"Puget Sound Waters Now More Corrosive"
"The waters in Puget Sound's main basin are acidifying as fast as those along the Washington Coast, where wild oysters have not reproduced since 2005."
Source: Seattle Times, 07/13/2010
Northwest (OR WA)
Grasshopper Infestations on the Rise Again
As drought blankets much of the western U.S. and Canada, so do grasshoppers, Mormon crickets, and other associated bugs. The cyclical insect infestations, which are occurring in pockets in every state west of the Mississippi and in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, range from light to very severe.
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15 States Get More Federal Recreational Trails
The National Trails system, already stretching more than 12,500 miles, expands with the addition of 31 more trails totalling 716 miles.
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"Make Love Not Gas"
The BP Gulf oil spill is inspiring re-evaluation of how to prevent low-probability but highly catastrophic environmental risks. In Oregon, the terminals and pipelines proposed for handling imported liquified natural gas are getting a very hard look.
Source: Eugene Weekly, 06/01/2010
"Last Rites in Salmon Country?"
Fishermen like walrus-mustached Larry Collins, captain of the Autumn Gale in San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf, face an agonizing choice.
Source: High Country News, 05/24/2010
"EPA Will Limit Pesticides Near Salmon Streams"
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday it will impose restrictions on spraying three agricultural pesticides to keep them out of salmon streams after manufacturers refused to adopt the limits voluntarily."
Source: AP, 05/18/2010
Russian Olives and Tamarisk Get A Little Federal Love
A new report by the US Geological Survey, Bureau of Reclamation, US Forest Service, other federal agencies, and university experts says the water-hogging reputation of the two species has little merit, but found that effects on wildlife are mixed.
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Boaters and Fishers Pay Taxes, Get Rewards
Dept. of Interior/US Fish and Wildlife Service awards $12 million for construction of docks, boat slips, and other recreational boating facilities at 13 locations in 10 states.
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Mines in 21 States Outed for Habitual Safety Violations
The 48 mines are also linked by the fact that most of their owners have been legally delaying action on the violations through appeals of the citations. The Mine Safety and Health Administration is faced with a backlog of approximately 16,000 appeals.
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Mount St. Helens: A Mountain Transformed
National Geographic takes a breathtaking look at Mount St. Helens, and the Washington ecosystem around it, both as it was before the devastating volcanic eruption of 30 years ago and as it is today after recovery.
Source: National Geographic, 04/20/2010
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