted inArticles
Washington approves over 99% of archaeological permits, records show
As tribes struggle to protect their heritage, the nation’s leading state archaeologist says she lacks the authority to stop development projects.
Posted inNovember 2025: Precious Metalheads
Attack of the owls, emu-cipated emus, and say ‘hi’ to the bumpy little snailfish
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inNovember 2025: Precious Metalheads
Want fluoride in the water? Too bad.
Across the West, lawmakers are skipping over the will of voters and yanking fluoride.
Posted inArticles
Washington moves to conserve its state forests
The proposal would protect 77,000 acres of ‘structurally complex’ forests.
Posted inArticles
Invasive fruit fly hits the Yakama Nation’s huckleberry fields
Students from Heritage University and Northwest Indian College were the first to document the presence of the spotted wing drosophila on the Yakama Nation Reservation — a first step to help eradicate it on tribal land.
Posted inSeptember 2025: Who Controls Our Food?
Who controls food in the West?
Consolidation, shifting politics, water rights and the myth of the cowboy all play into the region’s ability to feed itself.