Our Organic Northwest

New WSU Greenhouse Devoted to Columbia Basin Plants

Steven Link stands in front of the three new greenhouses built at Washington State University’s Tri-City campus in Richland. They open Monday.

Posted: Monday, August 4, 2008

RICHLAND, WA - A greenhouse that will help scientists learn more about the Columbia Basin’s native plants opens Monday in Richland. It’s part of Washington State University’s Tri-City campus. The three structures were paid for by a federal contractor after mistakes were discovered at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Correspondent Anna King reports.

Steven Link is wild about native plants. The WSU botanist now he has three sparkling new greenhouses. They’ll be used to study plants from Northwest deserts. Link wants to find out how to grow the finicky native plants better. That way commercial operations can reproduce more plants for restoration projects. Link says the need is urgent.

Link: With development our landscapes here are being taken over by us building houses. So the properties where a lot of these native species exist are being taken away or they are disappearing. So this resource is becoming more limited.

The half-million-dollar greenhouses are being paid for by a Hanford contractor. It’s part of a fine issued by the Environmental Protection Agency for mistakes made at the nuclear waste site.

Copyright 2008 Northwest Public Radio

Grass Farmers Put Burning on Hold For Olympic Trials

June 20, 2008

EUGENE, OR/During the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Willamette Valley grass seed farmers have agreed not to burn their fields. The Western Environmental Law Center is asking: why not ban it altogether? KLCC’s Rachael McDonald explains.
 
The temporary ban on field burning is to protect athletes’ health and keep the air smoke-free for visitors from around the world. Attorney Charlie Tebbutt has sent a letter to Governor Kulongoski asking him to use his authority to ban the practice outright for the sake of residents, whether they’re athletes or not. He says legendary runner Steve Prefontaine himself asked for a ban in 1975 after getting sick from the smoke at Eugene’s Hayward Field.
 

Recovering Rangeland Habitat, One Sage Seed at a Time

October 12, 2007

IDAHO/Idaho Governor Butch Otter is asking state residents to help collect thousands of pounds of sagebrush seed to re-vegetate vast areas of Idaho desert blackened by summer wildfires.

 

Image taken by Mike Fitzpatrick.

Guy Hand reports.

Wine Growers Take Aim at Global Warming

August 8, 2007

The wine industry is a relatively minor source of emissions, when compared to cars and power plants. But that hasn't stopped some in the industry from setting their own goals to reduce their environmental impact.

Read more.

Court Extinguishes Field Burning Hopes

May 29, 2007

A long-standing and controversial farming method is all but snuffed out in Idaho. The Ninth Circuit Court today affirmed a ban on field burning everywhere except on Indian reservation land. Farmers call it the final nail in the coffin for grass growers.

Correspondent Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports more on the story.

WA State to Begin Monitoring Air for Pesticides

May 17, 2007

OLYMPIA/Children growing up near farms may not breathe urban smog, but they are often exposed to pesticides - and that's a potential health concern. In Washington, the state will soon begin monitoring what's known as pesticide drift.

Austin Jenkins explains.