WACD Reading List

United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack underscored the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s support for President Biden’s whole-of-government approach to combating climate change and creating good-paying jobs and economic growth in the United States.

The Canada lynx, which has been documented in the North Cascades, will remain listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, according to a settlement agreement filed Friday in U.S. District Court.

Public organizations from villages, communities, counties, states and the federal level are all coming to a reckoning—a new frightening, unnerving and never-before-seen new normal...Employees from all sectors are demanding transparency, development, trusting environments, compassion and care.

Timber and environmental groups have reached an agreement that sets Oregon on a course to overhaul management of 10 million acres of private forestlands in the state. The deal, announced Saturday by Gov. Kate Brown’s office, concludes more than a year of negotiations between often at-odds sides to develop a plan to boost protections for vulnerable fish and wildlife while shielding the timber industry’s ability to log.

Despite the punishing conditions, thousands of people are drawn to the Washington coast each fall. The first digs of the year suggest a promising season. An estimated 55,700 diggers attended the mid-September opener, harvesting over 1 million clams, according to a Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife press release.

OLYMPIA — Declaring the state hasn't done enough to reduce carbon emissions, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Thursday he will ask lawmakers to pass more climate legislation. Inslee said he will propose further limits on fossil fuels, including on using natural gas, to get the state on course to slash greenhouse gases in roughly half by 2030.

The onset of fall and coming of seasonal rains is perfect timing for the salmon that spawn in the East Fork of the Lewis River. At places such as Lucia Falls Regional Park, along Northeast Lucia Falls Road northeast of Battle Ground, visitors can watch the large fish jump the waterfalls on their way to their ancestral spawning grounds.

Washington state Tribal leaders praised some of Gov. Jay Inslee’s actions at the annual Centennial Accord Meeting Wednesday, Oct. 27, but also criticized his decision to veto sections of the Climate Commitment Act supported by Tribes. The annual meeting focuses on cementing the government-to-government relationship between the state and Tribes with representatives from the state’s 29 federally recognized Tribes and a few other Pacific Northwest Tribes.

Ecologists are piloting a technology that is expected to help restore waterways like the Green River to eventually produce more fish.

Washington (Funding amount: $1,900,000) Kittitas Reclamation District (Kittitas) Whitestone Reclamation District (Okanogan)

Kernza is a perennial crop that's essentially a cousin of wheat, but its roots store carbon in the ground to help prevent soil erosion and runoff.

WASHINGTON – The Biden-Harris administration announced an important step to chart a path forward in a longstanding Columbia River Basin conflict regarding the operation of 14 federal dams and their impacts on the region’s salmon and steelhead populations.

Drought likely to persist across the West, improve in the Northwest

The odds favor a wet and cool winter in Washington and most of Idaho and Oregon, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday, releasing a winter outlook that bodes well for Northwest snowpacks and next year's irrigation season.

With cooler temperatures and more moisture in the air, preparations for next year’s wildfires have begun, and this means planned fires. Both the Roslyn fire department and the Colville National Forest began pile burns last week.

As part of our (USDA) broader efforts on climate change, we are requesting information (comments) from the public on a Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Partnership Program

La Niña has developed and is expected to impact the weather in the U.S. this winter. - Articles from The Weather Channel | weather.com

Warmer summers — and winters — force Washington vintners to reconsider their crops.

Salmon are now spawning in waters blocked by Grand Coulee Dam. It’s the start of a larger effort to reintroduce salmon into the blocked area.

These farms operate by creating a symbiotic relationship between fish and plants. It begins with a fish tank. Helpful bacteria in the tank turn ammonia from the fish waste into nitrites and then nitrates. The water is pumped from the tank into the area where the plants grow. Plant roots suck up the nitrates. The clean water then flows back into the fish tank to begin the cycle again.

The USDA has rolled out a new insurance option specifically for agricultural producers with small farms who sell locally. The new Micro Farm policy, announced last week, simplifies record keeping and covers post-production costs like washing and value-added products.