NW Indian Canoe Journey

Indian Country Today reports on the American Indian Canoe Journey celebrating northwest native culture in the Pacific Northwest.

While the Canoe Journey [this was the 21st annual] initially involved canoe cultures from the Salish Sea, its sphere of influence continues to grow. Joining Northwest Coast canoe families were Ainu from Japan, Inuit from Alaska and Greenland, and Maori from New Zealand.

The Canoe Journey is also a major tourism draw in the host nations and surrounding communities. Elwha Klallam, the second to last stop on the Peninsula before Makah, served 4,000 people – canoe pullers, families and visitors – at breakfast and dinner for two days. It was quite a feat of coordination.

Read the full story: Canoe Journey builds bridges between cultures

Photo by Molly Neely-Walker

View record salmon at WA state dam

The Wenatchee World via USA Today reports on the record number of sockeye salmon now making their way through Washington State's Rocky Reach Dam to their Canadian spawning grounds.

This year at Rocky Reach, the numbers of returning adult sockeye have surged past 271,000, said Steve Hemstrom, Chelan County PUD senior fisheries biologist. More than 247,000 of those swam through the dam's viewing windows in the last 22 days. The peak run for one 24-hour period occurred July 5 when 23,705 sockeye were counted. That's an average of about 1,000 per hour.

Many of the returning sockeye, now fighting their way up the Columbia River, will likely make a left turn at the Okanogan River and swim north to spawn in Lake Osoyoos, Hemstrom said. Curious observers at a high vantage point — say, the Okanogan River bridge in Omak — could likely see hundreds, maybe thousands of these fish making their way to Canadian home waters, he added.

Read the full story: Record number of sockeye salmon on view at Washington dam

Photo from Don Seabrook / The Wenatchee World / AP

Mt Rainier trail washed out by 2006 flooding to open again

The Seattle Times reports that the popular trail around Mt Rainier washed out by at 2006 flood has been rerouted and will be open for hikers.

This week, park officials hope to open the lower, mile-long section of the new Glacier Basin trail, improved and rerouted.

Much of the original Glacier Basin trail, once a straightforward dirt path, was wiped out by about 18 inches of rain that poured down in 36 hours and raged through the White River Valley in November 2006.

The Inter Fork River overtook the trail, where it still flows. For the past four years, hikers and mountaineers have been forced to the river's side, where they scramble up loose rock fields or precariously hop from stone to log to cross the river.

While the first 5,000 feet of trail was expected to open this week, work has just begun on the next 1,500-foot section — which is slated to be ready for hikers early next spring.

Read the full story: Popular Mount Rainier National Park trail is restored, rerouted

Photo from Greg Gilbert / The Seattle Times

Mt St Helens tourism vs conservation

The Seattle Times reports on how to bring tourism back to Mount St. Helens while preserving the natural area surrounding it.

Mount St. Helens in the Cascade mountains of Washington State famously blew its stack on May 18, 1980 and has had more volcanic activity in the last few years.

Fascination with the volcano continues to this day, and the mountain has obligingly let loose with smaller eruptions every few years, maintaining the intrigue. On average, the volcano and the surrounding Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument get about 750,000 visitors a year.

But, try as they might, entrepreneurs in communities surrounding the mountain have never been able to turn the fascination into serious money.

Scientists and conservationists, who regard the volcano as a natural laboratory, want nature left alone. Tourism interests want more roads, campgrounds, hotels, restaurants, more organized activities and — most of all — more access into areas set off for scientific research.

Read the full story: Balancing tourism and science at Mount St. Helens

Photo from USGS

Endangered coastal spots to see

Coastal Living via CNN reports on nine environmentally-sensitive coastal tourist spots that could disappear in the near future. Among the sites are:

INSIDE PASSAGE, British Columbia: Much of the storied Inside Passage route between Washington and Alaska looks as it has for centuries. Unfortunately, visiting cruise ships trail a hazardous mess in their wake. On a typical week long journey, passengers produce sewage, gray water, and many tons of trash.

EVERGLADES, Florida (picture above): The Everglades is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, with 1.5 million acres of marshes, estuaries, and prairies, and shady stretches of pine, cypress, and mahogany. Decades ago, the Everglades' freshwater flow was altered to accommodate agriculture, growing cities, and safety concerns. The dams and diversions starved and polluted the delicate ecosystems and the species that relied on them.

ROATAN, Honduras: Divers and snorkelers rave about the majesty of Roatán's biodiverse waters and coral reef system. [Warming oceans], Coastal development, illegal fishing, and reckless divers have taken a toll [on the delicate reefs].

Read the full story: 9 coastal wonders to see now

Photo from National Parks Service

Wash State trail is "classic"

USA Today reports on Washington State's Olympic National Park High Divide Trail, calling it a "classic."

The 18.2-mile wilderness loop on the Olympic Mountains' northwest side is a sampler of what the park has to offer: old-growth forest, river canyons and waterfalls, subalpine meadows, a high, rugged basin dotted by peaceful lakes, views of Mount Olympus and other peaks — nearly everything but the park's ocean beaches and rain forests. You won't be lonely — it's justifiably popular as one of the Pacific Northwest's classic backpacking trips — but there's more than enough room to be off by yourself.

Read the full story: Olympic National Park's High Divide Trail is a Pacific Northwest classic

Photo By George Tibbits, AP Photo

Visit Washington State nuclear power plant

The New York Times reports on a visit to the Hanford nuclear site in central Washington State.

The site, closed to production in 1980, is surrounded ironically by unspoiled nature, but is"one of the world’s largest environmental clean-up projects"

Nature lovers can now tour the site and the B Reactor; which was "the world's first production-scale nuclear reactor."

Plutonium from this reactor powered the test bomb at Los Alamos, N.M., and the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 9, 1945. (The Hiroshima bomb, three days earlier, was fueled by uranium 235 made in Oak Ridge, Tenn.)

Read the full story: Unspoiled nature in shadow of nuclear site

Photo by Annie Marie Musselman

Bike through WA State's San Juans, spot whales

The Seattle Times reports on biking through Washington State's San Juan Islands.

Associated Press reporter Carey J. Williams along with biking pal Ross Jonak (pic left) took a week to bike 269-miles around the islands. The relatively traffic-free and scenic area is perfect for cyclists.

One of the many highlights: Carey had the opportunity to spot a pod of whales.

Read the full story: Biking in the San Juan Islands

View WA State tulips during monthlong festival

The Seattle Times reports on what else to do while touring this month's Skagit Valley tulip festival.

"Commercial growers farm more than 1,000 acres of flowers in the valley, and when in full bloom, it's a territorial quilt of dazzling reds, yellows and pinks.

You can see most of them in a half-hour drive or a half-day of biking on the straight, flat roads that crisscross fertile fields. So what do you do before and after?"

Read the full story: A bouquet of ideas

Riding the old railway line, on bikes

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer keeps the theme of the last post (upswing in bike vacations) alive with their report on the scenic bike trip through Iron Horse State Park trail in Washington State.

The 109-mile trail is built on the old railway bed that connected Chicago to the Pacific Northwest and shut down in 1980.

A shuttle service now takes bikers to both ends of the trail near North Bend and Snoqualmie Pass.

"'It's a very friendly ride. The scenery is beautiful and I think my favorite part is the railroad trestles, and looking down on the tops of the trees," said Cynthia McMath of Lynnwood, a friend [of reporter Greg Johnston]. 'I like that as you ride down the trail and approach the creeks, you can feel the temperature change, and you can listen to the creeks as you're passing. The wildflowers are pretty, too.'"

Read the full story: Rolling on the old Milwaukee rail line

Watch the salmon run in Olympia, WA

The Olympian, published from the Washington State namesake capital, reports on the salmon run season.

Every late-August, around 10,000 Chinook Salmon - return to their spawning grounds on the Deschutes River and the Tumwater Falls hatchery, but on their way go straight through the city.

A prime viewing spot is the Fifth Avenue Bridge overlooking the fish ladder where the fish gather in massive quantities.

Read the full story: It's prime time to see salmon and nature up close

Photo from the defunct photo blog: Olympia Daily Photo

Wash. state's record snowpack brings waterfalls

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports on the spectacular season for waterfalls this summer due to a record winter snowfall.

Around 10,000 waterfalls will spew forth from the Cascades.

Waterfall watchers say this year will beat the last record season of 1999.

And intrepid "baggers" are happy to go off the beaten path for remote sightings:

"Oh, it's stunningly beautiful," says Sprague Ackley of Seattle, a climber and whitewater kayaker who reached Service Falls [located] in a high and remote canyon on the upper Queets River in the heart of Olympic National Park."

Read the full story: The land of 10,000 waterfalls

Earth Day ecotravel deals from Budget Travel

Budget Travel magazine has compiled a list of earth-friendly vacation options for Earth Day.

Among the suggestions is a volunteer vacation to clean-up trash from a national forest in Washington State.

In additon there are weblinks to green organizations for people who want to "make every day earth day."

Read the full story: Give back to the Earth

Visit little-known national parks near Seattle

Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Getaways section highlights new and relatively unknown state wilderness areas worth visiting:

"Over the past 15 or more years, thousands of acres in dozens of plots have been acquired all over [King] county. Today the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks manages 180 parks totaling 5,000 acres, plus 20,000 more acres of open space, 175 miles of official trails and uncounted miles of unofficial 'local' trails that lace much of the newer lands."

Because a lot of these acquired lands are so new, they're not well-known and the county land managers are trying to get nature-lovers to come visit. Hiking, biking and horseback riding are just some of the outdoor activities welcome throughout the various terrains and trails.

And one of the best features about these unknown areas is that there are very few other visitors. The article's author Greg Johnston tried out a two-hour hike and encountered only four other people.

Read the full story: King County has acres of newly acquired public space, but few are using it

Hanford nuclear power plant tours FULL!

USA Today via the Associated Press reports on the surprising sell out of the limited tours offered of the Hanford nuclear power reservation:

"The [U.S. Department of Energy] had offered 48 tours for the public to register for on a first-come, first-serve basis. The registration opened early March 17, but by 6 p.m., all 2,000 spots were filled."

As everyone recalls, this Washington State reactor, located near Richmond, spewed radioactive material into the air and water from 1944-1966. This was subsequently covered-up even though or probably because noticeable problems and effects were reported as early as 1948. All documents related to the plant were to remain classified until 1986.

There is probably still radioactivity surrounding the site as there is in Chernobyl, Ukraine, so visiting doesn't sound like a good idea.

Read the full (albeit very short) story: Hanford nuclear tours more popular than ever

Enjoy a snowshoe hike safely

Seattle Post-Intelligencer reader/blogger Lauren Braden gives safety tips on how to enjoy a snowshoeing adventure in the Pacific Northwest. Although snowshoeing is a great way to get out into nature in the winter, she says a few extra precautions need to be taken:

"1) Always check avalanche conditions
2) Choose your destinations wisely
3) Let someone know where you are going
4) Always pack the ten essentials
5) Bring navigation skills"

Read the full post: Winter hiking/snowshoeing safety

Nature lovers flock to manufactured WA isle

Jetty Island, although made by man, is an oasis of nature - and even better - is just a free two-minute ferry ride away from the Washington State town of Everett. The recent Seattle Post-Intelligencer article says the island, originally built as a breakwater for ships pulling into the port in the 1980's, has become a wildlife sanctuary and a local "mini-vacation spot." Visitors can play on the sandy beaches, take hikes or go on naturalist tours.

This island shows that ecotourism can spring up from surprising places, even those originally intended for easing human purposes.

Another interesting albeit non-environmental aspect is that this article was extremely well-written by high school student Danielle Winslow who is participating in a Seattle University journalism workshop. She could put some so-called journalism professionals to shame, nice job!

Read the full story: Everett's man-made Jetty Island is all about nature