WACD Reading List

The big beige blur in the middle of the state may seem boring, but it is essential to the survival of grouse, orcas and people.

President Joe Biden’s nomination of Tom Vilsack to lead the Agriculture Department is getting a chilly reaction from many Black farmers who contend he didn’t do enough to help them the last time he had the job.

MCDD and UFSWQD are seeking a strategic Executive Director that will lead and guide an extraordinarily talented staff through a unique transition for the agency of merging four districts into one. The ideal candidate will be able to articulate a vision that integrates flood safety, climate resiliency, habitat restoration, water quality, and environmental justice; be able to bring diverse groups to consensus; and have the knowledge and ability to provide services in a manner that respects diversity and promotes equity in all aspects of the District’s operations.

Make sure you vote in the Whatcom Conservation District election--request a ballot ASAP!

New research from West Virginia University biologists shows that trees around the world are consuming more carbon dioxide than previously reported, making forests even more important in regulating the Earth's atmosphere and forever shift how we think about climate change.

As part his recent climate policy spree, Biden announced the establishment of a “Civilian Climate Corps Initiative” that could harness the energy of the very generation that must face – and solve – the climate crisis by putting them to work in well-paying conservation jobs.

“Vertical farming is a type of controlled environment agriculture that uses artificial lighting, typically indoors, and vertical planting systems that utilize a space’s cubic footage as opposed to square footage in traditional farming,” Megan Pirelli, community engagement director at Fork Farms, told The Debrief. “This allows for significantly more production in a much smaller space.”

The conversation comes at a key time for the fish. Eight dams along the Snake and Columbia rivers hinder their migration to the Pacific and half of the young salmon die on the trip. Idaho salmon runs have dwindled from the millions of wild fish to only a few thousand some years.

U.S. Farmers & Ranchers in Action (USFRA) —in conjunction with World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), The Mixing Bowl, and Croatan Institute has issued a new report that analyzes the state of soil health technology. The report also identifies opportunities to find new sources of capital to scale up the adoption of climate-smart agriculture on U.S. farms and ranches.

Simpson says saving Snake River salmon runs isn’t possible without removing the federally-managed dams. But he says it’s not just dams versus salmon. He’s laying out a plan that tries to find solutions for all of the decades-old sticking points.

The damage caused by wildfires can be devastating, but the smoke from the annually recurring blazes also delivers economic damage to areas that have never been touched by the flames

While some similar carbon-credit programs for agriculture have been announced, many still rely on broad estimates of carbon improvements over many acres, due to the difficulty and cost of verification and validation. It’s essential that any system of carbon-credit farming is built on clear, science-based standards tied to real-world results.

Modern farming is better because it uses low-impact, “precision” techniques that require less land, less energy and fewer chemicals for every bushel produced. The secret has been to incorporate tools that use sensors, information and communications technology, big data, and even machine learning to reduce farming’s dependence on material resources.

This series, by the Yale Center for Business and the Environment's Regenerative Agriculture Initiative team, looks at how changes in training, investing, insuring and marketing the work of regenerative farmers can bring about broad benefits.

Racial inequities in the allocation of farm aid is not a new or unusual issue. The unequal administration of pandemic support is part of a much longer trend of government programs underserving minority populations.

More than eight months have passed since the murder of George Floyd and eleven since that of Breonna Taylor. Many tech firms have since published statements in response to anti-Black violence, and leaders have offered pledges to engage in anti-racist behaviors and lists of related actions.

House Bill 1117 doesn't define net ecological gain, besides requiring road, sewer and other projects to aid salmon recovery. Fish and Wildlife, other state agencies and tribes would write the rules.

Radicchio proved to be an important crop in 2007 when Erickson-Brown and her husband, Jason Salvo, started their 15-acre farm, Local Roots Farm, in Duvall, Wash.