Water cycle exhibit opens in North Bend

NORTH BEND -- Interactive water cycle exhibits were recently opened at the Cedar River Watershed Education Center, located in the Cascade mountain foothills near North Bend. Videos and lasers show a model of the Cedar River watershed, highlighting where water is diverted, screened, disinfected and delivered.

"The new exhibits will help people understand the importance of protecting our water supply and using water wisely," said Seattle Public Utilities Director Chuck Clarke.

The center is a gateway to the Cedar River Watershed, a protected watershed that provides almost 70 percent of the drinking water that Seattle Public Utilities delivers in King County.

Hazy Rainier blamed on diesel fuel

TACOMA (AP) -- On cloudless summer days, the sight of Mount Rainier from the Puget Sound area can be breathtaking -- or shrouded in a brownish haze that sullies the base of the mountain.

Experts say fuel consumption from diesel vehicles is the most significant source of the pollutants that obscure views of the iconic peak and create health hazards.

Pollutants scatter and absorb light as it passes through the atmosphere. Haze typically begins to obstruct visibility long before the pollutants come close to exceeding federal air quality standards. But because even low levels of pollution can be harmful to vulnerable people, visibility serves as an early warning system.

"Mount Rainier serves as a sentinel to represent clean air," said Barbara Samora, a biologist at Mount Rainier National Park.

Prompted by the Clean Air Act, federal officials adopted a regulation several years ago requiring national parks and wilderness areas to be free of airborne pollutants by 2064.

Leaders of National Parks Conservation Association say that 2064 deadline is too far away. "We can do more now," said Jill Stephens, who coordinates the group's clean air campaign.

Wasp enlisted in western beetle battle

BEND, Ore. (AP) -- An exotic beetle that masquerades as a slug, then emerges to ravenously feed on grain fields throughout the West, may have met its match.

The state of Oregon is introducing a tiny wasp that hatches and develops inside the larvae of leaf beetles, then devours the pests' innards and kills them off.

The wasps, which don't sting humans, have nearly eradicated the leaf beetles from other parts of the country -- but it takes time, and farmers need to be willing to forgo spraying pesticides.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has just brought the wasp to Central Oregon, hoping farmers there will embrace insect biological control -- fighting bugs with bugs, said to be an eco-friendly and cheap way to combat pests.

The cereal leaf beetle first migrated to the country from Europe and Asia in 1962, when it landed in Michigan, and quickly spread through eastern states. A strong flier, the beetle easily travels long distances. It touched down on Oregon soil in 1999 and is now in 19 counties.

Statewide, nearly 38,000 acres of grains were sprayed last year at a cost of $421,000 to guard against the beetle.

It will take at least two years before researchers can tell if the wasps take to local soil, but the prognosis is good.

Klamath Basin fish won't be delisted

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- Two species of fish at the heart of battles over water in the Klamath Basin will remain on the endangered species list, but their protected status will undergo a comprehensive review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said last week.

A petition to take the Lost River sucker and shortnosed sucker off the endangered species list submitted two years ago by the group Interactive Citizens United did not contain any persuasive new information, the agency said from its regional office in Sacramento, Calif.

Meanwhile, the agency will embark on a five-year review of the suckers to assemble new information and evaluate whether the fish still need to be protected under the Endangered Species Act, Fish and Wildlife said.

A fish screen has been built to keep young suckers from being sucked into irrigation canals to die, and the government is working toward removing a dam on the Sprague River that closes off miles of spawning habitat.