Mitch Friedman, Conservation Northwest Executive Director “Never in a million years did I think I’d ever see this,” said Mike Allison while touring the U.S. Capital Building. Mike is a councilman of the Upper Similkameen Indian Band. He was part of a delegation of First Nations and Tribal leaders from Washington (Colville), Alaska (Tlingit-Haida), Montana … Continued
By Dave Werntz, Conservation Northwest Science and Conservation Director A common adage is that if you take a job you love, you will never work another day in your life. My first week of February brought that home. I had the privilege of spending that week playing in the snow and chasing Canada lynx with … Continued
2021 Fire Dispatch #2: At the spearpoint of climate change *Editor’s Note: During the big wildfires that burned across eastern Washington in 2015, we published a series of”dispatches” from our staff living and working in communities affected by fire. As 2021’s fire season as gotten off to a historically challenging start, we’ve again encouraged our … Continued
The Coast to Cascades Grizzly Bear Initiative is a collaborative effort to stem the ongoing loss of grizzly bear range and promote grizzly bear recovery in the transboundary ecosystems of southwest British Columbia and Washington state. By Joe Scott, International Programs Director Southern British Columbia’s Coast to Cascades region has unparalleled geographic, cultural and biological … Continued
By Mitch Friedman, Executive Director I’ve written here about the need for us to pay attention to the transboundary Similkameen River, where current and likely increasing levels of pollution from mining activity in British Columbia is harming water quality in Washington. And now a recent map released by SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, located in Northwest B.C., … Continued
The Similkameen watershed is impacted by the ghosts of a century of mining, with more than 50 abandoned mines throughout. The Copper Mountain Mine is so enormous that you can easily see it on Google Earth without much zooming in. BY MITCH FRIEDMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Unfamiliar to many Washingtonians, the Similkameen River is what I … Continued
The C2C team has made important progress toward grizzly bear recovery in southwest British Columbia by promoting coexistence with local communities. By Joe Scott, International Programs Director The Coast to Cascades Grizzly Bear Initiative (C2C) is a collaborative effort to stem the ongoing loss of grizzly bear range and promote grizzly recovery in the transboundary … Continued
Our new Healthy Watersheds Campaign seeks to strengthen regulations for Canadian mines and reduce threats to downstream ecosystems. BY MITCH FRIEDMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Imagine that today is February 5, 2030, ten years from now. An earthquake in the North Cascades unsettles a massive earthen dam that impounds an even more massive lake of toxic waste … Continued
If our neighbors up north can coexist with grizzly bears, why can’t we? By Joe Scott, International Programs Director While the majority of Washingtonians support restoring grizzly bears to the backcountry of the North Cascades, opposition remains. And though we know that these bears will benefit the North Cascades Ecosystem while restoring a missing piece … Continued
Getting healthy fishers from Canada to Washington is no simple task—read the story behind their journey that leads them back into the Cascades. By Keiko Betcher, Communications and Outreach Associate Huddled into the corner of a wooden box about the size of a file cabinet, a fisher with round ears, whiskers and a long bushy … Continued