By Sonia A. Hall, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University, and Tip Hudson, Washington State University Extension We recently released StockSmart, a free, online decision support tool that we developed in partnership with the University of Arizona and the US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, that accesses remotely sensed forage […]
By Alex Kirpatrick, PhD (they/them), Communication Scientist, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University Artificial intelligence (AI) is filtering your spam, gatekeeping your newsfeed, chatting with you online, and underpinning many of your regular activities. Many vaunt the potential of AI in agriculture to help land-managers adapt to uncertain and extreme weather, […]
By Amanda Stahl, Washington State University and Karie Boone, The Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University Predicting climate impacts on water availability for agriculture and potential effects on salmon populations requires us to understand natural seasonal changes in streamflow patterns across the Pacific Northwest. The Washington Department of Ecology in collaboration […]
By Christine Buhl, PhD, Oregon Department of Forestry Hot droughts have led to an increase in damaged and dead trees across the Pacific Northwest. However, many resources are available to help landowners create forests that are more resilient and better prepared for a changing climate. This post highlights current strategies from universities and natural resource […]
By Tim Nicosia, USDA Northwest Climate Hub Forest managers have been slow to include biochar in management plans despite an expanding body of research demonstrating biochar’s efficacy for improved vegetation growth, restored soil health, and improving air quality impacts. Enhanced understanding of costs, benefits, drawbacks and overall economic feasibility among forest managers could change this […]
By Morgan Lawrence, UDSA Northwest Climate Hub Adapting to changing wildfire patterns in Northwest rangelands will require dedication, collaboration, and careful consideration of the trade-offs between different management strategies. Rising temperatures, invasive annual grasses, and human ignitions are driving a concerning shift in wildfire patterns across Northwest rangelands. Since 2000, more acres of rangeland than […]
By Janelle Christensen, USDA Northwest Climate Hub As the climate changes, the forests we love and care for will need to adapt to a “new normal.” We want to help, but sometimes are unsure of what to do. The choice of what to do often becomes more challenging because these places are more than places. […]
By Janelle Christensen, USDA Northwest Climate Hub Grazing lands in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington—from state, tribal and federally managed rangelands and forests to privately owned pasturelands—are an important part of each state. Livestock are a critical part of each state’s economy and contributed about $8.4 billion in sales in 2017. They are also important to […]
By Rajendra Khanal, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Utah If you are a Washington agricultural producer who has a water right and wants to lease your water to another user, you are currently allowed to either lease your entire water right and fallow your land (that is, not use any of the […]
Dani Gelardi, Washington State Department of Agriculture A new mandate On January 1st, 2023, major portions of the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) will launch in Washington State. This ambitious law is part of Washington’s plan to eliminate or offset all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. The Washington State Department of Ecology estimates that agriculture […]
