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Spirit Whales and Sloth Tales

Fossils of Washington State

By Elizabeth A. Nesbitt and David B. Williams

From trilobites near the Idaho border and primitive horses on the Columbia Plateau to giant bird tracks near Bellingham and curious bear-like beasts on the Olympic Peninsula, fossils across Washington State are filled with clues...

Between the Tides in Washington and Oregon

Exploring Beaches and Tidepools

By Ryan P. Kelly, Terrie Klinger, and John J. Meyer

A spectacular variety of life flourishes between the ebb and flow of high and low tide. Anemones talk to each other through chemical signaling, clingfish grip rocks and resist the surging tide, and bioluminescent dinoflagellates—single-celled...

After the Blast

The Ecological Recovery of Mount St. Helens

By Eric Wagner

A CHOICE OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC TITLE On May 18, 1980, people all over the world watched with awe and horror as Mount St. Helens erupted. Fifty-seven people were killed and hundreds of square miles of what...

The Grizzly in the Driveway

The Return of Bears to a Crowded American West

By Rob Chaney

Four decades ago, the areas around Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks sheltered the last few hundred surviving grizzlies in the Lower 48 states. Protected by the Endangered Species Act, their population has surged to more...

Hiking Washington's History

By Judy Bentley and Craig Romano

For thousands of years people have traveled across Washington’s spectacular terrain, establishing footpaths and roads to reach hunting grounds and coal mines high in the mountains, fishing sites and trade emporiums on the rivers, forests...

Herring and People of the North Pacific

Sustaining a Keystone Species

By Thomas F. Thornton and Madonna L. Moss

Herring are vital to the productivity and health of marine systems, and socio-ecologically Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) is one of the most important fish species in the Northern Hemisphere. Human dependence on herring has evolved...

Razor Clams

Buried Treasure of the Pacific Northwest

By David Berger

In this lively history and celebration of the Pacific razor clam, David Berger shares with us his love affair with the glossy, gold-colored Siliqua patula and gets into the nitty-gritty of how to dig, clean,...

Forest Under Story

Creative Inquiry in an Old-Growth Forest

By Nathaniel Brodie, Charles Goodrich, Frederick J. Swanson

Two kinds of long-term research are taking place at the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest, a renowned research facility in the temperate rain forest of the Oregon Cascades. Here, scientists investigate the ecosystem’s trees, wildlife,...

The Deepest Roots

Finding Food and Community on a Pacific Northwest Island

By Kathleen Alcalá

As friends began "going back to the land" at the same time that a health issue emerged, Kathleen Alcalá set out to reexamine her relationship with food at the most local level. Remembering her parents,...

Walking Washington's History

Ten Cities

By Judy Bentley

Walking Washington’s History: Ten Cities, a follow-up to Judy Bentley’s bestselling Hiking Washington’s History, showcases the state’s engaging urban history through guided walks in ten major cities. Using narrated walks, maps, and historic photographs, Bentley...

Discovering Totem Poles

A Traveler's Guide

By Aldona Jonaitis

Rising from a forest mist or soaring overhead in parks and museums, magnificent cedar totem poles have captured the attention and imagination of visitors to Washington State, British Columbia, and Alaska. Discovering Totem Poles is...

Once and Future River

Reclaiming the Duwamish

By Tom Reese, James Rasmussen

Through photographs and words, Once and Future River: Reclaiming the Duwamish explores the complicated relationship between Seattleites and their only river. Central to the indigenous settlement that preceded the city, the Duwamish was critical to...