WACD Reading List

But advocates call new federal guidelines for chemicals used in tires an important step in ending “urban stream syndrome”

The modernized Columbia River Treaty agreement-in-principle provides certainty hydropower certainty, flood risk management and salmon and ecosystem health, U.S. officials said in a July 11 media call. Changes include a new body to allow tribes and indigenous nations to make recommendations on the timing and quantity of flows for salmon in the Columbia River Basin, and more conservative flood-risk management in the U.S. in wetter years — changes which would have been more extreme without the modernized treaty.

Avista Utilities announced Wednesday that it has shifted into what it calls "fire safety mode" as the weather heats up and dries out vegetation that could become the fuel for the region's next wildfire.

Interactive real-time wildfire and forest fire map for Washington. See current wildfires and wildfire perimeters in Washington using the Fire, Weather & Avalanche Wildfire Map.

WASHINGTON, June 20, 2024 — Tomorrow, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is taking the next step to advance President Biden’s commitment to conserve old growth forests by publishing a draft environmental impact statement for the proposed national old growth forest plan amendment. The proposed amendment will be available tomorrow in the Federal Register, and will be open for public comment for 90 days following publication.

But Meteorologist Matthew Dehr says the next couple of weeks could bring elevated fire danger because of the continued presence of wind.

The National Weather Service changed its summer outlook for the Pacific Northwest and predicted most of Washington and Oregon will not be as hot and dry as previously expected in July through September.

Here are some commonsense and inexpensive ways to lessen the odds you'll lose your home to wildfire.

You don't have to live in the tropics to grow peanuts. They're generally grown in southern climes, where summers are long enough to allow for the up to 150 days necessary for the plants to reach maturity.

A state-funded study tentatively proposes taking Washington farmland by eminent domain if voluntary programs fail to conserve enough riparian habitat to satisfy salmon-recovery plans.

The White House has announced formation of a Columbia River task force and issued a report detailing negative impacts of federal dams on Native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest as part of the December 2023 agreement between tribes, the federal government and the states of Oregon and Washington.

After the H5N1 avian flu virus jumped from birds to dairy cattle in Texas last December, it was spread across the country by infected cows, contaminated machinery, and people who inadvertently carried the virus on their clothes and footwear from farm to farm, said USDA scientists on Thursday.

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 12, 2024 CONTACT: Candice Abinanti candice-abinanti@nacdnet.org NACD Commends Proposals in Senate Ranking Member’s Farm Bill Framework, Urges Bipartisan Action to Pass a Final Bill Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Committee on Agriculture Ranking Member John Boozman released a framework outlining Senate Republican farm bill priorities. NACD commends that the framework

In a number of states, opponents of diversity, equity and inclusion policies are enjoying growing success in dissolving the programs at public universities.

As the state looks at drawing new wildfire risk maps and new building codes, local governments want more say.

Central Washington farmers with junior water rights in the Yakima River basin had their water supplies cut again, as the Bureau of Reclamation told irrigators to expect 47% of their full allotments.

The House Agriculture Committee early today approved a new farm bill by a vote of 33 to 21. Four Democrats joined all Republicans to vote for the bill. The four Democrats were Rep. Sanford Bishop,...

Public power officials dispute Washington Gov. Jay Inslee's claim that the Horse Heaven wind and solar project would make the electric grid more reliable, calling it "utter nonsense" and "fanciful."

Thanks to heavy use of nitrogen fertilizer, tiny organisms that flourish in farm fields emit nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas that can warm the planet more than carbon dioxide and stay in the atmosphere for over a century.

Join the conversation on the endangered status of the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit and have your voice heard! Learn about the upcoming Periodic Status Review by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. #EndangeredSpecies #Conservation

Part 2 of MyBellinghamNow’s new series, “Adjudi-what?!” tackles farmers, municipalities and water associations impacted by water rights adjudication in Whatcom County.

CAFO permits aim to protect Oregon waters from agricultural pollution. The rules for CAFOs are changing, and that could bring new accountability — and new costs — to some of the state's larger farms.

Washington's grass seed industry is developing new varieties to serve farmers and consumers, with the help of Washington State University's rejuvenated grass breeding program. "It's grasses for the future, both for the consumer and the farmer," said Orlin Reinbold, one of the owners of Clearwater Seed in Spokane. "We have consumers that want low-maintenance lawns. And it's got to be able to yield, and the farmer has to make money growing it."

Electrical customers may have power turned off as part of a program to reduce wildfires caused by their equipment.

Global warming has unleashed a cascade of unintended consequences and whipped up climate anxiety. CNN Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir has five tips to weather it.

Federal environmental regulators are pressing ahead with plans to cancel a fungicide used in Northwest orchards despite the USDA’s concerns about unintended consequences.

USDA is seeking nominations for four positions on the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production May 7, 2024, to July 7, 2024.

Rolling blackouts will now be part of the plan to combat Spokane area wildfires, according to an announcement Wednesday by officials at Avista Utilities.