Central Region

Ecology has four regional offices. The Central region includes Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Kittitas, Klickitat, Okanogan, and Yakima counties.
Ecology has four regional offices. The Central region includes Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Kittitas, Klickitat, Okanogan, and Yakima counties.

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Get ready, it's haboob season
What's a haboob, you ask? It's a dust storm. They can occur in Central and Eastern Washington every spring through fall. Read these safety tips to protect your health.
Celebrate Pride! The ornate tube worm sports all the colors of the rainbow
Our benthic taxonomists share details on critters in sediment habitats, including life history, and the role each critter plays in the community. This month's focus is the Ornate Tube Worm.
Reining in dust in the Horse Heaven Hills

It’s no secret that Eastern Washington can get windy. And that’s not a problem… until that wind picks up loose soil and sends it aloft.

Going nuts over the peanut worms
Peanut worms belong to the phylum Sipuncula, meaning "little tube or siphon." They can retract their bodies into a tubular trunk like a balled up pair of socks.
Size matters — What can we learn from biomass and size classification?
We're studying benthic invertebrate biomass (critter size) for the first time on a large scale in Puget Sound.
Ecology has received a new request to use Imidacloprid to control burrowing shrimp

We are evaluating an application requesting permission to use the pesticide Imidacloprid to control burrowing shrimp in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor.

My heart will go on: the humble heart cockle lives long and prospers
The heart cockle is a bivalve named for its heart-shaped profile. They are the largest cockles on the west coast, reaching almost 6 inches in length.
King Tides: A glimpse into tomorrow, a photo challenge today

Information to provide your photos of King Tides along Washington's shorelines.

New Online Map: Dirt Alert

This month we launched our new Dirt Alert Map. This online map focuses on the Tacoma Smelter Plume and  covers other areas in the state where arsenic- and lead-related soil contamination may exist.

Local video highlights 'soft' shoreline stabilization approaches

Shoreline stabilization video highlighting approaches property owners can use to protect shorelines while also promoting a healthy ecosystem.