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High Country News

High Country News

A nonprofit independent magazine of unblinking journalism that shines a light on all of the complexities of the West.

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Washington

Posted inArticles

Washington solar project paused amid concern about Indigenous sites

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster August 12, 2024August 9, 2024

Avangrid Renewables said they plan to review comments from tribal nations and private landowners.

Boats carry Hanford Journey attendees down the Columbia River in Washington toward Hanford reactors, one that’s cocooned and another that’s decommissioned but still standing.
Posted inAugust 2024: In the Wake of the Floods

Indigenous celebration of Hanford remembers the site before nuclear contamination

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster August 1, 2024August 1, 2024

At the fourth annual Hanford Journey, Yakama Nation youth, elders and scientists share stories about a land that is a part of them.

Posted inArticles

When the dams come down, what happens to barge traffic?

by Kim Cross July 29, 2024August 8, 2024

Farmers and transportation experts are figuring out how to transport goods if the lower Snake River dams are removed.

Posted inArticles

Will the Northwest Forest Plan finally respect tribal rights?

by Natalia Mesa July 19, 2024August 8, 2024

Tribal representatives are pushing the U.S. Forest Service to respect treaty rights and bring cultural fire back to the region’s forests.

Posted inJuly 2024

In green energy boom, one federal agency made the Yakama Nation an offer they had to refuse

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster June 24, 2024June 24, 2024

Federal rules and a lack of protection for sacred places left the Indigenous nation with an impossible choice.

Kyle Wheeler at Dancing Swallows Big Gay Bird Sanctuary and Memorial Pond in Chehalis, Washington.
Posted inJune 2024: The Idea of Wilderness

Hate groups in western Washington echo the past

by Leah Sottile June 1, 2024June 17, 2024

The bigotry displayed when white supremacists disrupted a Pride celebration in Centralia repeats a pattern that dates back to 1919.

Posted inArticles

The West’s wetlands are struggling. Some have been overlooked altogether.

by Natalia Mesa May 22, 2024August 8, 2024

Wetlands are carbon-storage powerhouses — and many are unmapped.

Posted inArticles

Killing one owl to save another

by Michelle Nijhuis May 10, 2024August 8, 2024

Is it ever the right thing to do? Two ethicists weigh in.

Posted inMay 2024: A River Returns

How attacks on energy substations play into the hands of extremists

by Jane C. Hu May 1, 2024May 2, 2024

When the West’s electrical grid is targeted, motives tend to matter less than ensuing propaganda.

Posted inArticles

Wildlife habitat and tribal cultures threatened by Washington’s largest wind farm

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster April 26, 2024August 8, 2024

The newly approved renewable energy project is planned across an eco-corridor and ceremonial sites.

Posted inArticles

When dams come down, what happens to the ocean?

by Natalia Mesa April 19, 2024August 8, 2024

A long-term study of the Elwha River Delta reveals lasting change — and a healthier ecosystem.

Posted inArticles

These Washington nurses want their hospital to be more like Oregon

by Susan Shain April 19, 2024August 8, 2024

Nurses at PeaceHealth Southwest, in Vancouver, Washington, protest unsafe staffing and pay.

Sonya Schaller, a supporter from Omak, Washington, holds a sign during a gathering on Badger Mountain in East Wenatchee, Washington.
Posted inArticles

Wenatchi-P’squosa people demonstrate against proposed solar project 

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster April 5, 2024August 8, 2024

The Badger Mountain development in eastern Washington threatens heritage foodways on sacred lands.

Posted inArticles

Meet the women fighting to end detention and deportation in Washington

by Natalia Mesa April 2, 2024April 4, 2024

La Resistencia is working alongside people in immigrant detention to shut down the Northwest Detention Center.

Posted inArticles

Conozca a las mujeres que luchan por acabar con las detenciones y las deportaciones en el estado de Washington

by Natalia Mesa April 2, 2024April 11, 2024

La Resistencia, un grupo de base en el noroeste del Pacifico, trabaja junto a personas detenidas para cerrar el Centro de Detención del Noroeste.

Posted inApril 2024: Epic Journeys

Pleistocene Park, flamingo eggs and a very cute baby rhino

by Tiffany Midge April 1, 2024April 1, 2024

Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.

Scene through end of a pipe.
Posted inArticles

Fixing culverts can save migratory fish

by Ben Goldfarb March 27, 2024March 27, 2024

A billion-dollar program is unblocking millions of killer culverts across the nation to help fish get to spawning grounds.

Posted inArticles

Washington’s controversial cap-and-trade program, explained. Really.

by Natalia Mesa March 20, 2024March 19, 2024

It’s hailed as the strongest in the nation, but will it reduce carbon pollution equitably?

Monica Blanchard, a fish biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, uses electrofishing equipment to track down Pacific lamprey at Boardman Creek near Granite Falls, Washington, last October.
Posted inMarch 2024: Fertile Ground

Saving the Pacific lamprey

by Natalia Mesa March 1, 2024March 12, 2024

Documenting populations of
the ancient fish is a step toward ensuring their survival.

Sarah Ferris holds a flyer she received last year from the city of Vancouver informing residents that PFAS had been found in the city’s wells.
Posted inMarch 2024: Fertile Ground

The dangers of PFAS — and of downplaying their ubiquity

by Sarah Trent March 1, 2024February 29, 2024

Even well-meaning officials often provide inadequate or misleading information, putting communities at higher risk.

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