Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Apple Valley News Now
Volunteers needed for water stargrass harvest season on the Lower Yakima River
By Rylee Fitzgerald,
1 day ago
BENTON & FRANKLIN COUNTIES, Wash. — The Benton and Franklin Conservation Districts are looking for volunteers to help them clear the Lower Yakima River of a unique problem in our basin. That’s water stargrass , which has been around in the area since the late-90s, early-2000s in the river.
The plant impacts dissolved oxygen, temperature and river velocity, clogging irrigation canals, impeding water delivery and hindering salmon migration.
According to the Benton Conservation District, the aquatic plants are native, but acting like an invasive species, turning the once fast-flowing river habitat into a slower-moving marsh.
“It’s what you see almost everywhere from the mouth of the Yakima all the way up to about Prosser dam and it just grows so, so thick, so densely, that it really prevents any other vegetation from growing and it changes the way the water flows, and heats up the water, and takes out all the dissolved oxygen at night, and so it's really changing our river system for the detriment of almost all other native plants and animals and then for the users of the river as well,” explained Thomas Sexton, a resource conservationist with the Benton Conservation District.
This involves hand-pulling the water stargrass out of the river, where the district’s harvester can’t reach.
If you’re willing to wade in the Yakima for a few hours this summer, and get your hands dirty, you can fill out the volunteer interest form here .
With a Washington State Commerce Grant, and its pilot operation funded by the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan, the districts bought a custom-built harvester.
More than half of a million pounds of plant material was removed from the Lower Yakima River in just 26 days during 2023. Harvesting, according to the district, resulted in quick improvements to the river flow and water quality.
PROSSER, Wash. — Tuesday, Representative Dan Newhouse toured a new Benton REA substation in Prosser. He met with the Benton REA to discuss utility wildfire mitigation efforts. Fires are burning all around the Pacific Northwest, and Newhouse said the goal is to lessen the amount of fires, and minimize the catastrophic nature of wildfires.
KENNEWICK, Wash. — The National Horseshoe Pitchers Association World Tournament kicked off Monday at the Toyota Center and Arena, and lasts through the weekend. This is the first time the horseshoe pitching world tournament has happened in the Tri-Cities, let alone Washington state, and the top-tier competition is open to the public.
BENTON COUNTY, Wash. — Benton County Fire District #6 battled a fire along Highway 14, Tuesday morning. The Canoe Ridge Road fire, now put out, threatened vineyards and a winery. It started west of Paterson, and brought crews of all kinds to the scene, including fire crews from all around the state, railway, electric and more.
PASCO, Wash. — The Pasco Public Facilities District board approved the validation report for the new Pasco Aquatics Facility at a recent meeting. The board went over a more-than-130-page report on the design, value delivery, project schedule and more. The validation process has lasted for around seven months.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
The leading platform for local news and information.
By using cutting-edge technology that learns users’ preferences to curate tailored content for them, NewsBreak gathers community-focused news and information from over 10,000 sources in a timely, accessible, and easy-to-use way at no cost to users.
NewsBreak does not allow any content that expresses hate or promotes false information. Instead, we strive to give businesses, communities, and users accurate and reliable local news and information. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.
Most Popular
Comments / 0