Ice jams, snow melt, king tide combine in Marietta flood deluge

January 13, 2023
Kai Uyehara

A small community along Marine Drive living mostly in RVs has braved seasonal inundation, ready to move at a moment’s notice — until caught by surprise.

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Tacoutche Tesse, the Northwest’s great ghost river — Part 2: The flood and building back better

November 18, 2022
Eric Scigliano

The great flood of 2021 brought massive destruction but also the opportunity to build back better.

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Understanding water rights adjudication

October 5, 2022
Rick Eggerth

Commentary: Recent letters to editors and from local officials demonstrate misunderstanding of “water rights adjudication.”

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Flood survivors face next flood season while awaiting long-term fixes

September 15, 2022
Kai Uyehara

Flood season is coming faster than housing solutions, as recovery from November 2021 flooding continues in Whatcom County.

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Can trees save the Nooksack River?

August 5, 2022
Clifford Heberden

The stronger positive effects of older forests on streamflows in the watershed are under study, as forest management practices are reconsidered in response to climate change impacts.

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photo: Matt Benoit © 2022

Flood recovery continues in Sumas, seven months on

June 24, 2022
Matt Benoit

With both optimism and anxiety about what may lie ahead, Sumas is still in recovery from November’s devastating flooding.

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For the people: what local legislators plan for the 2022 session

January 7, 2022
40th and 42nd District Legislators

Dealing with climate change, providing economic relief post-COVID-19 and ensuring sustainability for the Washington State Ferries system made the priority lists of elected officials returning to take care of the people’s business when the 2022 session opens Jan. 10.

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Community Voices / Is time running out? Streamflow trends in the Nooksack watershed

December 15, 2021
Eric Hirst

Given the high volume of rain and flooding during the past few weeks, it may seem strange to talk about water scarcity in the Nooksack River system. Although the watershed has ample water in the winter (often too much water), it holds too little in the summer to support healthy salmon. Complicating the water supply issue are the adverse effects of climate change.

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Devastated after flooding, north Whatcom County moves into recovery mode

December 3, 2021
Salish Current staff

Well over 700 homes have been reported damaged in Whatcom County after the area endured three atmospheric rivers in less than three weeks. While cleanup is underway, the impacts on lives and livelihoods will continue for some time.

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photo: Amy Nelson © 2021

Clock starts on Nooksack basin water rights inventory; stakeholders yet to discuss solutions

July 9, 2021
Mike Sato

Weeks of sparse rainfall and a historic heat wave marked the end of June — and the start of a process to establish water rights among various users in Whatcom County’s Nooksack River basin.

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photo: © 2006

Doing the work of the people: Nooksack adjudication, Billy Frank, Jr., statue and a wrap-up of 40th and 42nd legislator success

April 30, 2021
Salish Current editors

How did bills introduced by 40th and 42nd District legislators fare in the session ending on April 25? See an update on the full list: planning for zero-emissions transportation, standardizing definitions around homelessness to help improve services, and more.

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photo: Amy Nelson © 2021

A next step to resolve Nooksack water rights waits on legislative budget decision

March 19, 2021
Alex Meacham

The state Department of Ecology has announced its intent to resolve the contentious issues around water rights in the Nooksack Basin through the legal action of adjudication, and money to move that process forward is proposed in the budget under consideration by the Legislature.

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Community Voices / Nooksack water rights adjudication is an existential threat to farming’s future

November 13, 2020
Henry Bierlink

Whatcom County farmers say they view water rights adjudication as an existential threat to their future, in their long-term battle to maintain farming as part of the local economy and culture.

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Grassroots groups work to save habitat, keep streams cool for Nooksack salmon

January 7, 2020
Kimberly Cauvel

As local streams get less water from lower snowpacks and grow warmer during hotter summers, some local grassroots organizations are working to reverse or soften the damage to habitat and the fish that rely on colder water.

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