Northwest (OR WA)

Covering Wildfire — Expert Advice on Emerging Issues, Recurring Risks

With wildfires becoming more extreme in every way, reporters covering them face new challenges along with familiar hazards. A pair of experienced wildfire journalists and others on the front lines offer advice on dealing with access restrictions, on-the-ground dangers, toxic exposure risks and traumatized survivors — as climate change speeds up the news cycle and misinformation muddies the reporting landscape.

SEJ Publication Types:

Topics on the Beat:

Region:

Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY)

Northwest (OR WA)

Southwest (AZ NM OK TX)

Visibility:

Public

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Trump Tariffs Blow Up Long U.S.-Canada Environmental Partnership

As trade wars loom with U.S. allies, including our neighbors to the north and south, another kind of long-standing relationship is under threat — the environmental partnership between the United States and Canada. A Backgrounder Analysis examines deep-rooted ties over energy, water and timber. Does the brewing conflict over trade mean the long bonds over the environment have been broken?

SEJ Publication Types:

Topics on the Beat:

Environmental Politics

Region:

Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI)

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"Inside The Fight To Save California’s Dying Sea Lions From Toxic Algae"

"An animal’s chance of survival after domoic acid poisoning is 50-50, and this year an outbreak has sickened hundreds"

Source: Guardian, 04/15/2025

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Telling the Stories of the Silent Sentinels

To many, plants are a merely green backdrop, indistinguishable and inconsequential. But, freelancer Karen Mockler says that such “plant blindness” belies an urgent need for our notice. More than a third of the world’s trees and thousands of other plant species face extinction. Their plight — and their many blessings — offer perceptive journalists a wealth of reporting and storytelling opportunities. Mockler on why to write about plants.

SEJ Publication Types:

Region:

Southwest (AZ NM OK TX)

International

Canada

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Public

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"Grieving Killer Whale Who Carried Calf’s Body Spotted Again With Dead Baby"

"An apparently grieving killer whale who swam more than 1,000 miles pushing the body of her dead newborn has lost another calf and is again carrying the body, a development researchers say is a “devastating” loss for the ailing population."

Source: Guardian, 01/03/2025

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Invasive ‘Murder Hornets’ Found In Wash. Have Been Eradicated: Officials

"The hunt for invasive “murder hornets” is over in Washington and the rest of the U.S. after three years without confirmed detections, state and federal officials said Wednesday."

Source: States Newsroom, 12/19/2024

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"Gas Could Mean Billions for Indigenous People in Canada. Some Fear a Cost."

"New export terminals along the rugged Pacific coastline have reignited a generations-old debate over identity and environmental stewardship."

Climate Change

Energy & Fuel

Environmental Justice

Source: NYTimes, 12/16/2024

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Oregon Tribe Has Hunting And Fishing Rights Restored Under Court Ruling

"For the last 47 years, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians have held an annual powwow to celebrate regaining federal recognition. This month’s event, however, was especially significant: It came just two weeks after a federal court lifted restrictions on the tribe’s rights to hunt, fish and gather — restrictions tribal leaders had opposed for decades."

Public

National (U.S.)

Northwest (OR WA)

Source: AP, 12/03/2024

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‘Bomb Cyclone’ Kills 1 And Knocks Out Power Across The Northwest US

"A major storm swept across the northwest U.S., battering the region with strong winds and rain, causing widespread power outages and downing trees that killed at least one person."

Source: AP, 11/20/2024