Natural Resources
Management plan in place as San Juan Islands monument turns 10
A celebration of the San Juan Islands National Monument 10th anniversary by federal officials and locals is planned for March 25 at Friday Harbor Grange Hall.
Returning wildlife to the wild is a one-by-one effort
From whales to baby birds, rehabilitation and release efforts play out daily for wild animals separated from their natural worlds.
Island waste: can’t burn or bury it, so best to manage it
Islands in San Juan County present unique challenges in waste management and have found solutions meeting each island’s needs.
San Juan waters remain at risk from oil spills
The August 2022 oil spill off San Juan Island was called a ‘wake-up call’ for more prevention and response. Was it?
Tacoutche Tesse, the Northwest’s great ghost river — Part 5: The bleeding Heart of the Fraser
Gravel beds in the Heart of the Fraser — called one of the “most productive stretches of river on the planet” for spawning fish — are threatened with large-scale wetland destruction.
Tacoutche Tesse, the Northwest’s great ghost river — Part 4: The death of a thousand cut-offs
The plight of wild salmon and the waters that support them is about big issues, but also a lot of little, unassuming places: creeks and sloughs and flooded fields and braided side channels.
How much of orca decline is in their DNA?
Southern Resident killer whales are beset by the threats of diminished prey, chemical pollution, loss of habitat, and underwater noise. Can DNA research help toward their recovery?
Tacoutche Tesse, the Northwest’s great ghost river — Part 3: Saving wild salmon versus the net pen industry
Scores of open-water farms raising nonnative salmon along British Columbia’s west coast straits and channels are facing new challenges from wild-salmon advocates who say the farms endanger Fraser River native fish runs.
Does environmental education change behavior?
Measuring the effectiveness of environmental education in changing behavior is a source of optimism and inspiration around the Salish Sea.
Tacoutche Tesse, the Northwest’s great ghost river — Part 2: The flood and building back better
The great flood of 2021 brought massive destruction but also the opportunity to build back better.
Anacortes toxic city dump one of hundreds dotting the state
A landfill for four decades, a site on the edge of a forest in Anacortes is the target of a cleanup plan being negotiated by the City and the Department of Ecology.
Tacoutche Tesse, the Northwest’s great ghost river — Part 1: Not the Columbia
Salish Current is exploring in a series of articles the Fraser River and its rich, varied and threatened life. This week, Part 1: Not the Columbia.
Researchers, growers face the challenge of acidic ocean water
Salish Sea waters are acidifying faster than ever before, but researchers in Washington are leading the world in addressing the looming disaster.
Devastating wasting illness of influential, iconic sea stars still a mystery
Sea star wasting syndrome still threatens area sea stars, but community scientists and researchers are helping to shed light on the mysterious illness.
Can kelp farming help save our marine environment?
SEA2SEED, a Guemes Island nonprofit, sees multiple benefits from kelp, for land and sea.
What’s known, not known about Aleutian Isle recovery
An update on the sunken vessel Aleutian Isle off the west coast of San Juan Island details the extreme hazards involved in recovering the boat.