Oregon Climate Change Report: Future Will See Heavy Precipitation Events, Less Snowpack, Warmer Summers, Substantial Wildfire Increase, Bigger Floods
January 8th, 2021
The effects of a changing climate continue to significantly affect Oregonians and the state’s resources and infrastructure, the latest biennial report released today by the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute concludes.
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Marine Heatwaves Continue To Dominate Northeast Pacific; Researchers Asking If New Normal
December 11th, 2020
During the summer of 2020, an area of unusually warm ocean water—a marine heatwave—grew off the West Coast of the United States. It became the second most expansive Northeast Pacific heatwave since monitoring began in 1982. The heatwave eventually encompassed about 9.1 million square kilometers, almost six times the size of Alaska, towards the end of September.
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NOAA Fisheries Study Warns Climate Change Poses ‘Catastrophic’ Threat To Survival Of Endangered Snake River Sockeye
October 15th, 2020
Unusually warm river conditions killed most adult sockeye salmon migrating up the Columbia and Snake River system in 2015, reflecting a “new normal” with climate change, a new NOAA Fisheries study finds.
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NW States Agree To ‘Define A Future Collaborative Framework’ For Achieving Abundance Goals For Columbia Basin Salmon/Steelhead
October 15th, 2020
In a letter Friday (Oct.9) the four Northwest states announced they have agreed to work together to rebuild Columbia River salmon and steelhead stocks and to advance the goals of the Columbia Basin Partnership Task Force.
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Forest Service Researchers In California Look At How Thinning, Prescribed Fire Can Reduce Tree Mortality During Drought
October 15th, 2020
To date in 2020, 1,217 wildfires have burned 1,473,522 million acres of National Forest System lands in California; 8,486 wildfires have burned over 4 million acres across all jurisdictions in California.
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Oregon Receives Leadership Recognition In Efforts To Reduce Climate Related Threats, Ocean Acidification
October 1st, 2020
Oregon again was recognized as a leader in efforts to stem climate change and ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH).
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Study: Wild Chinook Spawning Later In A Warming River, While Hatchery Strays Spawning Earlier
September 24th, 2020
Spawn timing for wild chinook salmon in the Skagit River system in Washington is slowly occurring later in the year as the river warms due to climate change, a finding that fits with previous research. However, the trend for hatchery-origin stray chinook salmon in the same river is towards earlier spawning, according to a recent study.
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Same Ocean Conditions Impacting West Coast Salmon Runs Reducing Population Of ESA-Listed Marbled Murrelet; Numbers Dropping 4 Percent A Year
September 24th, 2020
Squeezed by changing ocean conditions that limit their food options and the long-term loss of old forest needed for nesting, marbled murrelets would benefit most from conservation efforts that take both ocean and forest into account, new research by Oregon State University shows.
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UW Study Looks At How Marine Animals’ Ranges May Shrink With Climate Change: ‘You Must Consider Oxygen’
September 17th, 2020
As oceans warm due to climate change, scientists are trying to predict how marine animals -- from backboned fish to spineless jellyfish -- will react.