Susan Hess - founder of Columbia Insight and tireless environmental warrior
At Columbia Insight every day is Earth Day. But today, Columbia Insight is celebrating the environmental warriors who devote their time, energy, and expertise to protecting our clean air, water, and natural resources.
Washington is fighting the federal government over coal-fired operations at the Centralia Generating Facility, which has been inactive since December. https://columbiainsight.org/washingtons-last-coal-fired-plant-still-in-limbo/
In 2024, fracking executive Chris Wright (far right) gave the Trump campaign more than $228,000. Now he’s America’s energy secretary. “The planet weeps,” said Ore. Sen. Jeff Merkley upon his nomination to the post.
Washington’s last coal-fired plant still in limbo.
The feds want to burn coal, the state doesn’t, the facility’s owners are caught in the middle ...
columbiainsight.org/washingtons-...
Wolves in Yellowstone Park https://columbiainsight.org/wolves-return-might-impact-ecosystems-less-than-previously-thought/
Study: Wolves return might impact ecosystems less than previously thought. Predator effects on habitat are real but context-dependent. How do they apply in the Columbia River Basin?
columbiainsight.org/wolves-retur...
Cleanup at the Hanford Site in Eastern Washington, is scheduled to go on until at least 2086. Here, work continues on an interim surface barrier at the facility’s U Tank Farm. https://columbiainsight.org/feds-want-to-cut-hanford-cleanup-budget/
The Trump administration wants to cut $400 million from Hanford’s 2027 cleanup budget. Scrambling to fund military campaigns, Trump proposes slackening eforts to address radiation dangers.
columbiainsight.org/feds-want-to...
Thanks @ianrosewrites.bsky.social
Priest Lake ID https://columbiainsight.org/houses-built-on-rare-wetlands-it-could-happen-in-idaho/
Your story for #LocalNewsDay - Houses built on rare wetlands? In Idaho it could happen.
A decade-long fight to preserve one of the state’s last pristine wetland habitats is picking up steam.
columbiainsight.org/houses-built...
We are excited to share the launch of #LocalNewsDay, a new nationwide day of action happening April 9, 2026, dedicated to connecting communities with trusted local news and information. Visit localnewsday.org to explore the campaign and participating newsrooms.
@localnewsday.bsky.social
Leadership change: Gabe Sheoships is the new executive director of Friends of the Columbia Gorge. Photo: Friends of the Columbia Gorge https://columbiainsight.org/friends-of-the-columbia-gorge-names-new-executive-director/
Gabe Sheoships (L) and Kevin Gorman.
Friends of the Columbia Gorge names new executive director. It’s a turbulent time for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Now, a new figure is arriving on the scene to address the Gorge’s most pressing issues.
columbiainsight.org/friends-of-t...
Oregon’s Valley of the Giants has been protected since the 1970s. Now the federal government is reconsidering safeguards against logging the area. https://columbiainsight.org/trump-wants-to-log-oldgrowth-these-two-brothers-are-out-to-stop-him/
Brothers Will (left) and Jim Pattiz, here in Yosemite National Park, are mapping a course to prevent the rollback of environmental protections on public lands
Trump wants to log old growth. Two brothers are to out stop him. BLM calls Oregon’s Valley of the Giants an “Outstanding Natural Area.” Also an “Area of Critical Environmental Concern.” Now it's being reconsidered to increase sustained yield of timber harvest.
columbiainsight.org/trump-wants-...
The Port of Morrow is surrounded by four industrial parks with data processing centers, an ethanol plant and food processors. It produces tons of nitrogen-rich water that it sends to area farms to use on crops, contributing to groundwater contamination. https://columbiainsight.org/amazon-to-pay-20-5-million-settlement-over-oregon-nitrate-pollution/
Amazon to pay $20.5 m settlement over Oregon nitrate pollution. Company officials chose to settle early with plaintiffs to avoid lengthy legal battle and to “focus our time and resources on supporting the community rather than on litigation,” said spokesperson.
columbiainsight.org/amazon-to-pa...
Data center near Boardman, OR. https://columbiainsight.org/new-gas-pipelines-in-gorge-eastern-washington-could-directly-supply-data-centers/
New gas pipelines in the Columbia River Gorge could directly supply data centers. An Oklahoma company wants to expand its natural gas network in WA as tech companies turn to fossil fuels to power AI.
columbiainsight.org/new-gas-pipe...
Chehalis River - one of the West Coast’s last free-flowing rivers. A flow-through dam is being proposed to mitigate flood damage. https://columbiainsight.org/a-new-dam-could-imperil-one-of-washingtons-last-unobstructed-rivers/
New dam could imperil one of Washington’s last unobstructed rivers. The #chinook salmon could be a casualty of a flood-control plan.
columbiainsight.org/a-new-dam-co...
Controversy surrounding data centers is once again heating up The Dalles, Ore https://columbiainsight.org/opposition-to-data-centers-is-growing/
Opposition to data centers is growing. How far can it go?
As big tech eyes public lands in its quest for power, public opinion is souring.
Bill that called for transfering 150 acres from Mt. Hood National Forest to The Dalles City made no mention of data centers.
columbiainsight.org/opposition-t...
Coffin Butte Landfill in Benton County, OR, has for years been a pain point of contention for area residents. https://columbiainsight.org/oregon-deq-issues-largest-fine-for-pollutants-in-agency-history/
Oregon DEQ issues largest fine for pollutants in agency history.
State finds the owners of Coffin Butte Landfill “failed to monitor, capture and control landfill gas emissions”.
columbiainsight.org/oregon-deq-i...
Welcome to Oregon: The American pika is one of Oregon’s 294 “species of greatest conservation need,” defined as having small or declining populations and/or are of management concern. https://columbiainsight.org/oregon-finds-new-way-to-fund-wildlife-conservation-tax-tourists/
Oregon finds a new way to fund wildlife conservation—tax tourists. The state will increase its lodging tax to support wildlife and pay ranchers for wolf kills.
columbiainsight.org/oregon-finds...
Laura Brennan Bissell bought property in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in 2021. She became a Gorge commissioner in 2024. Now she wants changes. https://columbiainsight.org/a-california-winemaker-is-fighting-to-roll-back-gorge-protections-and-winning/
A California winemaker is fighting to roll back #ColumbiaRiverGorge protections. And winning.
A battle between conservation and commerce is underway in the National Scenic Area. At stake is the Gorge’s future.
columbiainsight.org/a-california...
The amount of water that spills over dams, such as the John Day Dam on the Columbia River, (pictured) is a crucial piece of salmon recovery. https://columbiainsight.org/court-orders-emergency-measures-to-protect-salmon-steelhead/
In a challenge to federal withdrawal from cooperative deal, court orders emergency measures to protect #salmon and #steelhead.
The decision affects 8 lower Columbia and Snake River dams.
columbiainsight.org/court-orders...
https://columbiainsight.org/washingtons-fish-and-wildlife-commission-is-being-judged-by-flawed-report/
OPINION: Washington’s Fish and Wildlife Commission is being judged by flawed assumptions.
The governor’s office and WDFW continue to rely on a flawed and biased narrative that blames the commission—while ignoring the real sources of instability.
columbiainsight.org/washingtons-...
Bruce Savage, Idaho State University chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering. https://columbiainsight.org/as-drought-fears-mount-a-team-in-idaho-proposes-a-subterranean-dam/
Can we engineer a way out of water shortages and a looming agricultural crisis?
As drought fears mount, a team in Idaho proposes a subterranean dam.
columbiainsight.org/as-drought-f...
The Bureau of Land Management indicated it could return three-quarters of federal forest acreage in western Oregon to 1960s harvest levels, more than 10 times current levels. https://columbiainsight.org/feds-propose-opening-millions-of-acres-of-oregon-forests-to-1960s-levels/
President Trump says he’ll deploy “God Squad” to override species protections. OSU prof calls plan “insanity”.
More than 10 times current levels. The BLM indicated it could return three-quarters of federal forest acreage in Oregon to 1960s harvest levels.
columbiainsight.org/feds-propose...
Pat Arnold, Executive Director of Friends of the White Salmon River. https://columbiainsight.org/the-conscience-of-conservation-in-southwest-washington/
If you love unspoiled places on the WA side of the Columbia Gorge, you might have Pat Arnold to thank.
For more than 3 decades, she has had a voice, if not a hand, in just about every major conservation debate in the region. Watch video to get inspired!
columbiainsight.org/the-conscien...
Cold comfort: Bull trout are listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. They require water from 36 to 59 degrees. https://columbiainsight.org/bull-trout-caught-in-forest-thinning-row/
A Forest Service plan to conduct a woodlands burn in a remote corner of Nevada is raising alarm. Bull trout are caught up in a forest thinning row.
columbiainsight.org/bull-trout-c...
Jefferson County includes Mount Jefferson, Confederated Tribe of Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Metolius River, Black Butte, Suttle Lake, Lake Billy Chinook and Priday Agate Beds. https://columbiainsight.org/the-law-that-makes-oregon-unique-is-under-threat/
It’s easy to take Oregon’s natural spaces and spectacular vistas for granted. But a big reason Oregon looks like Oregon is the state’s unique land use laws. Now those laws are under attack.
columbiainsight.org/the-law-that...
The export capacity of the AltaGas Ferndale Terminal at Cherry Point, Wash., has come under scrutiny. https://columbiainsight.org/on-washington-coast-a-case-of-fuel-exports-vs-habitat-protection/
There's a controversy in the NW corner of Washington where community members are challenging a petroleum export giant over port operations and their impact on local habitat.
columbiainsight.org/on-washingto...
Workers pull a concrete cask filled with cesium capsules out of the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility at the Hanford. https://columbiainsight.org/hanford-begins-transfer-of-extremely-radioactive-material/
Hanford on the Columbia River in Wash. begins transfer of extremely radioactive material.This massive project is a top priority for Washington and integral to cleaning up the nuclear reserve.
columbiainsight.org/hanford-begi...
Over-harvesting of wild huckleberries, an historic First Food for Pacific Northwest Tribes, has caused the Forest Service to re-think picking regulations. https://columbiainsight.org/why-the-forest-service-is-examining-its-ban-on-commercial-huckleberry-picking/
Why the Forest Service is examining its ban on commercial huckleberry picking.
Commercial harvesting was eliminated for 2025. Will the ban be extended in 2026?
Gifford Pinchot National Forest wants to gauge public sentiment regarding how well the 2025 ban worked.
columbiainsight.org/why-the-fore...
Rendering depicts proposed Goldendale Energy Storage Project, south of Goldendale, Wash. on the Columbia River. https://columbiainsight.org/major-gorge-energy-development-gets-fed-go-ahead/
Major Gorge energy development gets fed go-ahead.
Yakama Nation leaders continue to oppose pumped hydropower storage project in Klickitat County.
Hotly contested Goldendale Energy Storage Project has been awarded key 40-year construction and operations license.
columbiainsight.org/major-gorge-...
Speaking up: Former National Park Service Director Charles F. Sams III is Cayuse and Walla Walla and an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. https://columbiainsight.org/chuck-sams-on-the-biggest-tragedy-of-trumps-gutting-of-national-park-service/
Chuck Sams on ‘biggest tragedy’ of Trump’s gutting of National Park Service.
The former park service director says cuts to agency staff threaten to break emotional bonds Americans have with public land.
columbiainsight.org/chuck-sams-o...
What’s happening in there? eDNA analysis can determine species present at the time a water sample is collected based on DNA shed into the environment. https://columbiainsight.org/why-wdfw-is-bringing-edna-project-to-washington-rivers/
Why WDFW is bringing eDNA project to WA rivers.
WA state has embarked on a wide-ranging study to catalogue all native, freshwater aquatic species found in all the states rivers and major drainages.
columbiainsight.org/why-wdfw-is-...
West world: Western redcedars from the Pacific Northwest are thriving at this experimental forest in the Czech Republic. Photo: Pavel Horák. https://columbiainsight.org/climate-change-is-killing-this-pnw-tree-in-europe-they-want-to-plant-it/
Climate change is killing this PNW tree. In Europe they want to plant it.
Western redcedars are declining at home, but they’re climate change winners in Central Europe.
Starting in 2017 western redcedar trees in OR and WA started dying off in record numbers.
columbiainsight.org/climate-chan...