BY MARCY STAMPER An appeal brought by a coalition of environmental groups claiming that the PUD’s proposal to restart Enloe Dam would destroy the aesthetic value of the waterfalls at the site had its first four days of testimony last week. Two more days have been scheduled in May because they did not complete all […]
NEWS
Okanogan County wants to do its own study of land buys
BY MARCY STAMPER After more than two years of on-again, off-again negotiations with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) about a joint analysis of the local economic impacts of the agency’s land acquisitions, the county commissioners are considering going it alone. The Okanogan County commissioners say they are frustrated that WDFW has not […]
Alaskan couple acquires the Rendezvous Huts
BY LAURELLE WALSH The Methow Valley’s iconic Rendezvous Huts have new owners, Ben and Virginia Nelson of Fairbanks, Alaska. The couple and their 3-month-old son Oliver have now moved to the Methow, and Rendezvous Huts Inc. is being transferred into their hands from former partners Cathy and Bennet Upper, Carol and Phil Heitman, and Jay […]
Commissioners say wolverine protection might damage county’s economy
BY MARCY STAMPER A proposal to list the wolverine as endangered could be a roundabout way of enacting laws to lessen climate change, according to the Okanogan County commissioners. The concern about the potential for costly impacts to the local economy is a key point in their comments to the federal wildlife agency considering the […]
SPECIAL SECTION: GARDENING
Get out in the dirt: Don’t wait to start your garden preparations BY MARCY STAMPER Despite the recent snow squalls, it really is time to get your garden ready for the growing season. To prepare your soil for a new year’s worth of vegetables, berries or flowers, you need to feed it, said Tess Hoke, owner […]
COMMUNITY BRIEFS
Three locals receive sustainability awards Valley residents Bob Elk, Maggie Coon and Abel Curtis are recipients of the 2013 “Keepers of the Place Award” from the Glorieta School for a Sustainable Society, a nonprofit educational organization that supports sustainability in the Columbia River bioregion. The award, bestowed since 1998, recognizes individuals and groups that expand […]
VALLEY SCHOOLS SNAG ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
BY MARCY STAMPER Methow Valley schools have won state achievement awards for the fourth year in a row. Liberty Bell High School has been recognized for overall excellence, for math and for its graduation rate. Methow Valley Elementary School received recognition for achievement in science. The overall excellence award goes to the top 5 percent […]
Wolf-dogs get scrutiny along with wolves
BY MARCY STAMPER Okanogan County Commissioner Sheilah Kennedy raised the alarm about wolf-dog hybrids in her testimony about protecting animals from wolf attacks before a state House committee in Olympia last month. “Fish and Wildlife must take into consideration the situation of the wolf-hybrid,” said Kennedy. “People can buy wolves out of state, bring them […]
Big crop of morels is expected to draw commercial harvesters
BY ANN McCREARY Wildfires that devastated area forests last fall are expected to result in a bountiful crop of morel mushrooms this spring – and an onslaught of commercial pickers who will come to harvest the delectable fungi. Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest officials are preparing for large numbers of commercial mushroom pickers who flock to recently […]
Co-op launches ‘Dark Sky’ project in Methow
BY ANN McCREARY Protecting the Methow Valley’s night skies from light pollution is a new initiative of the Okanogan County Electric Cooperative. Co-op Manager David Gottula will explain what the co-op is doing to lead a new “Dark Sky” project in a presentation at the co-op’s annual meeting on Monday (April 15) at the Winthrop […]
