Emily Schwing, Author at Northwest Public Broadcasting

Washington Department Of Fish And Wildlife Stepping Up Controlled Burns This Spring

By Emily Schwing April 3, 2018

File photo. Washington's Department of FIsh and Wildlife plans to set controlled fires on on more than 1,000 acres in Okanogan, Ferry and Pend Oreille counties. CREDIT: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Forests and grasslands in eastern Washington are at high risk for large, intense wildfire. This spring Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife plans to using controlled burning on more than 1,000 acres in Okanogan, Ferry and Pend Oreille counties.Read More

Visitors And Spending In National Forests In Washington And Oregon Flat Over 20 Years

By Emily Schwing April 2, 2018

A report out last month says visitors spent nearly $740 million in communities near U.S. Forest Service lands in Washington and Oregon. The number of visitors and dollars coming into the region hasn’t changed much in nearly two decades.Read More

Free Dental Work For Veterans In Spokane And Portland This Week

By Emily Schwing April 2, 2018

File photo SENIOR AIRMAN JEFF PARKINSON / U.S. AIR FORCE

The “Mobile Mouth," a 42-foot long mobile dentist’s office, will stop in Portland and Spokane this week as part of a nationwide tour to provide free dental care to veterans.Read More

After Six Decades Of ‘Extinction’ In Canada, Sinixt Tribal Members Celebrate Their Homecoming

By Emily Schwing March 30, 2018

Artwork to commemorate the day a trial judge acquitted Sinixt descendant and Washington resident Rick Desautel of illegal hunting was created by Chief Rice, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville.

Over the past decade, surviving Sinixt tribal members who live in Washington have waged a legal battle to get their rights and access to traditional territory back. They recently celebrated their victories at an honor ceremony in British Columbia.Read More

New Top Northwest Wildfire Official: ‘Not All Fire is Bad’

By Emily Schwing March 23, 2018

File photo of a firefighter using a driptorch to apply fire during a prescribed burn. CREDIT: SWANSON SCOTT

The new person in charge of regional firefighters at the U.S. Forest Service has called for an increase in prescribed fire and a change in attitude about wildfires.Read More

Spring Is In The Air, And With It The 2018 Northwest Wildfire Season

By Emily Schwing March 20, 2018

File photo. Fire danger in the Northwest heats up with the arrival of spring. CREDIT: EMILY SCHWING/N3

It may still be wet and muddy out there, but it’s also the time of year when wildland firefighters start to gear up for hot, dry weather and wildfires. This year, the Washington Legislature approved $1.7 million in preventative fire management money (different from fire fighting) for the upcoming season. Fire managers are also waiting to see how much, if any, federal Read More

After 70 Years, Salmon Could Return To Columbia River Above Grand Coulee Dam

By Emily Schwing March 16, 2018

Grand Coulee Dam File Photo - CREDIT Bureau of Reclamation

If all goes according to plan, there could soon be salmon above the Grand Coulee Dam again. That’s according to Cody Desautel, director of Natural Resources for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville.Read More

Coeur D’Alene Tribal Member Garners FBI Attention For Work To Combat Domestic Violence

By Emily Schwing March 13, 2018

Bernie LaSarte, of Idaho's Coeur D'Alene tribe is the only Native American to win the FBI's Community Leadership Award this year. EMILY SCHWING / NORTHWEST NEWS NETWORK

The FBI is recognizing Coeur D’Alene tribal member Bernie LaSarte for her efforts to combat domestic violence in the Idaho Panhandle.   LaSarte is one of 56 recipients from across the country who will formally accept a national Community Leadership Award in Washington, D.C., next month.Read More

Salish Karaoke: A Competitive Celebration Helping To Preserve A Northwest Indigenous Language

By Emily Schwing March 11, 2018

Keegan Heron and friend Kayla Thomas performed 'Everybody' by the Backstreet Boys in front of nearly 500 people for the annual Salish Karaoke Contest, hosted by the Kalispell Indian tribe in Spokane.

What’s the best way to learn a language? Salish teachers are using music and song to introduce their Native American language to new speakers. It’s a language spoken by many tribes across the Northwest. And it's considered ‘critically endangered’ by UNESCO — the cultural arm of the United Nations.Read More

Salish Speakers, Teachers Gather In Spokane To Celebrate Their Native Language

By Emily Schwing March 7, 2018

Native speakers from across the Northwest and Canada have gathered in Spokane for the annual Celebrating Salish Conference. CREDIT: EMILY SCHWING

Native speakers from across the Northwest and Canada are in Spokane this week to speak Salish and learn from those who teach it.Read More

Native Community Reels From Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Famed Native Writer Sherman Alexie

By Emily Schwing March 6, 2018

File photo. Multiple women hae accused Native American writer Sherman Alexie of sexual harassment.. CREDIT: ASU DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

One of the best-known Native American writers in the Northwest has come under fire for sexual harassment. Sherman Alexie is Spokane Indian, making the allegations against Alexie particularly painful for members of the Native community.Read More

Bogus Social Media Threat At Spokane High School Linked to Identical Threat Made In Yakima

By Emily Schwing March 2, 2018

A threat written on a bathroom wall forced school officials in Spokane to place a high school on modified lockdown Friday. But the lockdown was a precaution because it wasn’t clear there was a threat at all.Read More

Forecasts Predict Low Salmon Returns In Washington This Year

By Emily Schwing February 28, 2018

File photo. Wildlife officials expect returns of salmon in Washington state will be low this year. CREDIT: U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE

Every year, wildlife officials keep track of how many salmon return to their spawning grounds. This year, they expect low returns of salmon in Washington state—and that could change the fishing outlook.   Read More

Will Jay Inslee Veto Bill That Limits Transparency In Washington’s Legislature?

By Emily Schwing February 27, 2018

Washington Gov. spoke to MSNBC's Chris Hayes on Monday night. MSNBC

Twelve newspapers across Washington ran editorials Tuesday demanding that Gov. Jay Inslee veto what they are calling a “secrecy” bill. It’s legislation that would exempt legislators from the state Public Records Act.Read More

In Referendum, Tribal Members Vote To Keep The Name ‘Colville’

By Emily Schwing February 9, 2018

Colville Tribes sign in Nespelem, Washington

It looks like the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation will be keeping their name -- for now. Tribal members have rejected a referendum that would have kicked off a name-change process. Read More

Washington House Considers State Campaign Finance Reform Bill

By Emily Schwing February 7, 2018

A bill making its way through the Washington state House of Representatives would make campaign contributions more transparent. It passed the state Senate last month.Read More

As One Washington Wolf Poaching Case Comes To A Close, Others Remain A Mystery

By Emily Schwing February 6, 2018

Last month, a Washington resident was fined more than $8,000 for poaching three wolves in 2016. DNA evidence linked him to three separate kills, but other poaching cases remain unsolved. Read More

Northwest Museums Revive Native American Artifacts To Tell Richer Stories

By Emily Schwing February 2, 2018

Sven Haakanson, the curator of North American Anthropology at the Burke Museum, says he wants exhibits at the new museum to speak to the resiliency of North America's Native people.

Museum curators in the Northwest are now working to update exhibits that focus on the region’s indigenous people. They are trying to do that in a way that both modernizes stories of indigenous people and tells them more truthfully. Read More

Exterior Construction Of New Seattle Burke Museum Nearing Completion

By Emily Schwing February 2, 2018

Right next door to the current Burke Museum at the University of Washington in Seattle is a much large building under construction. When it’s complete, it will serve as the new state Museum of Natural History and Culture.Read More

British Columbia Files Second Appeal Of Washington Man’s Tribal Sovereignty Case

By Emily Schwing January 29, 2018

File photo of the roof of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings in Victoria, BC.File photo of the roof of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings in Victoria, BC.

British Columbia is taking the next step in a decade-long battle over native tribal rights. The province has filed paperwork to appeal a decision that granted Washington state tribal members rights to their ancestral lands in Canada.Read More

Spokane Brewery Makes Beer From Food Waste (And It’s Darn Tasty)

By Emily Schwing January 24, 2018

Thomas Croskrey, head brewer at Bellwether Brewing Company in Spokane, will tap a keg of his plum beer on anuary 25. The plums he used in the beer he made came from the Spokane Edible Tree Project, a non-profit that aims to keep food from going to waste. EMILY SCHWING / NORTHWEST NEWS NETWORK

There’s all kinds of stuff found in beers these days: cucumbers, pumpkins—-and plums A small brewery in Spokane will start selling beer they’ve made from local fruit.Read More

Washington Lawmakers Propose Banning Controversial Type Of Chemicals

By Emily Schwing January 23, 2018

Washington State Capitol Building. CREDIT: WSDOT / FLICKR

The Washington House Environment Committee hosted public hearings Tuesday on two bills that would restrict a class of chemicals found in everything from firefighting retardant to food wrappers.Read More

Only 11 Caribou Left In The Northwest (And Lower 48), Can They Be Saved?

By Emily Schwing January 23, 2018

The last herd of caribou found anywhere in the lower 48 states is in the Pacific Northwest. To be clear, this caribou herd is tiny.Read More

Record Bald Eagle Numbers In North Idaho (And Biologists Don’t Know Why)

By Emily Schwing January 13, 2018

Every winter, hundreds of bald eagles migrate through Idaho’s panhandle. This year, eagles numbers are at a record high. Migrating eagles start to arrive in mid-November, just as the blue-backed kokanee salmon return to the lake.Read More

Fight Over Sovereign Tribal Rights Spanning U.S. – Canada Border Could Be Nearing End

By Emily Schwing January 12, 2018

Tribal members are waiting for the next move from British Columbia’s provincial government in a long-running battle over sovereign rights. Rick Desautel is one of roughly 4,000 Sinixt tribal members who live on the Colville Reservation in northeastern Washington state.Read More

British Columbia High Court Sides With Colville Tribal Member In Cross-Border Dispute

By Emily Schwing December 29, 2017

The Supreme Court of British Columbia has upheld the claims of a Native American man from Washington state that he has the right to hunt in the province.Read More

Landowners Fined More Than $600,000 For Illegal Water Use in Central Washington

By Emily Schwing December 22, 2017

File photo. landowners near Moses Lake, Washington, have been fined $618,000 for illegally pumping 500 million gallons of water from the Odessa aquifer. | ANNA KING / NORTHWEST NEWS NETWORK […]Read More