WACD Reading List

Did you know that wildfire can affect forest soils? The effect of fire on trees, shrubs, and herbaceous (non-woody) plants are easily visible. It is not so easy, however, to see the effect wildfire has on the forest soil. There is more under your feet than what you see with the naked eye. Whole communities of organisms live in the soil contributing to the health of the forest itself.

STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State University researchers have received funding from the Environmental Protection Agency to examine how virtual fencing technology could improve the water quality and ecosystems of cattle grazing lands. The new EPA grant totaling more than $800,000 supports research on how GPS-enabled collars worn by cattle can help producers not only better manage grazing, but also improve water quality and other natural resources, such as wildlife habitat and soil health.

LYNDEN, Wash. — The raspberries growing high on the rows of vines Rolf Haugen has cultivated on his Lynden farm for 41 years should not look like this on July 5. “They’re sunburned and shriveled,” said Haugen, who says he has never seen such damage from the heat of a single day — June 28, when temperatures reached 108 degrees on his farm — and the highest in recorded history for Lynden.

WENATCHEE — The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch for North Central Washington due to forecasted winds and potential thunderstorms come Wednesday. The weather watch goes into effect at midnight and is set to last through Wednesday evening.

Once wildfires start, one of the ways they spread is through firebrands that blow into unburned areas. Despite their importance in spreading fires, relatively little is known about how many firebrands different kinds of vegetation generate during wildfires. “If you want to understand how to control (wildfire) or contain it or prevent it, it’s helpful to know how it spreads,” he says.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Biden administration plans to issue a new rule to protect the rights of farmers who raise cows, chickens and hogs against the country’s largest meat processors as part of a plan to encourage more competition in the agriculture sector.

Starting Jan. 1, employed Washingtonians will start paying about half a percent of their wages into the program through an automatic deduction from each paycheck. The median wage in Washington is $52,000 a year. Veghte says the typical worker will pay about $28 a month or $14 a paycheck.

Firefighters at the blaze near Cheney, now called the Andrus Fire, held growth at 300 acres overnight, but the fire is still 0% contained as of Tuesday morning. Evacuation orders were updated Tuesday morning to a region that spanned from Hallett Road to the north to Andrus Road to the south. The western boundary of the map included Fruitvale road and Taylor road. To the east, the area reached Grove Road before cutting back west toward Andrus Road.

Extreme climate change has arrived in America

EAST WENATCHEE, Wash. — The Batterman Fire, which started about noon on the Fourth of July, grew to 7,900 acres by Monday evening, burning brush and grass in steep terrain near East Wenatchee and Rock Island. About 10% of the fire’s perimeter was contained, and firefighters burned the west side of Rock Island Grade to hold the fire’s southeastern line, according to the Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team out of Pasco.

While diversifying staff and leadership is critical, it doesn’t always ensure racial equity. Even when an organization is filled with well-intentioned people, racism often persists because our systems, policies, and practices continue to be racially inequitable. We need to move beyond our usual JDEI frame of thinking to truly transform our organizations to become more racially equitable.

Eligible partners include Tribes, state and local governments and non-government organizations. WREP partners are required to contribute a financial or technical assistance fund match.

As the area comes off a record-breaking heatwave, almost every jurisdiction in the Inland Northwest has some sort of fireworks ban in place to prevent wildfires. Even in counties that don’t have a ban, officials have been urging the public to refrain from putting on their own display and go watch a professional show instead, though the city of Spokane announced Thursday that four of its planned fireworks shows were canceled because of the fire risk.

In Arkansas, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation, cases are surging, officials said. In Los Angeles County, where the vaccination rate is slightly above the national average, officials warned about a possible new wave of infections, especially given the rapid spread of the Delta variant.

Something unusual happened a few months ago in an asparagus field on the Oregon-Idaho border: Six thousand people showed up on a Saturday for the chance to pick some free veggies. "I am a big fan on community, so it's really cool to see so many people out here," said one picker. Children who were out picking were divided on whether they like eating asparagus.

The 25/5 rule is an emotionally intelligent way to avoid distraction, achieve more focus, and get more done.

Scandinavian societies of the first millennium adapted their farming practices to volcano-driven climate changes.

When wildfires rage across the landscape, whether on grasslands or in forests, the massive plumes of smoke that rise into the air and travel for miles can carry more than a thousand different types of microbes with them. Yet until University of Idaho associate professor Leda Kobziar came along, there was essentially no research on what bacteria and fungi might be carried in that smoke, how far those microbes might travel, or how they might impact soil ecology both where the fire started and where the microbes land.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday that fully vaccinated people are "safe" from the current variants and do not need to wear masks, doubling down on CDC guidance as some others call for a return to mask wearing. But Walensky said that the CDC's guidance has not changed and that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks, echoing other health experts who note that the vaccines are highly effective even against the delta variant.

From mask rules to where you can go around town, Crosscut answers your questions about what life without COVID restrictions may look like.