forest Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Lawmaker proposes ban to keep foreign entities from buying Washington forest and farmland

By Tom Banse February 17, 2023

Conversations with farmers in the Skagit Valley, seen here from Samish Overlook, inspired a Democratic state legislator to propose to bar foreign entities from buying Washington croplands

Legislators in Washington state are joining more than a dozen other states that are considering whether to restrict or ban foreign entities from buying farmland. The initial hearing on Olympia's version of the foreign ownership restrictions however drew more criticism than support on Tuesday.Read More

“Prepare For Higher Than Average Fire Season,” Says Washington Forest Protection Association

By Lauren Paterson June 1, 2022

A woman walks through a thick green washington forest with light streaming in behind the trees.

Paula Swedeen, a forest policy specialist for the Washington Environmental Council, walks through forest land adjacent to Mount Rainier National Park. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Listen Reporter Lauren Paterson tells […]Read More

New Research Says Northwest Forests Will Weather Climate Change Better Than Others In The West

By Jes Burns November 19, 2018

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

Climate change is expected to increase drought and wildfire vulnerability in forests across the West. But new research out of Oregon State University shows that some places will fare better than others. Read More

New Forest Service App For Northwest Is First Of Its Kind

By Emily Schwing May 25, 2018

A new app from the U.S. Forest Service provides trail maps and updates on weather, wildfires and road conditions for national forests and grasslands. CREDIT: U.S. FOREST SERVICE / ITUNES

The U.S. Forest Service launched a mobile app this week that provides trail maps and updates on wildfires and road conditions for all of the Northwest’s national forests, a national grassland and one scenic area.Read More

Scientists Say Long-Buried Ice Age Forest Offers Climate Change Clues

By NPR News February 9, 2018

Ben Raines, an environmental reporter for AL.com, holds pieces of wood he collected from a cypress forest discovered in the depths of the Gulf of Mexico. A scientist says having an intact forest from the ice age is rare. CREDIT: DEBBIE ELLIOTT/ NPR

The remarkable discovery of an intact ancient cypress forest in the Gulf of Mexico may reveal a lot about climate change — the past and the future.Read More

DeFazio and Walden Appear in Grants Pass to Promote Timber Trust Bill

By Sueann Ramella January 27, 2012

DeFazio and Walden want to allow for more logging in Oregon Cascade forests such as the Santiam State Fores, pictured here. JASON MCARTHUR / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Listen GRANT’S PASS, […]Read More