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Chasing autumn larches on Frosty Mountain
Hiking expert Craig Romano, in his latest column for Cascadia Magazine, recommends the challenging trail to the the summit of Frosty Mountain in British Columbia’s Manning Provincial Park. It’s a tough hike, but the payoffs are huge: stunning panoramic views of peaks in BC and Washington’s North Cascades. Plus, a rare chance to see 2,000-year old alpine larches, which turn golden in late September and early October. Check out the full writeup online here.
The weather forecast for the weekend looks good, so if you’re in BC or near Bellingham, WA, you should definitely check it out!
We’re proud to offer an eclectic assortment of articles online at Cascadia Magazine. We’re all about what’s important in the Pacific Northwest — whether it’s news, environmental reporting, arts, culture, poetry or fiction. And the outdoors. We love our hikes here in the Cascadia bioregion, and Craig offers a great selection of hikes in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia in his Get Outside! column.
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Now online at Cascadia Magazine:
Creating North Cascades National Park
According to a story online at Crosscut, a scientific new report finds that climate change is hitting national parks hard— and that parks in Cascadia such as North Cascades national park are finding glaciers shrinking and higher temperatures threatening flora and fauna. In Lauren Danner’s feature online now at Cascadia Magazine, learn how the park was created 50 years ago this month, and the coalition of hikers and conservationists who came together to protect these landscapes — and how a new generation will need to face new challenges. Read the full article online here.
Northeast Washington’s economy lags behind rest of state
The Inlander has a detailed report on the economy in counties north of Spokane, and the news isn’t good. Unemployment ranges from 6 to 9 percent, access to broadband internet is spotty, and resource extraction is in decline. Meanwhile, High Country News looks at how Idaho’s dairy industry is dependent on immigrant labor, which is getting harder to find during the Trump administration’s crackdown.
Calls for Portland State Univ. police to disarm
OPB reports on how, after the fatal shooting of a young black veteran in June by Portland State University police, activists and students have called for the disarming of the university police force, which only started carrying guns in 2014. The Portland Mercury has more on the aftermath of the shooting, which by all accounts, the victim was an innocent bystander trying to break up a fight.
Hanford seeks extension for radioactive waste cleanup
The US Department of Energy is seeking a 2-year extension for its court-ordered clean up of dozens of leak-prone tanks of radioactive waste at Washington’s Hanford site. Meanwhile, the former Pacific Northwest regional director of the US Environmental Protection calls on the Trump administration to take pollution issues seriously.
Ballot measure would protect Alaska salmon habitat
This fall, Alaska voters are being asked to consider a ballot measure that would increase funding for salmon habitat protection, which lags behind other states and provinces in Cascadia — and oil companies have been pushing a vigorous opposition campaign. In related news, if you want to protect orcas, don’t stop eating chinook salmon, says Lorraine Loomis, chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission — because Indigenous fisherman who depend on salmon for their livelihood are advocates for the real changes needed: reducing pollution and protecting habitat.
Growing up Sikh on a BC farm
Mandeep Wirt, in an essay for the Tyee, talks about how her family, Sikh immigrants to Canada, decided to start a commercial farm in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley, and defied stereotypes and fought prejudice to become successful. The essay is a selection from the book Sustenance, a multicultural anthology of writing on food by BC authors, edited by Rachel Rose.
“A List of My Symptoms,” poetry by Ellen Welcker
It’s been a tough week in the US, as a president accused of multiple instances of sexual assault will likely succeed in appointing a judge accused of multiple instances of assault to the Supreme Court. At Willamette Week, Portland women reacted to Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony. Meanwhile, Spokane-based poet Ellen Welcker’s poem “A List of My Symptoms” online at Crab Creek Review seems sadly appropriate to the moment. It’s a litany of found misogynist messages:
“A man wearing a shirt that says: “save a dog, eat a _______.”
Read the whole damn poem online here.
And then register to vote in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, or California.
That’s today’s assortment of news, environmental reporting, arts, and culture from across the Cascadia bioregion. Have a great weekend! –Andrew Engelson