Bellamy Pailthorp, Author at Northwest Public Broadcasting

A Group Of Gray Whales Survives Die-Off With An Annual Detour To Puget Sound

By Bellamy Pailthorp June 9, 2021

The gray whale known as Dubknuck has been coming to Puget Sound since 1991. Scientists believe a small pod of these whales has survived several die off events by developing a new feeding strategy. Parker Miles Blohm/KNKX

If you take a beach walk in springtime around Whidbey or Camano Island, north of Seattle, there's a good chance you could spot a 40-foot-long gray whale, feeding in the shallows just offshore. Or you might just see a fin or part of one's tail bobbing along the waterline.Read More

In Northwestern Washington, A Free-Flowing Middle Fork Nooksack River Is Just Months Away

By Bellamy Pailthorp July 16, 2020

A view of the dam on the Middle Fork Nooksack River on Monday, July 13, 2020. CREDIT: American Rivers

A dam removal that has been 20 years in the making reached an important milestone this week. Explosives ripped through the concrete on the Middle Fork Nooksack, east of Bellingham. Read More

Study: In Warming Arctic, Increased Sea Vessel Traffic Puts Many Marine Mammals At Risk

By Bellamy Pailthorp July 5, 2018

Melting sea ice frames migrating beluga whales in the Arctic CREDIT: KRISTIN LAIDRE / VIA PNAS

New trade routes have opened up in the Arctic as melting sea ice makes those waters passable. Because it’s just starting, relatively little data exists about the impacts of the increased shipping traffic on marine mammals.Read More

This Is ‘New Normal’ For Wildfire Season, Says Washington Dept. Of Natural Resources

By Bellamy Pailthorp April 26, 2018

In this May 23, 2017 photo provided by Chelan County Fire District 3, logs burn near Leavenworth, Wash. The wildfire prompted evacuation orders for homes and cabins at a popular Washington state hiking and skiing destination. CREDIT: BEN TORKELSON

Wildfire season used to start in mid-June, say state officials coordinating the response. Now they’re already out fighting wildfires in April, even in places west of the Cascades.Read More

Investigation Finds Negligence Caused Atlantic Salmon Escape From Net Pens

By Bellamy Pailthorp January 30, 2018

A failure to clean and maintain its nets led to the collapse at Cook Aquaculture’s Cypress Island facility this summer -- and the escape of 100,000 more Atlantic salmon than originally reported. That’s the conclusion of an investigation by three Washington state agencies.Read More

Could Artificial Intelligence Help Boost Salmon Recovery?

By Bellamy Pailthorp January 3, 2018

Juvenile salmon captured for sampling and analysis in the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project.

Sixty different entities in a salmon recovery project have been collaborating for nearly a decade, trying to solve the mystery of why so many of the juvenile fish die after they swim out to the ocean. Can artificial intelligence help?Read More

A Group Of Gray Whales Survives Die-Off With An Annual Detour To Puget Sound

In Northwestern Washington, A Free-Flowing Middle Fork Nooksack River Is Just Months Away

Study: In Warming Arctic, Increased Sea Vessel Traffic Puts Many Marine Mammals At Risk

This Is ‘New Normal’ For Wildfire Season, Says Washington Dept. Of Natural Resources

Investigation Finds Negligence Caused Atlantic Salmon Escape From Net Pens

Could Artificial Intelligence Help Boost Salmon Recovery?

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