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Rob Plotnikoff takes a measurement as a part of the county's State of Our Waters survey at Tambark Creek in Bothell, Washington on Monday, July 1, 2024. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

Local News

Snohomish County stream team bushwhacks a path to healthier waterways

This summer, the crew of three will survey 40 sites for the State of Our Waters program. It’s…

Spencer Island Park on Saturday, June 29, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

Local News

If Climate Commitment Act is repealed, what local projects are at risk?

Salmon restoration, ferry electrification and other green projects in Snohomish County could lose funding in November, if Initiative…

The access loop trail on the Old Sauk Trail on Monday, May 27, 2024 in Darrington, Washington. (Ta'Leah Van Sistine / The Herald)

Local News

10 accessible trails to explore this summer in Snohomish County

For people with disabilities, tree roots and other obstacles can curb access to the outdoors. But some trails…

Homeowners Jim and Chris Hall stand beneath their new heat pump, at right, inside their Whidbey Island home on Thursday, Sep. 7, 2023, near Langley, Washington. The couple, who are from Alaska, have decreased their use of their wood burning stove to reduce their carbon footprint. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Local News

Snohomish County to start ‘kicking gas’ in push for all-electric homes

Last year, 118 Whidbey Island homes installed energy-efficient heat pumps. A new campaign aims to make the case…

Steamboat Geyser erupts in Yellowstone National Park on September 17, 2018. (Photo by Jacob W. Frank/National Park Service)

Local News

Lynnwood man sentenced for trespassing in Yellowstone National Park

Viktor Pyshniuk, 21, trespassed in April to take a photo of Yellowstone’s most dangerous geyser, according to the…

Rose Freeman (center) and Anastasia Allison of The Musical Mountaineers play atop Sauk Mountain near Concrete in October 2017. (Ian Terry / The Herald)

Local News

Musical Mountaineers’ sunset serenade to launch Adopt a Stream campaign

The nonprofit aims to transform into an “accessible model of sustainability,” with solar panels, electric vehicles and more.

Maplewood Parent Cooperative School seventh and eighth grade students listen to Mason Rolph of Olympia Community Solar speak about different solar projects during a science class for the student's Sustainable Schools engineering units on Friday, June 7, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Local News

How can Edmonds make new schools more sustainable? Students have ideas

In a town hall Friday, students from Maplewood Parent Co-op will make pitches for the soon-to-be rebuilt College…

U.S. Fish and Wildlife staff place a radio collar on a Grizzly Bear in the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife / Wayne Kasworm)

Local News

For grizzly bears coming to Cascades, radio collars will keep close tabs

Tracking an apex predator is tricky. GPS collars play a central role in a controversial plan to repopulate…

Ryan Carlson, 37, talks about how he takes garbage and recycling push carts to the curb while using his wheelchair at his group home on Friday, June 7, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. Carlson receives assistance from an aid to wrap a bungee cord around the container and then behind his legs in order to maintain control as he takes the bins to the curb. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Local News

For those with disabilities, recycling is harder in Snohomish County

Locals would like to see more accessible ways to recycle and improved labeling. Waste collectors said customers can…

WSU Snohomish County Beach Watchers search for crab molts on Olympic Beach in Edmonds. (Photo provided by Jonathan Robinson)

Local News

Learn how to spot invasive crabs this month in Snohomish, Edmonds

The European green crab is considered one of the world’s worst invasive species. Volunteers can help by monitoring…

The gate at Barlow Pass Trailhead on Mountain Loop Highway remains closed due to wet conditions on Thursday, June 6, 2024, in rural Snohomish County, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Local News

Hikers rejoice: Renewed road to Mount Pilchuck, Mountain Loop to open

The notoriously rough route to an iconic hike got a makeover. And the full Mountain Loop Highway, with…

Kayak Point Regional County Park in Stanwood, Washington on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

Local News

Kayak Point, the county’s most popular park, to reopen by next weekend

Snohomish County closed the park last July to update the boat launch and parking lot. The fishing pier…

Kenn Carpenter at age 95 on Feb. 10, 2024, with his photo of Big Four behind him. (Submitted photos)

Local News

‘We were lost, he never was’: Legendary Everett mountaineer dies at 95

Kenn Carpenter summited over 650 peaks in the Pacific Northwest. His legacy has helped many “reach the summit…

Mark Arneson, Department of Natural Resources cascade district manager, walks through a portion of the Stilly Revisited timber sale on Wednesday, May 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Local News

After Oso slide, with old growth in peril, timber sales go under microscope

How much is too much to harvest? Advocates assert legacy forests should have “already been protected.” State officials…

A starling occupies a hole in a power line pole along 103rd Avenue SE on Friday, May 31, 2024 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Local News

Woodpeckers blamed for $1.5M in utility pole damage near Lake Stevens

Birds and insects decimated 18 out of 19 damaged poles in the Bunk Foss area. Now, Snohomish County…

A "for sale" sign is posted outside Mountain Loop Mine’s Everett Aggregate Yard on Thursday, May 30, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Local News

After months of controversy, mine’s Everett gravel yard is for sale

In April, a county judge ordered OMA Construction to stop all work, next door to Fairmount Elementary School.…

A mountain goats in the North Cascades east of Marblemount in August 2017. (Caleb Hutton / The Herald)

Local News

Ahead of grizzly arrival, wildlife advocates assess past translocations

Moving animals has helped struggling populations to rebound. And advocates point to past examples as evidence that “it’s…

A box for the Ridwell recycling program at the reporter’s home in Bothell, Washington on April 30, 2024. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

Local News

In goal to reduce garbage to ‘nothing,’ Everett recyclers try Ridwell

Residents can recycle chip bags, plastic clamshells and more. For a fee, the Seattle service takes items that…

Biologist Kyle Legare measures a salmon on a PUD smolt trap near Sportsman Park in Sultan, Washington on May 6, 2024. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

Local News

Low Chinook runs endanger prime fishing rivers in Snohomish County

Even in pristine salmon habitat like the Sultan, Chinook numbers are down. Warm water and extreme weather are…

Neighbors stand in Lisa Jansson’s yard to get a view of the wall of processed wood remains, or “hog fuel,” building up along the property’s border with DTG on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Local News

After complaints, county shuts down DTG’s Maltby recycling facility

For months, neighbors have reported constant noise and pollution at the facility. By July 15, DTG must stop…