Our latest newsletter is out! Catch up with all that is happening with Northwest Science at the link below:

mailchi.mp/d8a31a8d6b3d...

This gifted H.J. Andrews mug showing a diagram of old-growth Douglas-fir forests constantly wins the award for my favorite place to put my coffee.

Agreed.

New paper in Ecosystems: we mapped 30M ha of coastal Alaska & BC temperate rainforest, identifying 1.2M ha of old growth and 2.3M ha of mature forests. Summarized rather well by coauthor and advisor for this work @melissalucash.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1007/s100...

tfw when we all realise that we should've decarbonized simply for energy security reasons alone and dgaf about who makes the gear; just install it and you're probably good for a couple of decades instead of relying on a constant stream of geopolitically vulnerable hydrocarbons.

We do need to go back to incentivizing their adoption though.

US House transport committee head wants to collect EV fees for highway repairs — Reuters The chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee wants to collect funds ​from electric vehicles to help pay for U.S. highway repairs ‌as part of a surface transportation bill.

As a fan of electric cars I think that having a way to tax their use makes a lot of sense. I don’t think the correct way would be a flat annual fee, but something in line with state and federal taxes on pumped gas. Not sure how this would work while charging at home though…

The Wayne Harrison Memorial Scholarship supports the academic and professional growth of students through funding research, management, or education projects related to wildland fire science. Applications are due April 15, and scholarships are awarded by May 31. https://ow.ly/wwBS50YsubN

As a volunteer equipment tech for Oregon Adaptive Sports, I help build, tune, and maintain adaptive gear like sit-skis so athletes can get out on the mountain. It’s a small behind-the-scenes role that helps make these experiences possible.

James's Fundraising Page at Ski for All

Rare personal non-research post:

Final push for Oregon Adaptive Sports – Ski For All! OAS helps athletes with disabilities get on the mountain with adaptive gear and instruction. Donations are currently matched, so your gift has double the impact.
oregonadaptivesports.rallybound.org/ski-for-all/...

Interested in landscape modeling and are looking to use LANDIS-II? The LANDIS community is hosting a virtual workshop in May!

A great place to publish PNW-focused research just got better. Thanks to BioOne’s Subscribe to Open (S2O) program, @nwscience.bsky.social l will publish 2026 articles as open access, with authors paying only standard page charges.

Deadline for abstract extended to March 2nd

What the National Center for Atmospheric Research means to the atmospheric sciences Born out of a time of great need for the federal government, NCAR plays a role with few analogues.

Great piece out today in Physics Today on historical origins, contemporary relevance, & fundamental irreplaceability of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which remains at imminent risk of dismantling for partisan political reasons.

Some really great speakers this year and up to $1000 towards student travel!

There is No Scientific Justification to Revoke the Endangerment Finding The U.S. EPA's decision to repeal the Endangerment Finding will limit the government's ability to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

As I say here, there is no scientific justification to revoke the engagement finding. In fact, over the last 15+ yrs, the evidence of how climate change affects our health has only grown. Higher risk of allergies, dementia, fertility, heart disease, and death: that’s what’s on the line. @nature.org

My colleagues Calvin Farris (NPS) and Ellis Margolis (USGS) led a landmark study in paleofire reconstruction. In addition to showing that fire management can restore past fire regimes, the demonstrated methods are a first in dendrochronology. 1/6 esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

dplyr 1.2.0 dplyr 1.2.0 fills in some important gaps in dplyr's API: we've added a new complement to `filter()` focused on dropping rows, and we've expanded the `case_when()` family with three new recoding and re...

dplyr 1.2.0 is out now and we are SO excited!

- `filter_out()` for dropping rows

- `recode_values()`, `replace_values()`, and `replace_when()` that join `case_when()` as a complete family of recoding/replacing tools

These are huge quality of life wins for #rstats!

tidyverse.org/blog/2026/02...

To our senators: what contingency plans exist if a U.S. administration attempts territorial expansion in Greenland and triggers a diplomatic rupture with Europe?

To the public: what actions can we take to signal to our allies that this is not actually what we want? The midterms seem pretty far out.

NWSA is offering up to $1000 to cover travel costs for students presenting at our meeting this March. Great opportunity to show off the regional research you have been working on.

I volunteer as an adaptive equipment tech for both ski and bike programs. During the winter I get to work with at Hoodoo, fitting athletes with adaptive ski equipment and helping dial in setups for their specific needs. It’s a great organization ran by amazing people serving awesome athletes.

James's Fundraising Page at Ski for All

I’m doing a fundraiser again this year for Oregon Adaptive Sports.

Donations help raise funds that support adaptive equipment, instructors, transportation, and scholarships so everyone can access outdoor recreation year-round.

Donate here:
oregonadaptivesports.rallybound.org/ski-for-all/...

man holding sign "Closing NCAR will harm the American public" outside the AGU 2025 annual meeting in New Orleans (contains QR code)

Seen at #AGU2025 in New Orleans

1/3

In our new peer-reviewed paper, we estimate that aboveground forest carbon storage is projected to decrease by 18% (796 Tg C) under +2°C climate warming in the western US. 🧪🌍

This has big implications for carbon offset programs!

Next slide, please ...

Reading Jurassic Park for the first time and realizing it’s basically a novel warning data scientists about how bad assumptions lead to false statistical outcomes.

Join us for the 96th Annual Meeting of the Northwest Scientific Association!

Registration is now open for our 2026 Annual Meeting, Resilient Science, held March 23–27, 2026 at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA.

So, why not #Switch2 @microsoft.com ? Surely it can handle an #Unreal update of Combat Evolved.

Thinking of all my federal colleagues today, holding our government together by a thread while preparing for a potential shutdown from which they may or may not return. You all deserve so much better, and so do we.

Dang… looks like I’m not going to be buying #FC26 or any future EA games.

Anyone hear any updates for the MCC Switch 2 port? I’m dying over here. #halo #MCC #Switch2