Courtney Flatt, Author at Northwest Public Broadcasting

In Central Washington, Forest Equipment Chews Through Fuel To Reduce Threat Of ‘The Next Paradise’

By Courtney Flatt October 3, 2019

Land managers are using a masticator to help thin a dense forest outside Cle Elum, Washington. The masticator chews up the forest fuels with spinning metal teeth. It takes out whole trees at a time. CREDIT: Courtney Flatt/NWPB

Connecting different projects – like these large-scale fuels management ones – with efforts by homeowners down below helps make the landscape more resilient. It’s part of a larger effort to help central Washington avoid the fate of towns like Paradise, California, which was devastated by the Camp Fire in 2018. Read More

Jay Inslee Calls On State Wildlife Agency To ‘Significantly Reduce’ Lethal Wolf Actions

By Courtney Flatt October 1, 2019

Wolves on a trail camera near Republic, Wash., in Ferry County. Courtesy of University of Washington

In a letter to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind, Inslee asked that the state increase efforts to change guidelines that dictate when a wolf can be lethally removed.Read More

Fly The Cleaner Skies: Airlines Look To Biofuel Production With Northwest Ties

By Courtney Flatt September 19, 2019

Alaska Airlines has 32 Boeing 737 MAX jets on order. CREDIT: PAUL WEATHERMAN/BOEING

Airlines like Alaska, United and Delta are looking into biofuel production. It’s a trend experts say will keep growing. The Northwest is playing a big role in several experiments airlines are helping fund.Read More

Study: Climate Change Wildfire Health Impacts Cost Billions For Washingtonians

By Courtney Flatt September 18, 2019

Smoke-Kittitas-Valley-081718-Esmy-Jimenez

Climate change is causing people in Washington to spend billions of dollars in healthcare costs. That’s according to a new study that looked at how hospital visits and early deaths during a recent wildfire season.Read More

‘It’s A Long Road’: Doctors Share Update Of Still-Critical Okanogan County Firefighter

By Courtney Flatt September 16, 2019

Christian Johnson, 55, suffered burns over 60 percent of his body. His lungs were also burned. The veteran firefighter was helping fight a small brush Sept. 1 fire near Okanogan. Courtesy Amy Freel/GoFundMe

Christian Johnson was severely burned while helping put out a Labor Day weekend brush is still in critical condition. Doctors said the recovery process will take several months.Read More

Controversial Biofuels Project Gets Lease On Lower Columbia River

By Courtney Flatt September 9, 2019

File photo. The Port of Columbia County has approved a lease for a biofuels export facility at Port Westward. CREDIT: Port of Columbia County/Facebook

A port on the Lower Columbia River has approved a controversial lease for a biofuels project. The county says it will bring jobs to the area. Some environmental groups are concerned about previous deals gone bad involving the project’s backers.Read More

Washington Ranchers Push To Create Their Own Fire Fighting Teams In ‘No Man’s Lands’

By Courtney Flatt September 9, 2019

Central Washington rancher Molly Linville would like ranchers to be able to fight fires on their own property in the state. She hopes the state will allow ranchers to form rangeland fire protection associations in areas where no agency is assigned to respond to wildland fires. CREDIT: Courtney Flatt/NWPB

There are no agencies assigned to fight fires on certain stretches of Washington rangeland. Ranchers want to form their own firefighting teams – something already happening in Oregon and Idaho.Read More

Okanogan County Firefighter Severely Injured, Remains In Coma At Seattle Hospital

By Courtney Flatt September 3, 2019

County and state firefighters responded quickly to the Spring Coulee Fire on Sunday, Sept. 1, in Okanogan County, where Christian Johnson was severely injured. He was flown to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center. Courtesy of Okanogan County Emergency Managment aerial video

A Washington firefighter was badly burned over the Labor Day weekend while fighting a small brush fire in Okanogan County. He’s currently in a medically induced coma at a Seattle hospital.Read More

Could Relocating Sage Grouse Save The Birds In Washington?

By Courtney Flatt September 3, 2019

A male greater sage grouse struts its stuff on Bureau of Land Management land in this April 21, 2012, photo. CREDIT: BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT/FLICKR

Moving imperiled sage grouse from one spot to another can be hard on the birds. But research from Washington State University suggests that after a restless adjustment period, the birds eventually get used to their new homes.Read More

Washington Wildlife Officials Cancel Public Meetings On Wolves Under Threats Of Violence

By Courtney Flatt August 29, 2019

Threats of violence have caused Washington officials to cancel a series of in-person informational wolf management meetings. In a news release, state Fish and Wildlife director Kelly Susewind said the tensions this summer were “on both sides of the issue.”Read More

Tribes Release 1st Salmon Into Upper Columbia Since Dam Construction

By Courtney Flatt August 11, 2019

Colville Tribal member Crystal Conant releases the final salmon into the upper Columbia River on Friday, Aug. 9, 2019. Conant said salmon’s reintroduction to the upper Columbia will help heal the tribe and the ecosystem. CREDIT: COURTNEY FLATT/NWPB

Salmon are now swimming in the upper Columbia River for the first time in decades. For regional Native tribes, Friday’s ceremonial fish release is a big step toward catching fish in traditional waters. Cheers erupted from the crowd as the first salmon was released since 1955 into the Columbia River above Chief Joseph Dam.Read More

Hey, That’s My Grass! Goats Chomp Fire Fuels Around Previously Burned Wenatchee Neighborhood

By Courtney Flatt July 28, 2019

These goats from a herding operation based in Ephrata were in Wenatchee in July to clean out fire fuels near Broadview neighborhood that burned in the 2015 Sleepy Hollow fire. CREDIT: COURTNEY FLATT/NWPB

A fire district around Wenatchee has come up with a new way to make wildland fires less severe. Chelan County Fire District 1 is ditching the hand tools and machinery that firefighters traditionally use to thin overgrown brush. Instead, they’re turning to a more natural approach to thin out fuels around the Broadview neighborhood that burned in the 2015 Sleepy Hollow fire.Read More

Pateros And North Central Washington Continue Rebuilding 5 Years After Carlton Complex Fire

By Courtney Flatt July 18, 2019

Libby Harrison, who at the time was the mayor of Pateros, and her husband are rebuilding their home, which burned in the 2014 Carlton Complex. They’re doing most of the work themselves and hope to move back in, in a few months. CREDIT: Courtney Flatt/NWPB

Five years later, the Carlton Complex is still the single largest fire in Washington state’s history. By the end of summer, the Okanogan Long Term Recovery Group will have rebuilt 39 homes. The group’s contractors are putting the finishing touches on the final two homes now. They’ve held a ribbon cutting at nearly each spot.Read More

Researchers Work To Control Moth Outbreak In Washington Forests

By Courtney Flatt June 28, 2019

A tussock moth caterpillar. CREDIT: Connie Mehmel

The tussock moth caterpillar is quite the sight, if you’ve ever seen one hanging around a Douglas fir tree. These hungry caterpillars can eat Douglas fir and grand fir needles, first starting with the new needles that grow as the caterpillars hatch. Later, munching on older needles high in the treetops.Read More

Central Washington Fire District Will Use Goats To Reduce Fire Risk Around Wenatchee

By Courtney Flatt June 19, 2019

File photo. Briana Murphy's goats can clear 150 pounds of foliage a day. CREDIT: Jule Gilfillan/OPB

Four years ago, the Sleepy Hollow Fire burned to the edge of Wenatchee. Flames rushed through, consuming brush and cheatgrass and quickly destroying 28 homes and three businesses. Now, with the help of a federal grant, firefighters are getting rid of some of those grasses to better protect homes.Read More

Tribes Say Fish Passage Above Grand Coulee Dam Is Possible

By Courtney Flatt June 12, 2019

Grand Coulee Dam File Photo - CREDIT Bureau of Reclamation

A team of researchers presented their findings on Tuesday to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. In short, they said, salmon can survive in the upper reaches of the Columbia Basin, and fish passage needs to happen above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams.Read More

Clean Fuels Proponents Move Forward With Plans In Washington State Despite Legislative Setback

By Courtney Flatt June 4, 2019

Tailpipe exhaust is the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions in Washington state and nationwide. CREDIT: RICK BOWMER/AP

Plans for a low carbon fuel standard in Washington didn’t work out this legislative session. Now, advocates are figuring out what to do next to reduce gasoline and diesel emissions in the Evergreen State.Read More

To Drive Eagles Away From Deadly Wind Turbines, Researchers Turn To Sound

By Courtney Flatt June 1, 2019

A bald eagle shot north of Gaston, Oregon, received treatment at the Audubon Society of Portland before being euthanized.

When a wind turbine blade strikes a bird, the bird usually doesn’t survive. Now, researchers are working on new ways to keep birds — particularly eagles – away from wind farms using audio and visual signals.Read More

The Fight Is On To Save Columbia River Salmon From A Toothy Invader

By Courtney Flatt May 29, 2019

Travis Rehm holds up the largest northern pike biologists caught on Tuesday, May 21, 2019. The female fish was about 34 inches long. CREDIT: Courtney Flatt/NWPB

The fight to save Columbia River salmon could hinge on a major battle taking place in the basin’s biggest reservoir. It pits biologists against a fish: The invasive northern pike.Read More

Wildlife Advocates Worry A South-Central Washington Energy Project Will Hurt Birds

By Courtney Flatt May 17, 2019

A bald eagle looks for its next meal along the Skagit River. Eagles converge there in great numbers every winter. CREDIT: JASON RANSOM/ NPS 2017

A proposed energy storage project in the Columbia Basin is drawing concern from bird advocates. They’re worried new water ponds could attract waterfowl and eagles that could then be struck by nearby wind turbines.Read More

An Old Northeastern Oregon Wind Farm Could Get A Tech Upgrade

By Courtney Flatt May 16, 2019

A wind mill supplies water to a stock tank, surrounded by wind turbines of the Smoky Hills Wind Project near Wilson, Kansas. CREDIT: ORLIN WAGNER/AP

New technology could help a wind farm in Eastern Oregon work more efficiently. Officials are voting Friday on the updates to the wind farm. Wind turbines are expected to last about 20 years. Oregon’s Stateline Wind Farm is getting up there – construction started way back in 2001. That’s why the farm’s owners are asking to update part of the facility.Read More

Wind Power Is Renewable, Turbines Aren’t: Recycling Technology That Gets Too Old

By Courtney Flatt May 10, 2019

In the Northwest, some of the oldest wind farms were built in the early 2000s. When the turbines get too old, wind farm owners can either upgrade to newer technology or shut down the farms. Those processes are called re-powering or decommissioning, respectively. How do you recycle wind technology?Read More

Federal Officials Seal Deal With Washington Agencies On Forest-Protection Measures

By Courtney Flatt May 8, 2019

A roadside reminder in southwest Washington's Gifford Pinchot National Forest that homes in the "wildlands urban interface" need special landscaping, building materials and maintenance to reduce the risk of being destroyed by a wildfire. CREDIT: CASSANDRA PROFITA

State and federal officials signed an agreement Wednesday to protect Washington’s forests and wildlife. The plan would combine resources to fight destructive wildfires, threats to forest health and challenges faced by salmon and orcas.Read More

Poll: Northwest Residents Are More Concerned About Wildfires Than 4 Years Ago

By Courtney Flatt May 5, 2019

The Eagle Creek Fire as seen from the Cascade Locks Hatchery. To keep hatchery fall chinook from dying because of the fire, Oregon officials released them early. CREDIT: OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE

More people in the Northwest are worried about wildfires than they were four years ago. A new poll has found people in Washington are now five times more likely to say they’ll feel the effects of wildfires. In Oregon, people are three times more likely to worry about wildfires.Read More

Washington Legislature Allocates Funds To Study Snake River Dam Removal

By Courtney Flatt April 30, 2019

The Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River. CREDIT: BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION

Tucked into Washington’s $52.4 billion operating budget passed Sunday night by the Legislature is controversial funding for a “stakeholder group” tasked with looking into what would happen should the four Lower Snake River dams be removed or altered.Read More

Mushroom Hunters, Rejoice: Springtime Crop Benefits From Summertime Fires

By Courtney Flatt April 28, 2019

Spring coral and morel mushrooms. Courtesy of Rachel Zoller

Springtime means it’s morel mushroom harvesting season. Depending on where fires burned last summer, mushroom collecting could take you to different spots across the Northwest.Read More

Salmon Conference Calls For Innovative Solutions To Protect Fish

By Courtney Flatt April 24, 2019

Adult fall Chinook salmon in the Priest Rapids Hatchery. CREDIT: PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY

What to do with the four Lower Snake River dams and how to best protect imperiled salmon have been a tough questions for decades. They were the focus at a conference on salmon Tuesday at Boise State University’s Andrus Center for Public Policy.Read More

‘Good Fire’ Season: How Land Managers Select Areas For Prescribed Burns

By Courtney Flatt April 15, 2019

A member of the Wolf Creek Hotshots uses a drip torch to ignite the forest floor during a prescribed burn near Sisters, Oregon. CREDIT: JES BURNS

Land managers are using prescribed burns -- also called "good fire" -- and thinning to restore forests and reduce the extra wood, sticks and needles that fuel megafires. Different land managers look for certain things when they’re selecting where prescribed fires will work best.Read More

Western Washington Has A New Wolf Pack, First In Decades

By Courtney Flatt April 6, 2019

A trail camera captures one of the Diobsud Creek wolf pack. The two wolves are the first pack in Western Washington in decades. Courtesy Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

There’s a new wolf pack on the western side of Washington’s Cascade Mountains. Wildlife officials say it’s the first time they’ve documented a pack there since wolves were wiped out decades ago.Read More

Fuel Producers, Consumers Take Sides On Washington’s Debate Over Lower-Carbon Transportation

By Courtney Flatt March 27, 2019

Washington lawmakers are developing a low carbon fuels standard. If signed into law, new rules would limit the amount of carbon coming out of car and truck tailpipes. Backers say it’s necessary to combat climate change. Critics say it will increase the price at the pump.Read More

Bird Advocates Question Raven-Killing Plans To Protect Sage Grouse

By Courtney Flatt March 21, 2019

Deep in Oregon’s sagebrush country, there’s one county with an abundance of ravens. Biologists say those ravens like to eat sage grouse eggs, and they’ve come up with plans to take care of the raven problem. That’s got bird advocates questioning whether killing one bird for the sake of another is the right move.Read More

Federal Action Removes Grazing Restrictions Meant To Protect Sage Grouse In Western States

By Courtney Flatt March 15, 2019

A male greater sage grouse struts its stuff on Bureau of Land Management land in this April 21, 2012, photo. Bureau of Land Management

The Trump administration is lifting restrictions meant to protect greater sage grouse across seven western states. In Oregon grazing restrictions are being removed in 13 locations that provide habitat for the imperiled birds.Read More

Genetically Engineered Salmon Swim Closer To Store Shelves, Concerning Tribes And Food Groups

By Courtney Flatt March 13, 2019

By engineering a regular Atlantic salmon, front, with a chinook gene that instructs growth hormones, AquaBounty can produce a faster-growing genetically modified salmon, back. Here's a comparison of the two at the same age. AquaBounty Technologies

Genetically engineered salmon are one step closer to winding up on store shelves, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lifted an import ban. It’s a move that’s concerning to tribes, food groups and environmentalists.Read More

Study Shows Potential Link Between Parkinson’s And Widely Used Herbicide In Agricultural Regions

By Courtney Flatt March 12, 2019

One of the most heavily relied on herbicides in the nation could be linked to an increase in early deaths Parkinson’s Disease for people who live nearby, according to new research on farmlands in Washington. CREDIT: WA Department of Agriculture, Flickr Creative Commons

One of the country’s most widely-used herbicides could be linked to an increase in early deaths from Parkinson’s disease for people who live near farmlands, according to new research in Washington.Read More

Wolf-Delisting Plan Would Remove Federal Protections In Washington And Oregon

By Courtney Flatt March 6, 2019

This Feb. 2017, file photo provided by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife shows a gray wolf of the Wenaha Pack captured on a remote camera on U.S. Forest Service land in Oregon's northern Wallowa County. CREDIT: OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE/AP

President Donald Trump’s acting interior secretary announced plans Wednesday to lift protections for gray wolves in the Lower 48. The move will likely spur controversy in the Northwest.Read More

The Way Deer Escape Wolves Could Change How Hunters Hunt

By Courtney Flatt March 3, 2019

Mule deer taken from a trail camera near Republic, Washington. As wolves return to Washington state, deer have taken notice. Researchers found deer change how they react when wolves are near – and that could eventually change how hunters hunt. Courtesy of the University of Washington

As wolves return to the Northwest, deer have taken notice. Researchers found deer in Washington change how they react when wolves are near – and that could eventually change how hunters hunt.Read More

Washington May Soon Join Its West Coast Neighbors In Mandating Lower Carbon Fuels

By Courtney Flatt February 26, 2019

File photo of tailpipe vehicle emissions. CREDIT: Flickr/eutopication and hypoxia

Washington could soon join the ranks of its West Coast neighbors, requiring fuels at the pump that produce less carbon pollution. A low-carbon fuels bill passed its first big test Monday, moving out of the House Appropriations Committee.Read More

Utility Plans 1st-Of-Its-Kind Renewable Energy Site In Eastern Oregon

By Courtney Flatt February 19, 2019

Eastern Oregon may soon be home to a next-generation renewable energy project. Portland General Electric is making plans to build the country’s first large-scale energy facility that combines wind turbines, solar panels and battery storage.Read More

To Save Endangered Species, Conservationists Want You To ‘Wrap It Up’

By Courtney Flatt February 15, 2019

The Center For Biological Diversity is promoting population control with condoms that bear conservation messages.

Before you wrap up that date with your special someone, there’s something else conservationists hope you wrap up as well … for the love of wildlife. They say preventing unplanned pregnancies could actually help save endangered species.Read More

Sweeping Public Lands Bill Would Protect Washington Lands, Waters

By Courtney Flatt February 13, 2019

The U.S. Senate Tuesday passed a sweeping public lands bill, with measures meant to protect lands across the country. It’s expected to have a big impact on Washington’s lands, rivers and more.Read More

Federal, Washington Officials Spar Over Water Quality Regulations At Dams

By Courtney Flatt February 8, 2019

Fish advocates say sending water through spill bays is the best way to ensure fish survival through dams in the Columbia and Snake rivers. CREDIT: CASSANDRA PROFITA

Washington regulators want water at dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers to meet state standards.Read More

To Help Orcas Catch More Salmon, Washington Plans To Increase Spill At Dams

By Courtney Flatt January 30, 2019

A young resident killer whale chasing a Chinook salmon near Vancouver Island. Image obtained from a small drone that was flown more than 100 feet above the whales for research under NMFS permit #19091.

In an effort to help imperiled salmon, Washington officials are proposing more water be spilled at dams during fish migration. The hope is that this would also increase the amount of food for orcas in Puget Sound.Read More

Columbia River Salmon Face Another (Previously Underestimated) Threat: Gulls

By Courtney Flatt January 27, 2019

Biologist think gulls are eating more juvenile salmon on the Columbia River than they realized. To help salmon, some fish advocates are proposing to shoot problem gulls during salmon migration. CREDIT: Ronald Woan, Flickr Creative Commons

There are a lot of predators known to eat imperiled salmon, from sea lions to double-crested cormorants. For a long time, biologists thought gulls weren’t a big part of the problem. Now, they say that was a miscalculation.Read More

Voters’ Environmental Support Climbs With Republican Presidents, Study Finds

By Courtney Flatt January 24, 2019

Washington State University sociologist Erik Johnson has found that support for public spending to protect the environment goes down during Democratic presidential administrations. CREDIT: ERIK JOHNSON/WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY

If you think environmental policies get more support under Democratic presidents, think again. A new study finds the opposite might actually be true.Read More

Study: Millions Of Americans Could Be Drinking Water High In Nitrates

By Courtney Flatt January 23, 2019

Martin Yanez and his sister Rosalinda Elsa Pina live in the Yakima Valley, near a large dairy. Their well water has high levels of nitrates, which can cause health problems. In the winter Elsa Pina uses extra gallons of water to make caldos, or stews. Boiling water with high levels of nitrates actually concentrates the contamination. CREDIT: ESMY JIMENEZ/NWPB

More people than expected are drinking water that could be harmful to their health. That’s according to a new study that looked at a water contaminate that’s been an issue in one of the Northwest’s most productive farming regions.Read More

Washington Lawmakers Open Debate On Clean Fuel Standard

By Courtney Flatt January 16, 2019

Tailpipe emissions. CREDIT: FLICKR/EUTOPICATION AND HYPOXIA

The gas and diesel you use to fuel your car are some of the biggest sources of greenhouse gasses and air pollution in Washington. Some lawmakers want to change that.Read More

Northwest Utilities Plan For Future As Regional Coal-Power Plants Are Phased Out

By Courtney Flatt January 8, 2019

Portland General Electric's coal-fired Boardman Power Plant along the Columbia River. Courtesy PGE

A new federal report shows the amount of coal burned for power has fallen to its lowest point in almost 40 years. That’s because natural gas is cheap, renewable energy is growing and coal plants are shutting down.Read More

As Ryan Zinke Departs Interior, Chances Dim For North Cascades Grizzly Reintroduction

By Courtney Flatt December 23, 2018

This undated file photo provided by the National Park Service shows a grizzly bear walking along a ridge in Montana.National Park Service CREDIT: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

A controversial plan to reintroduce grizzly bears to Washington’s North Cascades will not be finished by the end of the year. Federal officials had pushed to bring grizzlies back to wilder parts of the state. Those efforts have stalled.Read More

Grazing Restrictions Could Be Lifted On Some Of Oregon’s Sage Grouse Habitat

By Courtney Flatt December 7, 2018

The Trump administration wants to reduce restrictions for greater sage grouse across seven states. For the imperiled birds in Oregon, that means fewer grazing restrictions in some specific habitat. The decision has rankled conservation and hunting groups and been supported by ranchers.Read More

Gone Fisher-ing: An Elusive Predator Soon Returns To The North Cascades

By Courtney Flatt December 2, 2018

Fishers were once plentiful across the western United States until fur trappers wiped out their population. CREDIT: GREG DAVIS/OPB

Washington’s North Cascades will soon see the return of a small, weasel-like predator called the fisher. The carnivores have been missing from the area since the 1930s. Biologists hope the reintroduction next week will follow in the footsteps of other successful efforts in Washington.Read More

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