John Ryan
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One of those meddling kids in public radio.
I cover env't @KUOW-Seattle
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Articles by John Ryan
After deadly implosion, are Washington pulp mills safe?
Two pulp mills in Washington state hold thousands of tons of the same caustic liquid that killed 11 workers in Longview, Washington, in May. Information about chemical safety at those mills is hard to come by despite laws aimed at protecting communities’ right to know what hazards they’re living next to.
Despite efforts, Northwest cruise ships collide with whales, climate
Cruise ship season wrapped up Sunday in Seattle, with close to 1 million people boarding a cruise ship in 2026, a record number, according to the Port of Seattle. Moving these floating resorts through the sea can have big impacts – from hitting whales to heating the planet. Cruise lines say they’re working to do less harm. Most Seattle cruises head up the Inside Passage along the wild, rainforest coasts of British Columbia and Alaska.
Two million invasive green crabs captured along Washington state shorelines
Published October 13, 2026 at 5:41 PM PDT More than 2 million invasive green crabs were captured in Washington state from July 2025 to June 2026, smashing previous records. More European green crabs were trapped in those 12 months than in all previous years combined since the pinchy invaders were first documented in Washington state in 1998.
Another grieving orca mom carries dead calf on her nose off Washington state
When whale researchers encountered a pod of orcas in the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Washington and British Columbia on Saturday, they spotted one female swimming strangely: She was carrying a dead newborn orca on her nose. The Center for Whale Research documented the sad procession. News of it spread at a forum on the future of the southern resident killer whales Monday at Town Hall Seattle.
Another grieving orca mom carries dead calf on her nose off Washington state
Published October 6, 2026 at 5:14 PM PDT When whale researchers encountered a pod of orcas in the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Washington and British Columbia on Saturday, they spotted one female swimming strangely: She was carrying a dead newborn orca on her nose. The Center for Whale Research documented the sad procession. News of it spread at a forum on the future of the southern resident killer whales Monday at Town Hall Seattle.
El Niño could put Washington’s coastal towns in hot water
Communities along Pacific Northwest shorelines could face severe coastal flooding in November, December, and January as potentially record-breaking El Niño conditions arrive on top of the year’s highest tides, known as king tides. Some Washington cities are stepping up their efforts to prepare for higher seas in advance of king-tide season. The city of Stanwood is finishing emergency repairs to a crumbling dike that protects much of the city from high tides on Puget Sound.
Puget Sound Energy seeks $1.5B rate increase
Published September 28, 2026 at 5:58 PM PDT Washington’s largest utility wants to charge its customers more and is giving them a chance to weigh in. Puget Sound Energy is asking state regulators to approve $1.5 billion in rate increases over the next three years. The proposal would cost a typical PSE electricity customer an additional $612 a year by 2029 and a typical gas customer $276 a year.
Fall bird migration nears its peak. Turning lights out can help
Nearly 7 million birds flew across Washington state on the night of Sept. 17, with even more expected over the weekend, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Scientists are asking people to turn their outdoor lights off to help birds find their way south. It's no secret that many birds fly south for the winter. It's less commonly known that they often migrate invisibly — at night. The cover of night provides safety from predators and less-turbulent air to fly in.
Fall bird migration nears its peak. Turning lights out can help
Published September 18, 2026 at 4:01 PM PDT Nearly 7 million birds flew across Washington state Thursday night, with even more expected over the weekend, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Scientists are asking people to turn their outdoor lights off to help birds find their way south. It’s no secret that many birds fly south for the winter. It’s less commonly known that they often migrate invisibly — at night.
Port Townsend paper mill hit with $734,000 pollution penalty
A clarifier pond removes solids from wastewater at the Port Townsend Paper Company mill in Port Townsend, Washington, on Oct. 25, 2025. Courtesy of the Washington Department of Ecology Washington state has fined a paper mill in Port Townsend $734,000 for allegedly sending polluted wastewater into Puget Sound.
Port Townsend paper mill hit with $734,000 pollution penalty
Port Townsend paper mill hit with $734,000 pollution penalty By John Ryan KUOW News September 16, 2026 Category: Business & Politics Region: United States, US West Washington state has fined a paper mill in Port Townsend $734,000 for allegedly sending polluted wastewater into Puget Sound. Washington Department of Ecology officials say the Port Townsend Paper Company was improperly treating its industrial wastewater for at least five months following an unannounced inspection in October 2025.
Port Townsend paper mill hit with $734,000 pollution penalty
Published September 16, 2026 at 3:52 PM PDT Washington Department of Ecology A clarifier pond removes solids from wastewater at the Port Townsend Paper Company mill in Port Townsend, Washington, on Oct. 25, 2025. Washington state has fined a paper mill in Port Townsend $734,000 for allegedly sending polluted wastewater into Puget Sound.
For 4th time, Trump administration orders Centralia coal plant to remain open
Published September 11, 2026 at 6:06 PM PDT Exhaust rises above the TransAlta coal-burning power plant in Centralia, Washington, on Mar. 6, 2024. The U.S. Department of Energy on Friday issued its fourth emergency order requiring Washington’s only coal-burning power plant to stay open for another 90 days. State law required the TransAlta plant in Centralia to shut down permanently in December 2025. The Trump administration has ordered coal plants in five states to stay open.
Seattle cement plant blocked from burning more tires
Published September 10, 2026 at 4:45 PM PDT Regulators have stopped a Seattle cement plant's push to burn more tires for fuel. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency told Ash Grove Cement in August that the increased tire burning the agency had approved in December would put too much of the toxic metal cadmium into the air above the Duwamish Valley. The agency’s decision came after Ash Grove tested exhaust from its cement kiln for eight heavy metals during a three-day period in June.
Homemade monument marks northern end of fire-blocked Pacific Crest Trail
By the time long-distance hiker Derek Hu reached Washington’s Stevens Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail, the engineer from Taiwan had crossed 2,467 miles of mountains, snowfields, forests, and deserts, starting at the border with Mexico. Smoke from the rapidly growing Little Giant Fire, just northeast of Stevens Pass, had led some hikers to abandon their quest to walk from Mexico to Canada along the West Coast’s mountainous spine. “The Stevens Pass is very smoky,” Hu said.
Homemade monument marks northern end of fire-blocked Pacific Crest Trail
By the time long-distance hiker Derek Hu reached Washington’s Stevens Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail, the engineer from Taiwan had crossed 2,467 miles of mountains, snowfields, forests, and deserts, starting at the border with Mexico. Smoke from the rapidly growing Little Giant Fire, just northeast of Stevens Pass, had led some hikers to abandon their quest to walk from Mexico to Canada along the West Coast’s mountainous spine. “The Stevens Pass is very smoky,” Hu said.
Little Giant Fire spreads toward cabins, towns in Washington Cascades
Each morning, a wave of firefighters has been coming into Plain Hardware in the tiny Cascades mountain town of Plain, Washington, for daily necessities. The main basecamp for fighting the Little Giant Fire, currently the state’s third-largest and the closest major fire to the Seattle area, is just up the road. Nearly 1,700 people are taking on the Little Giant.
Smoke, heat headed for Western Washington, as wildfires grow to the east and north
KUOW | By John Ryan, Published August 3, 2026 at 5:33 PM PDT Western Washington’s luck avoiding wildfire smoke so far this summer is running out. A wildfire smoke alert was issued Monday for most of the Puget Sound region, with air quality likely to deteriorate Monday afternoon and reach unhealthy levels Tuesday. Air quality will remain poor throughout the week before finally clearing Friday.
Washington cities try to gird for coastal flooding as ‘super El Niño’ nears
With a record-breaking El Niño in the forecast, it could be a rough winter for low-lying communities on the West Coast. Two levee projects aimed at protecting Washington cities from coastal flooding have hit repeated roadblocks. One flood-prevention project on Puget Sound is moving ahead on an emergency basis, while one on Grays Harbor is still awaiting its promised funding from the Federal Emergency Management Administration despite a federal court order.
Northwest’s yanked ocean observatories start to return to sea
An Oregon State University researcher deploys an autonomous underwater "glider" off the coast of Newport, Oregon, on July 2, 2026. Scarlett Arbuckle / Oregon State University Scientists have begun to re-deploy ocean monitoring equipment yanked from Pacific Northwest waters by the Trump administration in September.
‘Particularly Dangerous Situation’: Washington’s fire season off to roaring start
Published July 31, 2026 at 4:54 PM PDT Fire season in the Pacific Northwest is off to a roaring start, with fire officials predicting “explosive” growth of eastern Washington wildfires in the days ahead. On Friday, the National Weather Service issued something called a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” alert for most of eastern Washington. The alert is a step above the usual “Red Flag Warning,” issued when dry fuels and weather conditions combine to create extreme fire danger.
Northwest’s yanked ocean observatories start to return to sea
Published July 30, 2026 at 5:40 PM PDT Scientists have begun to re-deploy ocean monitoring equipment yanked from Pacific Northwest waters by the Trump administration in September. On Monday, an autonomous underwater vehicle called a glider slipped gently off the stern of the Research Vessel Elakha and into the Pacific Ocean about 10 miles offshore from Newport, Oregon.
Washington cities try to gird for coastal flooding as ‘super El Niño’ nears
With a record-breaking El Niño in the forecast, it could be a rough winter for low-lying communities on the West Coast. Two levee projects aimed at protecting Washington cities from coastal flooding have hit repeated roadblocks. One flood-prevention project on Puget Sound is moving ahead on an emergency basis, while one on Grays Harbor is still awaiting its promised funding from the Federal Emergency Management Administration despite a federal court order.
Washington state’s clean-energy bottleneck leads to calls for reform
High-voltage transmission lines cross the Washington Cascades near the town of Index in February 2021. Environmentalists and construction workers are calling for reforms to make it easier to produce clean energy in Washington state. Despite its green reputation, the Evergreen State trails every other U.S. state in adding wind and solar power to its electrical grid, according to a 2025 investigation by Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica. “We’re 50th out of 50,” state Sen.
Washington state’s clean-energy bottleneck leads to calls for reform
Published July 23, 2026 at 5:37 PM PDT Environmentalists and construction workers are calling for reforms to make it easier to produce clean energy in Washington state. Despite its green reputation, the Evergreen State trails every other U.S. state in adding wind and solar power to its electrical grid, according to a 2025 investigation by Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica. “We’re 50th out of 50,” state Sen.
How a Northwest tribe and an endangered sea creature are helping each other
Scientists are starting to reintroduce a 20-legged predator to kelp beds off Washington state after an underwater pandemic nearly wiped it out.
How a Northwest tribe and an endangered sea creature are helping each other
How a Northwest tribe and an endangered sea creature are helping each other Scientists are starting to reintroduce a 20-legged predator to kelp beds off Washington state after an underwater pandemic nearly wiped it out. Scientists are starting to reintroduce a 20-legged predator to kelp beds off Washington state after an underwater pandemic nearly wiped it out. Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Give a little. Get a lot. Support mission-driven journalism while getting something great in return.
5 years after the dome: Washington remains vulnerable to extreme heat
Five years after a record-shattering heat wave hit the Pacific Northwest, killing an estimated 1,200 people in British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington, the region is somewhat more prepared to handle extreme heat. But a million people in the Seattle metropolitan area alone may remain vulnerable to lethal temperatures at home or at work. Extreme heat kills more Americans each year than any other natural disaster.
California, Quebec, and Washington form joint carbon market
Published June 25, 2026 at 3:00 PM PDT California, Quebec, and Washington state have agreed to merge their markets for carbon pollution. Each government has been making some of its biggest polluters pay to keep harming the climate. Polluters can also buy and sell their permits to emit heat-trapping carbon dioxide. With an agreement signed Thursday, polluters should be able to buy and sell carbon allowances from anywhere in the three jurisdictions by 2027.
Northwest's yanked observatories to return to ocean after Trump administration backs down
The Trump administration has reversed course on its effort to shut down a network of ocean research stations in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The National Science Foundation on Thursday announced a halt to the dismantling of floating scientific observatories off Alaska, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, and Greenland.
Northwest's yanked observatories to return to ocean after Trump administration backs down
The Trump administration has reversed course on its effort to shut down a network of ocean research stations in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The National Science Foundation on Thursday announced a halt to the dismantling of floating scientific observatories off Alaska, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, and Greenland.
Federal order keeps Washington's only coal power plant open — again
Published June 17, 2026 at 2:21 PM PDT For a third time, the Trump administration has ordered the TransAlta coal-burning power plant in Centralia, Washington, to stay open. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued the first 90-day emergency order in December, forcing the TransAlta coal plant to stay open past its long-planned retirement at the end of 2025. Each of the three federal orders claims there is an emergency need for more electricity.
Western Washington copes with extreme June heat
Published June 16, 2026 at 12:57 PM PDT From Seattle to Olympia, local officials and nonprofits opened cooling centers and tried to help vulnerable people survive an intense but brief heat wave on Sunday and Monday. Temperatures around the Puget Sound region soared as much as 23 degrees above normal for those dates.
Ocean observatories go dark off PNW coast
The Trump administration has quietly removed an array of floating ocean observatories from waters off the Washington coast, KUOW has learned. Their removal is part of a national dismantling of a network of sophisticated data buoys in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency created in 1950 to support scientific research, announced in May that it had started what it called a “descoping” of its Ocean Observatories Initiative.
Ocean observatories go dark off Pacific Northwest coast
The Trump administration has quietly removed an array of floating ocean observatories from waters off the Washington coast, KUOW has learned. Their removal is part of a national dismantling of a network of sophisticated data buoys in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency created in 1950 to support scientific research, announced in May that it had started what it called a “descoping” of its Ocean Observatories Initiative.
KUOW wins 19 SPJ Northwest Excellence in Journalism Awards for 2025
Published June 3, 2026 at 9:25 AM PDT Homes are shown surrounded by floodwater and what appears to be gasoline following consecutive atmospheric rivers on Thursday, December 11, 2025, near Mount Vernon. KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio has won nine Society of Professional Journalists 2025 Northwest Excellence in Journalism Awards. SPJ announced the full list of winners on June 1.
Emergency repairs sought for damaged Stanwood levee north of Seattle
City and tribal officials are seeking emergency permission to fix a crumbling levee near the coastal city of Stanwood, Washington, before disaster strikes. The century-old earthen structure protects the city and 1,800 acres of nearby farmland from the waters of Skagit Bay. Waves and wind gouged the outer side of a half-mile stretch of the aging structure during a king tide—one of the year’s highest tides—in January.
Northwest starts to feel the heat following un-snowy winter
A fruit orchard sits beneath the Cascade Range near Leavenworth, Washington, on Feb. 28, 2026. KUOW Photo / John Ryan The Pacific Northwest’s low snowpack has primed the region to turn dry and fire-prone earlier than usual. Fire experts are bracing for a bad summer for wildfires around the western United States, a sneak peek of conditions in years ahead as the earth’s climate continues to warm.
Mystery orcas return to Seattle area
Mount Rainier looms above the South King County shoreline and the spray of a transient orca of unknown origin on March 26, 2026. The mystery orcas are back in town. A trio of unidentified orcas, never observed in the Pacific Northwest before, showed up in early March, first in Canada’s Vancouver Harbour, then in the busy ports of Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia.
Mystery orcas return to Seattle area
10 hours ago The News Tribune asked Seattle Mariners fans to share their first and favorite memories of the M’s. From the Kingdome to T-Mobile Park, fans reminisce about everything from catching their first ball to watching Ichiro.
Bee survey finds dozens of species new to Washington state
Washington Bee Atlas volunteers look for native bees at a Whitman County farm in May 2024. Washington Department of Agriculture/Karla Salp Washington’s first statewide survey of bees has found dozens of species new to the state. Several long-lost species, turned up by citizen-scientists with nets and specimen jars, had not been seen in Washington for a century or more.
Bee survey finds dozens of species new to Washington state
Washington Bee Atlas volunteers look for native bees at a Whitman County farm in May 2024. Washington Department of Agriculture/Karla Salp Washington’s first statewide survey of bees has found dozens of species new to the state. Several long-lost species, turned up by citizen-scientists with nets and specimen jars, had not been seen in Washington for a century or more.
Why a Seattle cement plant burns a million tires a year and wants to burn more
The Ash Grove cement plant in Seattle, on March 18, 2026. KUOW Photo/John Ryan One of Seattle’s oldest businesses is also one of its biggest polluters. For anyone crossing the Duwamish River on the West Seattle bridge, the Ash Grove Cement plant is hard to miss. Its pair of giant concrete domes and eight-pack of tall silos jut above the low warehouses of Seattle’s industrial Sodo district. Small hills of limestone, gypsum, and other raw materials barged in from Canada line the riverfront.
Mystery orcas from afar thrill Seattle-area whale watchers Original
Orca T420 surfaces in the rain after swimming under the Des Moines Marina pier in Des Moines, Washington, on March 11, 2026. Courtesy Kat Martin/Orca Network. Three mystery whales have been surprising whale watchers from Canada to Olympia. When somebody gets the thrill of seeing an orca in Northwest waters, that whale is almost always well known. Scientists have probably given it a number and documented its family tree, perhaps even its DNA.
Major snow dump buoys Northwest skiers, can’t undo snow drought
What is expected to be the snowiest week of the year following an otherwise dismal winter is lifting spirits of those who love or rely on snow in the Pacific Northwest. The expected arrival of a foot or more of fresh powder almost every day through Friday in the Washington Cascades has skiers and snowboarders rejoicing and salivating, though the dump is expected to fall far short of dragging the state out of its deep snow drought.
Japanese-beetle pesticide spraying coming to south King County
A Japanese beetle perches on a leaf. Courtesy of National Plant Board In a first for western Washington, agriculture officials are gearing up to spray insecticide to fight an infestation of Japanese beetles in south King County, near Seattle. The Washington State Department of Agriculture aims to spray up to 2,000 properties, covering about 1,000 acres of lawn in south King County, starting in late March.
As U.S. abandons climate fight, Washington state feels the heat to do more
President Donald Trump and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin speak at the White House on Feb. 12, 2026. A Trump administration move Thursday to axe the centerpiece of federal climate policy jeopardizes state-level efforts to control pollution from motor vehicles as well.
The Stillaguamish Tribe gives its river north of Seattle room to roam
S cott Boyd is walking through deep mud near the mouth of the Stillaguamish River, on Puget Sound about 30 miles north of Seattle. This landscape changed dramatically in October when the Stillaguamish Tribe removed two miles of earthen levee. The ridge of dirt kept the river and the tides from spreading onto nearby farmland. Once a giant excavator bit into the levee, the tribe welcomed tidewater onto the land for the first time in over a century. “Before, it was a dairy operation.
Warm winter liquidates nearly half of Washington state snowpack
Snow was sparse in the Methow Valley, near Carlton, Washington, on Jan. 21, 2026. KUOW Photo/John Ryan The Pacific Northwest’s snowpack is in some of its worst shape ever. Washington state’s all-important wintry blanket held just 52% of its normal volume of water on Thursday, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. In Oregon, the snowpack was just 27% of normal.
Washington’s largest climate polluter shuts down despite federal order
FILE - In this April 29, 2011, file photo, the coal-burning TransAlta power plant is shown near Centralia, Wash. Ted S. Warren / AP The Pacific Northwest’s largest pollution source has shut down, and Washington state officials want to keep it that way. Canadian company TransAlta’s coal-burning power plant in Centralia, Washington, shut down Dec. 19, according to grid data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The plant has not re-started since then, despite a Dec.
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