WACD Reading List

Experts hold little to no optimism about this year’s wheat harvest after droughts during the spring and summer, and the record heat wave, shriveled fields in the Inland Northwest. Glen Squires, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission, said he’s expecting winter wheat to be about 50 bushels per acre for Eastern Washington when the average tends to be about 70 bushels per acre. Harvesting has not started in the region, but some results have come in from farms in drier south-central Washington that start the process earlier. They’re not good.

Last week, a “thousand-year” heat wave baked the Pacific Northwest and adjacent British Columbia with widespread highs topping 100 degrees, resulting in a death toll in the hundreds. The Canadian province’s Lytton climbed to 121 degrees and established new national records three days in a row before the town burned in heat-intensified wildfires. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Friday that the heat wave helped the United States clinch its hottest June on record. Eight states had their hottest Junes, including Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah.

The Batterman Fire burning in Douglas County reduced to an estimated 14,100 acres with 80% containment as of Friday morning, according to the Northwest Incident Management Team mobilized to help fight the fire. Level 3, 2, 1 evacuation notices were issued for homes near the brush fire that started burning Sunday in Douglas County.

EPHRATA — Crews contained a roughly 150-acre brush fire northwest of Ephrata late last night. Grant County Fire District 13 reported making progress containing the lightning-caused fire with the help of a farmer and their tractor disc, according to a Fire District 13 Facebook post. Firefighters had “significantly reduced” the fire by the end of the night, reported the fire district.

LIND, Wash. — Washington State University researchers are assessing the losses after a wildfire burned a portion of the dryland research station. The fire started shortly before 11 a.m. June 27, east of Lind, about half a mile away from the station. It burned a total of 2,100 acres.

It is perhaps ironic that when cool, cloudy air floods western Washington as it did yesterday, winds surge in eastern Washington, leading to the potential of rapid wildfire growth.

It's been more than three weeks since Seattle had measurable rainfall, and the impacts are showing.

In 2015, extremely warm water combined with low stream flows. The Snake River sockeye run that year was supposed to break records. Instead, nearly 99% of the run died before it reached Idaho’s Sawtooth Valley. Improvements were also made to the system after 2015 to help temperatures at fish ladders. Idaho Fish and Game can also trap and haul sockeye captured at Lower Granite Dam to the Sawtooth Hatchery, when it deems the water is too warm.

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.