Northwest (OR WA)

Spurt in Hydro Relicensing To Leave U.S. Awash in Environmental Stories

Hundreds of hydropower dams in the United States will see their licenses expiring in the next decade, generating years-long federal relicensing processes. That prospect calls for close local and regional coverage of the complicated balance between renewable energy needs with negative environmental impacts. The latest TipSheet explains the licensing process and the dam backstory, along with a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

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Courage and Caring — Documentary Celebrates Environmental Icon Stewart Udall

While the name of Stewart Udall, U.S. interior secretary through the tumultuous 1960s, may have faded from public memory, his influence on environmental policies is still felt today. Contributor Francesca Lyman shines the spotlight on a new documentary about Udall and his legacy, and talks with director John de Graaf about Udall’s insights and inspiration.

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Feds Propose Killing 500,000 'Invasive' Owls To Save Calif. Native Owls

"A group of 75 animal rights organizations, including several in California, signed a joint letter sent to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Monday urging her to nix a proposal by the U.S. Department of Fish & Wildlife to shoot nearly half a million “invasive” owls over the next 30 years."

Source: SFGate, 03/28/2024

"Dunes Aren’t Just Big Piles Of Sand. Here’s Why Earth Needs Them."

"The famed coastal dunes that inspired the shifting sand landscape of the desert planet Arrakis in Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel “Dune” are also under siege — from climate change and human development."

Source: Washington Post, 03/22/2024

"An Oregon Bill to Cut Millions in Timber Taxes Is Dead, Despite Backing"

"The legislation aimed to reformulate how Oregon funds the rising costs of fighting wildfires. It sparked debate within the Democratic-controlled Legislature about who should pay: taxpayers or big timber owners, who won steep tax cuts in the 1990s."

Source: ProPublica, 03/19/2024
March 27, 2024

DEADLINE: IJNR Western Wildfire Institute

The Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources invites applications for a weeklong Institute on both sides of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon, May 5-11, to prepare journalists to cover the intensifying wildfire issue with a deeper understanding of its complexities and nuances. Apply by Mar 27.

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"Canada, U.S. Launch Intl. Inquiry Into Southeast B.C. Mine Pollution"

"Nearly 12 years after Ktunaxa Nation first urged the Canadian and U.S. governments to task an international body with investigating the mine pollution coursing through its territory, the two countries have agreed to a step the nation says is key to addressing contamination from B.C.’s Elk Valley coal mines."

Source: The Narwhal, 03/12/2024

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