This list of recent publications and other products of the Pacific Northwest PNW Research Station is published four times a year. The first section shows items published by the PNW Research Station. The second section shows publications available elsewhere. In each section, items are grouped alphabetically by authors within categories. The list is available online and in pdf format.

Understanding the capacity to reduce wildfire risk and restore dry forests on Western national forests is a key part of prioritizing new accelerated restoration programs initiated by the Forest Service.

Epiphytic lichens are bioindicators of climate, air quality, and other forest conditions and may reveal how forests will respond to global changes in the U.S. Pacific States of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California. We explored climate indication with lichen communities surveyed by using both the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) and Alaska Region (R10) methods. Across the Pacific States, lichen indicator species and ordination “climate scores” reflected associations between lichen community composition and climate. Indicator species are appealing targets for monitoring, while climate scores at sites resurveyed in the future can indicate climate change effects.

This report describes the evidence for invasion of Pacific Northwest streams by Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) that have escaped from marine salmon farms, and assesses the potential impact of farmed salmon invasion on native fishes inhabiting streams on National Forest System lands. The current risk to streams on National Forest lands in the Pacific Northwest from Atlantic salmon invasions appears to be low and is limited to a few areas in northwest Washington and southeast Alaska. However, long-term risks may be substantial if fish continue to escape from marine rearing pens or freshwater hatcheries. The two greatest threats appear to be that (1) Atlantic salmon could transmit a serious disease or parasite to native fishes, and (2) escaped salmon could eventually adapt to local conditions, leading to self-sustaining populations. If Atlantic salmon populations are eventually established, this species' preference for swiftly flowing stream habitats could facilitate competition with currently at-risk species such as steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss). This could result in a pattern of expansion similar to that observed in other nonnative aquatic plants and animals, in which a prolonged early colonization period is followed by a rapid phase of exponential growth as breeding populations adapt to local conditions.

During September 19-20, 2006, a conference was held at the University of Washington Botanic Gardens, Seattle, WA, with the title "Meeting the challenge: invasive plants in Pacific Northwest Ecosystems." The mission of the conference was to create strategies and partnerships to understand and manage invasions of non-native plants in the Pacific Northwest. The audience included over 180 professionals, students, and citizens from public and private organizations responsible for monitoring, studying, or managing non-native invasive plants. This proceedings includes twenty-seven papers based on oral presentations at the conference plus a synthesis paper that summarizes workshop themes, discussions, and related information. Topics include early detection and rapid response; control techniques, biology, and impacts; management approaches; distribution and mapping of invasive plants; and partnerships, education, and outreach.

Nonnative plants affect the composition and function of natural and managed ecosystems and have large economic effects through lost or degraded land use and eradication costs. In spite of their importance, very little comprehensive information on the abundance, distribution, and impact of nonnative invasive plants is available.

Once gathered only for subsistence and cultural purposes, wild huckleberries are now also harvested commercially. Drawing on archival research as well as harvester and producer interview and survey data, an inventory of North American wild huckleberry plant genera is presented, and the wild huckleberry harvesting patterns of early Native Americans and nonindigenous settlers are described. The social, technological, and environmental changes that gave rise to the commercial industry in the Pacific Northwest by the 1920s and the industry's demise after World War II are explained. The resurgence of the commercial wild huckleberry industry in the mid-1980s and national forest management issues related to the industry are presented as are possible strategies that land managers could develop to ensure wild huckleberry, wildlife, and cultural sustainability.

The Pacific Northwest Research Station launched a Biodiversity Initiative to assist natural resource professionals in integrating complex biodiversity concepts into natural resource management processes. We canvassed clients from various affiliations to determine the main challenges they face in biodiversity management, to define their information needs, and to understand how best to deliver biodiversity information within a collaborative framework. The biodiversity management challenges that emerged included (1) the lack of well-defined biodiversity management policies, (2) understanding and quantifying the interaction effects between a number of factors (e.g., disturbance types, management practices) and biodiversity, (3) the lack of applied biodiversity monitoring strategies, (4) difficulty in locating and accessing biodiversity information, and (5) balancing conflicting values relating to biodiversity. We also list the biodiversity information product needs of clients, as well as preferred technology transfer methods, and we discuss the future direction of the Biodiversity Initiative.

The Inlander is a community newspaper covering news, politics, events, happy hour, everything that's happening today, things to do on the weekend, in Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, the greater Inland Northwest and beyond.

This week, you'll hear about the 2020 Pacific Musical Competition, whose finalists perform at the Live Finals and Winners Showcase, which will be held on March 8, 2020 in the Main Hall at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco from 10am to 7pm. For over a century, the Pacific Musical Society & Foundation has nurtured the growth of gifted musicians by awarding merit-based scholarships to promising students in the Bay Area and surrounding regions. Each year they hold a competition for instrumentalists, pianists, vocalists, chamber groups, and composers in various age categories. --- A talk with two-time Grammy Award-winning violinist Mads Tolling , about his upcoming show at Yoshi’s in Oakland (510 Embarcadero West), together with his Mads Men (Colin Hogan on keys, Daniel Lucca Parenti on bass and Eric Garland on drums). Featured guest artists are vocalists Kim Nalley and Kenny Washington. ---- From the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble , a talk with flutist Stacey Pelinka and artistic

Pacific Crest is a recognized leader in the marching arts community. We are here today because of supporters like you. We will survive these harsh times, and we are eager to build on 2019’s historic success. But we need your help to get there. When DCI cancelled the 2020 season, we got right to work: […]

Pacific Northwest Ballet, after canceling two programs and closing both branches of its school due to the coronavirus pandemic, stands to lose approximately $3 million through the end of April

The company has received a $3 million loan from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, allowing it to cover eight weeks of pay.

A peaceful paradise known for its iconic pine trees and spectacular coastline, Norfolk Island is riddled with political tension and simmering social unrest.

It's machines versus monsters, and this superior big-scale action adventure from Guillermo del Toro manages to flatten its blockbuster opposition.

South Pacific is pushing 65 this year but is still an infinitely renewable theatrical resource. "Younger than Springtime" you say? Well, sorta.

An array of Pacific Island communities converged on the Mackay Botanical Gardens last weekend to take part in the region's first Pasifika Festival. The event highlighted Mackay's diverse cultures by showcasing traditional artwork, food and performances.

A sustained gastro outbreak on the Indian Pacific train from Sydney to Perth has left more than 100 passengers sick over the past month, including two who had to be hospitalised.

More than 3,000 World War II wrecks lie in the Pacific Ocean of which around 300 are oil tankers. There are fears of environmental devastation as they begin to rust and leak oil.

Wazza the koala has left carers astounded after she was collected by a car and endured a 10km trip down a major NSW roadway, only to bolt up a tree afterwards.

A chalk sketch of the 18th-century Polynesian princess Tynai-mai is on display in the National Library's Cook and the Pacific exhibition.

Gold Coast police are searching for a man and woman after they stopped their car in the middle of the Pacific Motorway before attempting to hijack two vehicles.

The proposed state-controlled corridor between Loganholme and Nerang would run parallel to the Pacific Motorway.

A central Queensland community has donated thousands of dollars worth of food to visiting hockey teams from developing countries.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that a board member of a nonprofit corporation was not entitled to a preliminary injunction barring her from being removed from the board. Reversed a preliminary injunction, in this case involving a nonprofit that operates public radio stations.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Affirmed. In a claim of negligence for secondary exposure to asbestos, the plaintiff failed to establish sufficient cause. The panel held that in the context of asbestos claims, the substantial-factor test requires “demonstrating that the injured person had substantial exposure to the relevant asbestos for a substantial period of time.”

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that a board member of a nonprofit corporation was not entitled to a preliminary injunction barring her from being removed from the board. Reversed a preliminary injunction, in this case involving a nonprofit that operates public radio stations.

(United States DC Circuit) - Reversed and remanded. The district court had jurisdiction over a Labor Management Relations Act Claim relating to a maritime labor union because the act provides federal jurisdiction over suits for violation of contracts between employers and labor organizations.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that a board member of a nonprofit corporation was not entitled to a preliminary injunction barring her from being removed from the board. Reversed a preliminary injunction, in this case involving a nonprofit that operates public radio stations.

(California Court of Appeal) - In a judgment enforcement action, arising out of a default judgment for plaintiff in a contracts dispute over defendant's failure to pay for sheet metal, the trial court's entry of amended default judgment is reversed in part and affirmed in part where: 1) Donald Koh was improperly added as a judgment debtor on an alter ego theory under Motores de Mexicali v. Superior Court, 51 Cal.2d 172 (1958); but 2) South Gate Steel was properly added as a judgment debtor on a corporate successor theory.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that the trial court lacked authority to order dissolution of certain out-of-state business entities, in a dispute between partners in a general partnership that owned those entities. Affirmed the trial court's orders.

(California Court of Appeal) - In an arbitration action, arising from a dispute between plaintiff electricity producer and defendant utility over which party bears the cost of complying with laws to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, the trial court's vacating of the arbitration award to PG&E is reversed where the question of contact interpretation was ripe for arbitration and plaintiff failed to show sufficient cause for postponing the arbitration process.

(United States Federal Circuit) - In a brought suit against the U.S. claiming that two federal government agencies selling electricity over-charged appellants for electricity, the Federal Claims Court dismissal for lack of standing is affirmed where plaintiffs lack privity of contract or any other relationship with the government that would confer standing.

(California Court of Appeal) - In a labor and employment action, arising after plaintiff was allegedly terminated by his employer, PG&E, for retaliating against a safety inspector who raised issues about his project, the trial court's grant of summary judgment to defendant is affirmed where regardless of whether plaintiff was an at-will employee, PG&E established good cause for terminating him.

(California Court of Appeal) - Reversed an order denying summary judgment to plaintiff as to punitive damages. A devastating wildfire started when a tree came into contact with overhead powerlines. The real parties in interest claimed that plaintiff (PG&E) was responsible and sought punitive damages. PG&E had sought summary judgment as to the punitive damages claim which was denied by the trial court.

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirmed the dismissal of a proposed consumer class action lawsuit because the plaintiffs had failed to bring the case to trial within five years, as required by the California Code of Civil Procedure. It did not matter that the class claims had been dismissed within five years.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Held that an engineering company could not proceed with a class action lawsuit alleging that its former concrete supplier unlawfully recorded cellular phone users' calls without their consent. Affirmed an order decertifying the class on the ground that the class representative lacked individual standing.

Aspiring Musicians Are Invited To Submit Original Songs For A Chance To Win A Mentorship By MTV And US$10,000 To Fund Their Music Journey

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Affirmed. In a claim of negligence for secondary exposure to asbestos, the plaintiff failed to establish sufficient cause. The panel held that in the context of asbestos claims, the substantial-factor test requires “demonstrating that the injured person had substantial exposure to the relevant asbestos for a substantial period of time.”

(United States Seventh Circuit) - Affirmed the dismissal of antitrust claims brought against two manufacturers of a material called containerboard that is used to make boxes. Held that there was not enough evidence of a conspiracy to proceed to trial on the purchasers' claims under the Sherman Act that the companies conspired to increase prices and reduce output.

The response of Senator Richard Blumenthal to my letter in opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Ask yourselves how American labor can compete against Vietnamese workers earning on average $0.56 per hour. Continue reading →

The Senate considered H.R. 1314, the legislative vehicle for trade promotion authority reauthorization.?It would give the president broad fast-track authority when negotiating trade agreements and require Congress to consider treaties without an amendment process. Senator Bernie Sanders speaks out against this bill before the Senate on May 12, 2015. Continue reading →

Bernie Sanders calls out Hillary Clinton to announce her position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement; however, Hillary Clinton refuses to reveal her position, hoping that the agreement will be passed and she won't have to take a position. Continue reading →

IBM announced today that Portland Software, one of New Zealand’s fastest growing technology companies, has created a fully integrated employee benefits administration platform on IBM Cloud.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the launch of the IBM Institute for Advanced Security in Asia-Pacific, an expansion of its company-wide initiative to provide governments, businesses and other key organisations with a forum to collaborate with IBM’s global network of security research, services, software and technology experts.

IBM positioned as the Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data Center Outsourcing and Hybrid Infrastructure Managed Services, Asia Pacific

An advanced group of Chinese hackers has recently been spotted to be behind a sustained cyber espionage campaign targeting government entities in Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and Brunei—which went undetected for at least five years and is still an ongoing threat. The group, named 'Naikon APT,' once known as one of the most active APTs in Asia until 2015,

SAN FRANCISCO -- Today, the U.S.

Thousands sign up to hike the California-Oregon-Washington trail every spring. Most have given up amid coronavirus, but some remain, amid controversy.