NEWS and FEATURES
EVEN TREES NEED FRIENDS
A study finds trees’ ability to migrate as the climate warms could depend on beneficial fungi
Sierra Magazine
March 3, 2025
WHAT IS BLUE CARBON AND WHY IS IT SO VALUABLE?
The Pacific Northwest’s once-prevalent tidal forests are mostly gone. But what remains stores an important secret
Columbia Insight
November 7, 2024
“LEGACY” FORESTS. “RESTORATION” LOGGING. THE NEW JARGON OF CONSERVATION IS AWASH IN AMBIGUITY. AND POLITICS.
Among enviros, government agencies and logging interests, a war of words is raging over the future of our forests
Columbia Insight
October 10th, 2024
PACIFIC NORTHWEST LICHENS ARE GOING MISSING. SCIENTISTS WANT TO KNOW WHY
As the state of Washington updates its list of rare lichens, experts suspect a variety of factors are to blame for missing species
Columbia Insight
August 1, 2024
HOTTER TEMPERATURES ARE CAUSING TREES TO HAVE HEAT STROKES
How climate-change-driven drying of the air is leading to tree deaths the world over
Sierra Magazine
July 29, 2024
A LITTLE KNOWN CLIMATE PHENOMENON IS GAINING ATTENTION…AND CAUSING PROBLEMS
A study leads to new conclusions about the range of the 2021 heat domes and points a finger at “blocking ridges”
Columbia Insight
May 23, 2024
WHY NO ONE KNOWS EXACTLY HOW MUCH OLD-GROWTH FOREST WE HAVE LEFT
To use older trees to fight climate change, we need to know where they are. But new map created by the Forest Service aren’t that detailed
Columbia Insight
April 18, 2024
HOW HOT IS TOO HOT?
Faced with widespread tree die-offs, scientists are racing to determine the upper thermal limit of the world’s trees.
Earth Island Journal
Spring 2024
CAN REDWOODS AND SEQUOIAS PRODUCE OFFSPRING IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST?
If not, new efforts to migrate the species to the region might need continued human management
Columbia Insight
March 21, 2024
WHAT IS ‘ASSISTED MIGRATION’ AND WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
As heat and drought continue to kill trees, humans are stepping in to help shift growing ranges. Not everyone agrees on what type of help is needed
Columbia Insight
December 28, 2023
AS TREE SPECIES FACE DECLINE, ‘ASSISTED MIGRATION’ GRAINS POPULARITY IN PACIFIC NORTHWEST
As native trees in the Pacific Northwest die off due to climate changes, the US Forest Service and others are turning to a strategy called “assisted migration.”
The Associated Press/Columbia Insight
December 28, 2023
EXTREME HEAT REPRESENTS A NEW THREAT TO TREES AND PLANTS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
A growing number of scientists are investigating what they say is an overlooked threat to the world’s plants
The Associated Press/Columbia Insight
December 21, 2020
CHRISTMAS TREES FROM TURKEY? DR. CHRISTMAS TREE’S SEARCH FOR A CLIMATE-RESILIENT HOLIDAY
The don of Christmas tree research is retiring next year. Just when the future of Christmas trees is being thrown into doubt
Columbia Insight
December 14, 2023
CLIMATE CHANGE IS HASTENING THE DEMISE OF PACIFIC NORTHWEST FORESTS
A drought-driven “mortality event” is the largest ever recorded in the region
The Associated Press/Columbia Insight
November 16, 2023
OAK TREES AT RISK IN COLUMBIA GORGE
Once abundant, Oregon white oak populations in the East Cascades face numerous obstacles, the legacy of fire suppression among them
Columbia Insight
July 6, 2023
DOUGLAS FIR IN ‘DECLINE SPIRAL’ IN SOUTHWESTERN OREGON
Linked to drought and insects, dieback of Oregon’s most commercially valuable forestry product likely to worsen with warmer, drier future
Columbia Insight
April 13, 2023
NEW STUDY SOUNDS ALARM,PROVIDES HOPE FOR WESTERN REDCEDARS
First peer-reviewed research links cedar death to climate, details which trees are dying, which are surviving and how the species might be saved
Columbia Insight
Feb 23, 2023
NEW FINDING: LACK OF HUMIDITY, NOT RAINFALL, IS BIGGER PROBLEM FOR TREES
An OSU team untangles the complicated way Pacific Northwest trees battle for survival during droughts
Columbia Insight
Jan 19, 2023
CLIMATE CHANGE BY THE NUMBERS
How a continuation of extreme weather trends could alter the business, culture and very nature of the Pacific Northwest
Columbia Insight
Jan 12, 2023
SOMETHING ENTIRELY NEW: USING DAMS TO SAVE SALMON
In the Yakima Basin, irrigators and the Yakama Nation are investigating how reservoirs can be used to create artificial currents that mimic natural ones
Columbia Insight
Dec 15, 2022
MASSIVE DIE-OFF HITS FIR TREES ACROSS PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Labeled “Firmageddon,” by researchers, the drought-driven “mortality event” is the largest ever recorded in the region
Columbia Insight
Nov 23, 2022
MEGASTORMS ARE COMING TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Climate change means larger atmospheric rivers could lead to billions of dollars in damages. But how good are the predictions?
Columbia Insight
Oct 27, 2022
THE FOREST SERVICE IS EXPERIMENTING WITH RELOCATING TREE SPECIES TO SAVE THEM FROM CLIMATE CHANGE
‘Assisted migration’ has come to the Pacific Northwest, but experts don’t agree if it’s a good thing or a radical response to a warming world
Columbia Insight
Sep. 15, 2022
PAC NW’S ‘TREES OF LIFE’ ARE DYING. NOW WE KNOW WHY:
Drought and climate change are wreaking havoc on an icon of Pacific Northwest forests. How long do the western redcedars have?
Columbia Insight
Aug. 18, 2022
LESS SNOW IS THE NEW NORM. THAT’S TROUBLE FOR FARMERS:
A recent study puts the Columbia River Basin in same snow-hazard category as more arid regions in the Middle East
Columbia Insight
Dec. 3, 2020
CATCHING FIRE: The Karuk indigenous tradition of burning forests is culturally and ecologically vital—and the Forest Service is starting to see the wisdom.
YES! Magazine
Spring 2017
THREAT OF SALMON EXTINCTION TURNS SMALL TRIBE INTO CLIMATE RESEARCHERS: As glaciers disappear, fish are expected to follow. But the Nooksack tribe of Washington state has a plan to keep nearby rivers and streams cool.
YES! Magazin
Sept. 06, 2016
CHANGES IN THE WIND: Science, collaboration and technology for ocean health
Terra
May 2016
A WORLD AFLAME: A UO research project explores the effects of climate change on Northwest Tribes
Oregon Quarterly
May 2016
ALL TOMORROW’S BOVINES: The Science of Creating a Climate-Friendly Cow and Why Your Stupid Vegan Friends Might Be Right After All
The Portland Mercury
Mar. 19, 2014
DEATH WARMED OVER: A Cheat Sheet to Our Coming Climate Catastrophe
The Portland Mercury
Sept. 27, 2012
HYPOXIA: HOW IS IT AFFECTING OCEAN LIFE AND WHY?
Confluence Magazine
Nov. 2011
RESEARCHER PROFILES
KIM COBB: Corals, Climate, and a Changing World
American Association for the Advancement of Science Member Spotlight
Jun. 19, 2018
PETER CLARK: Melting Ice, Rising Seas, and Climate Change
American Association for the Advancement of Science Member Spotlight
Jan. 29, 2018
NAOMI ORESKES—Scientific Consensus, Climate Change, and the Merchants of Doubt
American Association for the Advancement of Science Member Spotlight
Apr. 21, 2017
ALAN MIX, tiny shells and climate tipping points
American Association for the Advancement of Science Member Spotlight
May. 13, 2016
JANET FRANKLIN adds ecological complexity to the climate change map
American Association for the Advancement of Science Member Spotlight
Feb. 22, 2016
BLOGS
Irrigated Agriculture, Snowmelt, and Climate Change
The Climate CIRCulator
Aug. 2020
Western US Needs More Controlled Burns
The Climate CIRCulator
Jan. 22, 2020
Drought and Fish in the Willamette Valley
The Climate CIRCulator
Jan. 2020
California Wildfires and Climate Change
The Climate CIRCulator
Jan. 2020
Flooding in Estuaries
The Climate CIRCulator
Jan. 2020
Climate Change Variability in Snowpack
The Climate CIRCulator
Aug. 2019
Extremely Warm Days to Continue Under Climate Change
The Climate CIRCulator
Aug. 2019
Understanding the Hydrologic Spread
The Climate CIRCulator
Aug. 2019
Coproducing Science?
The Climate CIRCulator
Aug. 2019
Nathan Gilles 