Sarah Trent

Vancouver

Journalist reporting where climate + everyday meet: Conservation, recreation, food & ag, etc. In @highcountrynews @outsidemagazine @TheAtlantic @nytimes @WSJ

Articles

An Important Arm of This Agency Could Vanish Next Week If Trump Has His Way

2 weeks ago | truthout.org | Sarah Trent

This story was originally published by High Country News. All 1,200 scientists and staff at the U.S. Geological Survey’s biological research arm are on edge this week as they wait to learn whether they’ll still have jobs come Monday. For weeks, the biologists who work in the division, known as the Ecosystems Mission Area, have watched two parallel threats unfold.
USGS’ biological research arm could vanish next week

2 weeks ago | hcn.org | Sarah Trent |Gretchen King

All 1,200 scientists and staff at the U.S. Geological Survey’s biological research arm are on edge this week as they wait to learn whether they’ll still have jobs come Monday. For weeks, the biologists who work in the division, known as the Ecosystems Mission Area, have watched two parallel threats unfold.
Get to know the western bumblebee

Aug 31, 2024 | hcn.org | Sarah Trent

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will soon decide whether to add several bumblebees to the federal endangered species list. Among them is the western bumblebee — Bombus occidentalis — a species that, if listed, could become a charismatic spokesbee across its range. Once ubiquitous from New Mexico to Alaska, western bumblebees are now confined mostly to pockets of the alpine Northwest.
After historic floods, the safety net failed small farmers

Jul 31, 2024 | hcn.org | Sarah Trent

It was raining on Dec. 31, 2022, when Maria Narez pulled off Highway 101 at the turnoff for her farm. It had been raining in Prunedale, California, since just after Christmas, and the final half-mile was too muddy to keep driving. She parked on the gravel shoulder as cars slicked past on the highway. After four years of drought, rain had come to Northern California, and even more was forecast. Soils were saturated, waterways brimming and rainfall records being set.
Downplaying the Widespread Presence of PFAS Is Dangerous

Mar 6, 2024 | truthdig.com | Sarah Trent

Related The Moms Vs. The Multinational This story was originally published by High Country News. When the simple blue-and-white postcard arrived in January 2023, Sarah Ferris missed it.
The dangers of PFAS - and of downplaying their ubiquity

Mar 4, 2024 | pfascentral.org | Sarah Trent

By Sarah Trent | High Country News | March 5, 2024 Read the full article by Sarah Trent (High Country News) “When the simple blue-and-white postcard arrived in January 2023, Sarah Ferris missed it. The mailer, sent by the city of Vancouver, Washington, told 270,000 municipal water users that a group of chemicals called PFAS had been found in city water.
The dangers of PFAS — and of downplaying their ubiquity - High Country News

Feb 29, 2024 | hcn.org | Sarah Trent

When the simple blue-and-white postcard arrived in January 2023, Sarah Ferris missed it. The mailer, sent by the city of Vancouver, Washington, told 270,000 municipal water users that a group of chemicals called PFAS had been found in city water. Levels were low, the postcard said; the city would soon test again to comply with state law and share more information. When a more detailed flyer arrived in April, Ferris looked it over.
Sierra Taxonomy | Sierra Club

Dec 27, 2023 | sierraclub.org | Sarah Trent |Gordy Slack |Maureen O’Hagan |Lindsey Botts

Scientists Race to Find Out Why the Western Bumblebee Is Disappearing Bombus occidentalis was common across the West, but since the 1990s its numbers have plummeted In this story: bees, endangered species, hiking The World's Second-Most-Famous Desert Pupfish Is in Trouble You wouldn't believe the lengths people go to protect these fish In this story: endangered species, fish Wildlife Traffickers Reveal Tricks of Their Illegal Trade Restorative justice for traffickers of rare and endangered...
Sierra Taxonomy | Sierra Club

Dec 27, 2023 | sierraclub.org | Sarah Trent |Gordy Slack |Maureen O’Hagan |Lindsey Botts

Scientists Race to Find Out Why the Western Bumblebee Is Disappearing Bombus occidentalis was common across the West, but since the 1990s its numbers have plummeted In this story: bees, endangered species, hiking The World's Second-Most-Famous Desert Pupfish Is in Trouble You wouldn't believe the lengths people go to protect these fish In this story: endangered species, fish Wildlife Traffickers Reveal Tricks of Their Illegal Trade Restorative justice for traffickers of rare and endangered...
Scientists Race to Find Out Why the Western Bumblebee Is Disappearing

Dec 26, 2023 | sierraclub.org | Sarah Trent

Ashley Mertens dropped the long handle of her insect net into the grass and used her palms to scoop a slow-moving bumblebee, dazed by the morning chill, off the ground. "You want help, ma'am?" the research technician cooed. She crouched among purple spikes of penstemon and dwarf lupine and held the bee up toward the flowers.