Tag Archives: Washington

Rivers & Oceans

West Coast toxic hot spots threaten endangered salmon and killer whales

Editor’s note: Though Cortes Island is not mentioned in the following report, it is on the embedded map of metal hotspots. We appear to be either bordering on, or close to, the areas for cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni) copper (Cu) and lead (Pb).

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Newly identified toxic metal hot spots on the West Coast further threaten endangered killer whales and their key food source, a recent study shows.

Continue reading West Coast toxic hot spots threaten endangered salmon and killer whales →
Disaster, Farming

‘Sell them for nothing or watch them starve’: farmers face difficult decisions amid B.C. drought

By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

When Yoenne Ewald’s hay supply fell through this spring, she was devastated. Without hay, she can’t feed her cattle. Like most farmers, she’s tough and used to troubleshooting unexpected problems but the stress this year has been on another level.

“The options are to sell them for nothing or watch them starve,” she says on her farm just outside of New Hazelton, B.C. 

Continue reading ‘Sell them for nothing or watch them starve’: farmers face difficult decisions amid B.C. drought →
Indigenous Nations, Indigenous Nations History

Indigenous paddlers push off on powerful voyage to reclaim canoe culture across Pacific Northwest

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A flotilla of Indigenous canoes a hundred strong is converging along the Pacific Northwest as nations from Canada, the U.S. and beyond paddle hundreds of kilometres in pursuit of shared objectives and a common destination. 

Paddlers from eight different canoes were hosted, fed and sheltered by the Stz’uminus First Nation near Ladysmith on Vancouver Island before launching Thursday on their first leg of the Tribal Journey, said Michelle Robinson, a member of the Klahoose Nation’s Tl’emtl’ems canoe family. 

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Animals, Rivers & Oceans

No European Green Crabs in the Discovery Islands, yet

The Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) have not found any European Green Crabs in Manson’s lagoon, and so far there’ve been no sightings north of Nanaimo.  

“We haven’t found any, that’s really good news, but we’ve been very pleased to partner with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).  Hopefully, if we ever find them, we’ll be able to trap them out and stop them from harming the valuable habitat here,” explained Helen Hall, Executive Director of FOCI.

Continue reading No European Green Crabs in the Discovery Islands, yet →
Indigenous Nations

Canoe journey crosses colonial border, upholding syilx sovereignty: ‘this is still our territory’

By Aaron Hemens, The Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

For the 22nd year in a row, syilx Okanagan people took a canoe journey across the invisible border between “Canada” and the “United States” that divides their territory — challenging a colonial marker that continues to infringe upon their unceded homelands.

Dozens of pullers hauled at least 10 boats, including several dugout canoes, to the shore of nk’mip (Osoyoos Lake) in sw̓iw̓s (Osoyoos) in syilx homelands on Tuesday. The group sailed through the lake’s waters on the way to Oroville, Washington, before returning later in the day. 

Continue reading Canoe journey crosses colonial border, upholding syilx sovereignty: ‘this is still our territory’ →