DNR

Former GOP Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler leads in her bid to return to elected office. Five Democrats split the vote leaving the party in danger of getting shut out.

Seven candidates are running to become Washington's next Commissioner of Public Lands. People who are familiar with the office say it's not shocking – even if some voters aren't totally sure what the commissioner's job is.

Washington state plans to conserve 2,000 acres of state forest, that would otherwise be logged, to absorb carbon dioxide. Activists want more. KNKX environment reporter Bellamy Pailthorp explains the potential of this climate solution, and the obstacles to implementing it.

A coalition of community and conservation groups wants to stop a state logging claim near the banks of the Elwha river. They say the so-called “Power Plant” sale would compromise the high-profile effort to restore endangered salmon habitat on the river, just a decade after two dams were removed.

State legislators set aside $70 million of revenue from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act to conserve mature forests – but that’s only enough for about 2,000 acres statewide. Community activists cataloged a parcel in Snohomish County they hope will be among the protected acres.

There’s red flag warnings and heat advisories in several areas of the Northwest this week, along with several growing wildfires.

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources announced a potential new path for aquaculture after recent net pen controversy. Sustainable Blue, a Nova Scotia-based fish farm that uses upland tanks to raise Atlantic salmon, is looking to lease land from the state.

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources says one thing is missing from the state’s climate policies. Recent laws don’t allow the state agency to sell carbon credits. Department officials are pushing legislation that would change that law.

An executive order from a Washington state agency earlier this month aims to end commercial net pen fish farming in public waters. Cooke Aquaculture is being forced to shut down its operations, but it has a key partner in its fight to remain. The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is forging ahead with its net pen aquaculture plans, testing a carve-out clause in the order.

Washington state's Department of Natural Resources will ban commercial net pen fish farming in Washington waters, following an executive order announced Friday. The move comes in the same week that the agency opted not to renew the last two remaining leases held by Cooke Aquaculture in Puget Sound.