Northwest (OR WA)

"The Washington State Department of Agriculture on Thursday announced that it located and eradicated the first nest of Asian giant hornets, better known by the much more catchy murder hornets, in the state this year."

"Conservation groups are suing the U.S. Forest Service over its plans to log along hundreds of roads in the Willamette National Forest that burned in last year’s wildfires."

"Washington's endangered orca whales received new habitat protections from the federal government on Friday. The National Marine Fisheries Service finalized rules to expand the orca's critical habitat from the Canadian border all the way down to Point Sur in California, adding 15,910 square miles of foraging areas, river mouths and migratory pathways."

"A county in Washington state has become the first such jurisdiction in the US to ban new fossil fuel infrastructure, following a lengthy battle over the impact of oil refineries on the local community."

"Pacific Gas & Electric plans to bury 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) of its power lines in an effort to prevent its fraying grid from sparking wildfires when electrical equipment collides with millions of trees and other vegetation across drought-stricken California."

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to withdraw the previous administration’s rule that slashed millions of acres of critical habitat protections for the northern spotted owl."

"A record-shattering heat wave June 26-28 coincided with some of the year's lowest tides on Puget Sound. The combination was lethal for millions of mussels, clams, oysters, sand dollars, barnacles, sea stars, moon snails, and other tideland creatures exposed to three afternoons of intense heat."

"Firefighters working in searing heat struggled to contain the largest wildfire in California this year while state power operators urged people to conserve energy after a huge wildfire in neighboring Oregon disrupted the flow of electricity from three major transmission lines."