Northwest (OR WA)

"Oregon's once decimated gray wolf population has rebounded to at least 77 animals, and the wolves are now pairing off and breeding across a wide region, state officials with the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife said on Wednesday."

"SEATTLE — A Skagit County hearing examiner handed conservation groups a victory Monday, ruling that an oil-by-rail project at the Shell Puget Sound Refinery near Anacortes should undergo a full environmental review."

"Four decades after the passage of the Clean Water Act, regulators haven’t kept up with the pollution pressure that growing populations put on America’s shorelines."

"Washington state senators held a hearing on Thursday to consider banning the increasingly controversial capture or holding of killer whales for entertainment."

"A newborn orca in the endangered pod that frequents Puget Sound is an encouraging sign following the death earlier this month of a pregnant killer whale from the same group."

"SEATTLE — For the past few years, a growing number of trains have been bringing “rolling pipelines” of oil from North Dakota to ports and refineries in the Pacific Northwest."

"The tropical weather system that trended on Twitter here as #hellastorm packed a punch Thursday. Winds conspired with drought-weakened roots to send trees toppling. Freeways and other roadways flooded. Schools shuttered. And more than 230 flights at San Francisco International Airport were delayed, while a restaurant workers’ strike left stranded travelers hungry and cranky."

"Proponents of an Oregon ballot measure requiring labels on genetically modified foods conceded defeat Thursday after a judge ruled against them and an automatic recount appeared unlikely to sway the outcome."

"Statewide vote totals released Monday show an Oregon ballot measure that would require labeling of genetically modified foods was losing by a mere 809 votes and will go to an automatic recount."