Environment

Harbor seal (PAWS)

Jetty Island, a seal paradise, becomes new home for 2 pups

The harbor seals were emaciated when they arrived at PAWS Wildlife Center in Lynnwood. They’re ready for the wild now.

Harbor seal (PAWS)
Buses charge before their next route Friday afternoon at the Everett Transit Center in Everett on October 22, 2021.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Everett to get wireless electric bus chargers via grants

The city is set to benefit from over $2 million in state investments for electric vehicle charging.

Buses charge before their next route Friday afternoon at the Everett Transit Center in Everett on October 22, 2021.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
A pink salmon makes its way upstream along a side stream created to help improve conditions for fish in the Sultan River on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021 in Sultan, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

As a dam tries to mimic nature, Sultan River comes to life

Water is flowing through new channels, salmon have new spots to spawn and kayakers have more chances to battle whitewater.

A pink salmon makes its way upstream along a side stream created to help improve conditions for fish in the Sultan River on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021 in Sultan, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Saman Shareghi is organically farming in his parents yard in Bothell. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

In climate change war, this Bothell man’s weapon is a garden

Saman Shareghi is growing a food forest. His is one of several efforts across Snohomish County.

Saman Shareghi is organically farming in his parents yard in Bothell. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Kate Lunceford has complaints of the use and treatments of trees in new construction in Bothell on October 7, 2021. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

League of Women Voters has a new mission: Defend urban trees

With a focus on climate change, the Snohomish County branch wants to preserve the urban tree canopy.

Kate Lunceford has complaints of the use and treatments of trees in new construction in Bothell on October 7, 2021. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Volunteer Megan Gossen gets ready to plant a paper birch tree for Green Everett Day at Forest Park on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021 in Everett, Washington.  (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Trees, fighters of climate change, are also victims of it

As the weather becomes more extreme, the trees that are synonymous with Washington are suffering.

Volunteer Megan Gossen gets ready to plant a paper birch tree for Green Everett Day at Forest Park on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021 in Everett, Washington.  (Andy Bronson / The Herald)
The South Fork Stillaguamish River runs through a new location past a man-made meander jam, large woody material jam and a live crib wall to help guide its new course on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021 in Verlot, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

At Gold Basin, a river is moved to save endangered salmon

A landslide had been dumping more than 40,000 tons of silt a year into the river. Not anymore.

The South Fork Stillaguamish River runs through a new location past a man-made meander jam, large woody material jam and a live crib wall to help guide its new course on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021 in Verlot, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Zach Graham stands in front of a newly restored Three Fingers Lookout. (Friends of Three Fingers Lookout)

Volunteers give makeover to precarious Three Fingers Lookout

Up high, with cliffs on all sides, the 90-year-old hut got much-needed new windows, shutters and paint.

Zach Graham stands in front of a newly restored Three Fingers Lookout. (Friends of Three Fingers Lookout)
Slit appears in Lane 13 of the 10th Street boat launch as a family hauls items to their boat before heading to Hat Island, on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021 in Everett, Washington. Port of Everett officials say sediment has been pouring in at a much greater rate than usual at Everett’s 10th Street Boat Launch. The Port is accepting bids for dredging the launch and the area north of it.  (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

At Everett boat launch, a sand bar is stranding seafarers

The pileup of silt from the Snohomish River is proving to be problematic. The port plans to dig it out.

Slit appears in Lane 13 of the 10th Street boat launch as a family hauls items to their boat before heading to Hat Island, on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021 in Everett, Washington. Port of Everett officials say sediment has been pouring in at a much greater rate than usual at Everett’s 10th Street Boat Launch. The Port is accepting bids for dredging the launch and the area north of it.  (Andy Bronson / The Herald)
A worker disassembles a fluidized bed incinerator at the Edmonds Wastewater Treatment Plant on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021 in Edmonds, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

In Edmonds, $26M goes to a cleaner way to get rid of poop

The city will reduce its wastewater carbon footprint by dumping an incinerator and using new technology.

A worker disassembles a fluidized bed incinerator at the Edmonds Wastewater Treatment Plant on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021 in Edmonds, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Two concrete footings for a pedestrian bridge sit on either side of Stevens Creek on the north side of North Cove Park in Lake Stevens. (Isabella Breda / The Herald)

Lake Stevens is still at odds with state over bridge permit

The city has until Sept. 15 to undo site preparation for a pedestrian bridge over Stevens Creek.

Two concrete footings for a pedestrian bridge sit on either side of Stevens Creek on the north side of North Cove Park in Lake Stevens. (Isabella Breda / The Herald)
Nicole VandePutte, an ecologist for Adopt A Stream, looks for fish in a stream along 67th Avenue NE on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 in Arlington, Wash. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

In Arlington, a stream is born, giving fish a new route

The Adopt A Stream demonstration project will help salmon and trout avoid roadside pollution.

Nicole VandePutte, an ecologist for Adopt A Stream, looks for fish in a stream along 67th Avenue NE on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 in Arlington, Wash. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
A burned black bear cub receives care at PAWS. (PAWS)

These burned bear cubs are among the casualties of wildfires

In a first, PAWS Wildlife Center in Lynnwood is caring for three severely burned young black bears.

A burned black bear cub receives care at PAWS. (PAWS)
Two derelict boats near Howarth Park in Everett, along the railroad breakwater south of the Port of Everett. (Chuck Taylor / The Herald) 20210827

6 derelict boats in Everett on track to be hauled away

One vessel set for removal is the Confusion, a 53-foot cruiser sunk at the 10th Street boat launch.

Two derelict boats near Howarth Park in Everett, along the railroad breakwater south of the Port of Everett. (Chuck Taylor / The Herald) 20210827
Megan Dunn

County Councilwoman Dunn selected to serve on EPA committee

She will be the only representative from Washington on a 39-member federal advisory committee.

Megan Dunn
PUD Generation Senior Manager Brad Spangler points out a megawatt meter for one of two generators that provide power to the City of Everett at the Henry M. Jackson Hydroelectric Project on Friday, July 23, 2021 in Sultan, Wash. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

How the PUD kept things humming during the record heat wave

The public utility has been bracing for the impacts of climate change for more than a decade.

PUD Generation Senior Manager Brad Spangler points out a megawatt meter for one of two generators that provide power to the City of Everett at the Henry M. Jackson Hydroelectric Project on Friday, July 23, 2021 in Sultan, Wash. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County PUD's innovative solar battery powered microgrid batteries sit in their enclosed units during a visit by Governor Jay Inslee on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 in Arlington, Wash. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

PUD’s experimental solar power microgrid is ready to go live

The site in Arlington will be a test lab of ideas, as the PUD figures out the future of electricity.

Snohomish County PUD's innovative solar battery powered microgrid batteries sit in their enclosed units during a visit by Governor Jay Inslee on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 in Arlington, Wash. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Two boats abandoned bob in the waters Howarth Park in in Everett on July 14, 2021. They have been inspected by Department of Ecology teams to check for oil spills and await removal. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Abandoned boats washed up at Howarth Park slated for removal

The Everett Police Department is taking steps to haul off two vessels stuck in the sand.

Two boats abandoned bob in the waters Howarth Park in in Everett on July 14, 2021. They have been inspected by Department of Ecology teams to check for oil spills and await removal. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Areas of the declared drought emergency are in orange. (Washington Department of Ecology) 20210714

Snohomish County is an oasis of sorts in Washington’s drought

An emergency was declared for much of the state. Snohomish County was spared, thanks to its reservoirs.

Areas of the declared drought emergency are in orange. (Washington Department of Ecology) 20210714
Community leaders and officials break ground at the Port of Everett's Norton Terminal at the former Kimberly-Clark mill site along the waterfront Thursday morning in Everett on July 15, 2021. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Legacy of pollution makes Everett port project ‘challenging’

The former Kimberly-Clark mill site is nearing the end of a complex cleanup, part of a $36 million terminal project.

Community leaders and officials break ground at the Port of Everett's Norton Terminal at the former Kimberly-Clark mill site along the waterfront Thursday morning in Everett on July 15, 2021. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)