Environment

Virus forces farm off Bainbridge Island to kill off its entire Atlantic salmon stock

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — A deadly fish virus has been detected in Washington waters for the first time, forcing a fish farm to kill its entire stock of Atlantic salmon.

New tool helps predict when volcanoes erupt

Mount St. Helens warned residents for months that it was going to blow, venting gasses and shaking the ground. That’s generally how active volcanoes advertise that they’re awake.

Oceanographer expects bones in tsunami debris on state's coast

PORT ANGELES — An oceanographer who tracks flotsam says West Coast beachcombers may find floating athletic shoes with human remains as more debris from last year's Japanese tsunami finally washes ashore.

Pair duck mother falcon's talons as they tag Olympia port chicks

Glenn Phillips carefully banded a pair of 21-day-old peregrine falcon chicks as their mother swooped down in anger, talons at the ready.

Fish eating guides water rules

State government assumes, when deciding how clean Washington waters should be, that people eat up to a half-pound of local seafood per month.

Removal of Glines Canyon Dam on Elwha River is ahead of schedule

PORT ANGELES — Work to remove the Glines Canyon Dam on the Elwha River is ahead of schedule and should be completed next year – a year earlier than expected.

Cause of death for endangered orca found at Long Beach remains a mystery

SEATTLE — It's still unclear what killed an endangered orca that washed up dead on Long Beach in February.

Japanese tsunami might have sent floats to Dungeness Spit, north of Sequim

PORT ANGELES — More than two dozen floats – many with Asian writing and logos – were found May 5 on Dungeness Spit during the first beach cleanup of the season.

State agency asks Corps to study coal terminal plans

The Washington Ecology Department is asking the Corps of Engineers to develop a cumulative study of plans for coal export terminals in the Northwest.

Cruise industry fights proposal to burn clean fuel

WASHINGTON – The heavy fuel that oceangoing vessels burn adds so much to air pollution hundreds of miles inland that the United States joined with Canada during President George W. Bush’s administration to ask the International Maritime Organization to create an emissions-control area along the coasts.