JEFF BARNARD

AP Environmental Writer
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Sea lions killed, but Columbia salmon toll rises

Killing or removing 25 California sea lions over the past two years has not reduced the toll on salmon at the base of Bonneville Dam in the Columbia River.

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Farmers growing electricity along with their crops

WIMER, Ore. — Vern and Gianaclis Caldwell do a lot of the typical things that make a small farm self-sufficient.

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Study: Warmed NW forests may yield less timber

A new study suggests warming temperatures predicted over the next century could boost tree growth on Northwest forests, but less so at lower elevations where most of the timber is and temperatures are already warm.

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Oregon thinning project tests Obama forest policy

When Sharon Karr's cabin was built on the shores of this high mountain lake in 1928, there were few neighbors and little thought given to the prospects of wildfire.

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Feds consider critical habitat for sea turtles

Federal fisheries managers have agreed to consider designating critical habitat for endangered leatherback sea turtles in the Pacific ocean off Oregon and California.

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Forest Service backs Devil's Staircase Wilderness

The U.S. Forest Service has endorsed designation of a new wilderness area in an area of Oregon's Coast Range known for a remote waterfall called the Devil's Staircase.

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W.Va. meet led to Klamath dam removal, salmon aid

The turning point toward removing four Klamath River dams in Oregon and California to restore struggling salmon runs came in the little Shenandoah Valley town of Shepherdstown, W.Va.

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Judge overturns approval of Roundup Ready beets

A federal judge overturned government approval of a variety of sugar beet genetically engineered to resist a popular weed killer produced by agricultural giant Monsanto, according to a ruling released Tuesday.

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West Coast fishermen embark on new wave of fishing

The West Coast groundfish fleet has struggled to stay afloat during major cutbacks to reverse long-standing problems with overfishing and to protect the seafloor from damage caused by bottom trawling gear.

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Tribal effort to fix broken world hinges on condor

The tribes of the lower Klamath River have since ancient times decorated themselves with condor feathers when they performed the dances designed to heal a world gone wrong.

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Glimmer of Gold Rush dies: Calif. bans gas dredges

Small-scale miners still drawn to California to chase dreams of striking it rich will have to find their gold nuggets the old-fashioned way for awhile, with shovels and pans.

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Appeals court dismisses lawsuit over Bush protest

A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by demonstrators claiming they were discriminated against for their political views by U.S. Secret Service agents guarding President Bush during a southern Oregon campaign stop in 2004.

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Grant to help restore bumblebee habitat near farms

With bumblebees and other native insects that pollinate crops dying off, scientists are working on the best ways to restore natural habitat on or near farms.

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Obama administration scraps Bush logging plan

The Obama administration on Thursday scrapped the Bush administration's last-ditch attempt to boost logging in Northwest forests by scaling back protection for the northern spotted owl.

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Feds ban krill fishing to save it for the whales

No one fishes for krill off the West Coast, and federal fisheries managers want to keep it that way so the tiny shrimp-like creatures remain as plentiful as possible as food for whales, salmon, and seabirds.

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Grant aims to retrieve fishermens' lost crab pots

During his 35 years as a commercial fisherman, Jeff Feldner lost his share of crab pots when storms blew them out of position, a passing boat propeller sheared off the buoy, or a bank of kelp overwhelmed everything and dragged it away.

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Study: No increased fire threat in owl habitat

A new study challenges a basic justification about the threat of wildfires that the Bush administration used to make room for more logging in old growth forests that are home to the northern spotted owl.

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Judge overturns Bush administration logging rule

A federal judge has struck down the Bush administration's change to a rule designed to protect the northern spotted owl from logging in national forests.

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Forest Service disagrees with study on thinning

The U.S. Forest Service says it has done a lot more forest thinning to protect rural homes from wildfire than a study by outside scientists indicates — though it still falls short of the goal set by Congress.

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Ground zero in timber wars shows signs of peace

On a steep slope of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, a crew of young men with chain saws and hardhats worked their way through an old neglected clearcut, cutting brush and young trees and piling the remains to be burned later.

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Study faults federal wildfire effort

While more than 1,000 homes across the West burn each year in forest and brush fires, only a fraction of federal efforts to reduce fire danger in the region has been concentrated in the communities at greatest risk, a group of scientists found.

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Oregon tribes, farmers settle river use dispute

The Klamath Tribes of Oregon and farmers have agreed to drop their state water rights battle pending approval of a federal agreement leading to removal of dams on the Klamath River.

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More colleges generate sweat electricity in gym

As she pedaled an elliptical exercise machine at the University of Oregon, Wen Lee's face lit up like the light bulbs she was powering.

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Governors seek salmon disaster declaration

The governors of Oregon and California are asking the federal government to declare another West Coast salmon fishery failure — the third in four years.

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Camera captures wolves killing lambs in Oregon

A motion-detector camera has photographed two wolves killing lambs on a ranch in Eastern Oregon — the first documented wolf attack on livestock in Oregon since they started moving into the state in 1999.

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