Climate change is altering and destroying important habitats that America’s migratory birds depend on, the National Wildlife Federation said Tuesday in a report. » read more

In years past, tens of thousands of red knots crowded the sandy beaches of Mispillion Harbor in Delaware Bay, gorging on fresh horseshoe crab eggs spawned in such abundance they turned the shoreline a gelatinous green. Smaller than a gull but larger than a robin, the shorebirds have one of the longest-distance migrations known in the animal kingdom. Each year, the ruddy-breasted birds fly to the Canadian Arctic from their winter home in Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America. And each year, there are fewer and fewer. » read more

Rep. Doc Hastings argued in a heated House subcommittee hearing Thursday that stepping up lethal means against predatory California sea lions could protect the Northwest salmon populations. » read more

The federal government moved Tuesday to further protect chimpanzees, proposing to change the animals’ endangered status and increase oversight of their use in research. The plan represents the latest in a series of steps taken in the past two years to better safeguard the animals, one of man’s closest genetic cousins, and shield them from use in scientific research. Top medical institutions also are changing their stance toward the use of chimpanzees. » read more

A legislative workgroup chaired by Gov. Jay Inslee voted unanimously Tuesday to hire a Virginia-based climate consultant to examine Washington state’s options for reducing greenhouse gases that are contributing to global climate change. » read more

The Powerhouse fire in Southern California has a dance all its own, and firefighters have struggled to keep up with the flames. » read more