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Environment

October 30, 2025
Doug Olson, left, from the FBI’s Portland field office, is joined by fellow agents Mari Panovich and Jason Newport as they address the Clark County Council during a work session Wednesday. (Shari Phiel/The Columbian)

FBI asks council to restore use of Camp Bonneville range

The Clark County Council may revisit an earlier decision not to renew the FBI’s contract for the use of the shooting range at Camp Bonneville. The FBI asked the council to reconsider its decision during a work session Wednesday morning.

October 23, 2025
Roger Rezabek harvests pinor noir grapes Oct. 10 at Rezabek Vineyards north of Battle Ground. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)

Clark County wineries, vineyards toast great harvest

Viticulture in Washington traces its beginnings to the first grapevines planted at Fort Vancouver in 1825. As they mark the 200th anniversary of viticulture here, Clark County wineries and vineyards report having one their best harvests yet.

October 16, 2025
Big brown bats are among the bat species found in Clark County. (Contributed photo)

Fatal fungus threatens Northwest’s bats

The National Park Service announced in September that the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats was found at San Juan Island National Historical Park in Washington and on bat droppings at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in Oregon. Both the fungus and the disease, however, have been in Washington for nearly a decade.

October 9, 2025
Singed trees remain standing in the Columbia River Gorge’s Coyote Wall Recreation Area in mid-September, about six weeks after the Burdoin Fire. (Photos by Scott Hewitt/The Columbian)

Drastic change of scenery at Coyote Wall

BINGEN — In spring, you can count on the Columbia River Gorge’s Coyote Wall trail network to dazzle the eyes with crowded carpets of yellow and purple wildflowers. In the heat of summer, Coyote Wall’s jagged, tilting grassland dries out into a furrowed plateau of glowing gold.