Our Organic Northwest

Oregon AG Hires Two Attorneys To Head Up Environmental Crimes Unit

SALEM, OR - Making good on a campaign promise, Oregon Attorney General John Kroger announced the lawyers who will lead his newly-created “Environmental Crimes Unit.”

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Washington Wraps Up Wolf Management Plan Hearings

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho -- Washington state officials are digesting hundreds of comments after 12 public meetings on their draft plan for managing wolves. The last hearing is (was) tonight (last night) in Wenatchee (wen-AT-chee). The plan would go into effect when the population reaches a certain level. But correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports there's disagreement about what that level should be.

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Washington Man Stands Trial For Buying Bear Gall Bladders

Today (Monday) in northeastern Washington, state attorneys will try a man accused of buying gall bladders that were taken from bears. Authorities say the organs are popular items on the black market. The practice of buying and selling bear parts is illegal in Washington, as Inland Northwest Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.

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Food Fight: Eating as partisan politics Edible Idaho Feature

Food has the power to draw people together like no other human activity — think Thanksgiving. But food can also divide. In the past presidential campaign opponents frequently used food to divide voters down party lines — think “those arugula eating liberals.”

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In this installment of Edible Idaho, correspondent Guy Hand looks at eating as partisan politics. For more on this story or to listen to past Edible Idaho programs, go to northwest food news dot com.

Hunting Tradition Stays Strong in Idaho

(photo: Hunter Todd Hoffman heads downhill in the direction of sounds made by a small elk herd.)

Every five years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service counts how many Americans hunt. That number has fallen steadily since the 1970s, even in the rural West. Some of the decline is due to demographics; more people live in cities and they’re less likely to hunt.

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FDA Approves Microwave Preservation Process for Prepared Foods

PULLMAN, WA - In next few years, you can look forward to a greater variety of prepared foods that don’t need refrigeration at the grocery store. The Food and Drug Administration has approved an alternative to the traditional canning process. It was developed at Washington State University.

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Task Forces Aim to Solve Issues of Geese, Bottles and Taxes

(photo: This parking lot in Salem is a frequent water fowl hang-out. An issue being looked at by a task force to solve the problem.)

SALEM, OR - When lawmakers can't agree on a thorny issue, they often simply create a task force. The theory goes that if you bring in fresh voices and give them time, they'll come up with a better plan that all sides can agree on. But the recommendations of several recent high-profile task forces have been completely ignored by the Oregon Legislature.

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Red Tide Along NW Coast Threatens Wildlife

(photo: Volunteers and Coast Guard crewmembers in Asotria, Oregon load hundreds of weakened seabirds for transport to a wildlife rehab center in northern California.)

ASTORIA, OR - It’s like an oil spill, but without the oil. That’s how wildlife rescue people are describing an unusual red tide along the Northwest coast. The algal bloom is causing hundreds upon hundreds of dead or dying seabirds to wash up on coastal beaches. Today, the deluge of distress shows signs of tapering off.

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Coeur d’Alene Indians Celebrate Water Potato Harvest

(Photo: Coeur d’Alene tribal members dig up water potatoes in the fall. It’s one of their traditional foods.)

COEUR D'ALENE, ID - Coeur d’Alene tribal members are finishing the harvest of traditional foods that their ancestors relied on to stay alive. In the fall, they dig up small tubers known as water potatoes.

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1910 Big Burn Fire Anniversary Reignites Pulaski's Legend

COEUR DE' ALENE, ID - The country was riveted by images of wildfires burning the southern California hills during the summer. Though modern wildfires are strong, none compare to the 1910 blaze known as the Big Burn. It charred three million acres of forest in Idaho and Montana and killed 86 people. It also sparked the legend of Ed Pulaski. He’s one of the main characters in author Tim Egan’s new book about the fire.

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