>Wild horses used to range in the millions.

You just made that up. Before the Wild Horses and Burros Act was passed in 1971, wild horse numbers were kept in check by ranchers and state wildlife officials.

As for BLM's roundups, they're required to do that by federal law. They're required to define herd management areas and set appropriate numbers for each area, and then round them up when those numbers are exceeded. This is not discretionary. You don't like the law? Complain to Congress, not BLM.

Um, yeah, there are massive numbers of excess horses. "Wild" horse herds on public lands in the West increase by 20% per year, with no predators keeping them in check.

Actually, they're feral domesticated animals, which now occupy this weird gray area where they're called "wild", but they're not managed like other large wild animals such as deer and elk. Despite the fact that "wild" horse herds increase in population by 20% per year, there's no hunting season on them, and it's illegal for anyone but BLM to round them up. In most of their range, there are no natural predators to keep their numbers in check.
So they chew up habitat that other native wildlife depend on. So in essence they're national pets, costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars per year to maintain.

At last, an informed voice on horses!

They went hiking in grizzly country with no bear spray. Not very smart.

Unfortunately, Washington's farmers have gotten the legislature to enact a law protecting them from suits for creating a nuisance. It's RCW 7.48, and reads, in part:

>(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, agricultural activities conducted on farmland and forest practices, if consistent with good agricultural and forest practices and established prior to surrounding nonagricultural and nonforestry activities, are presumed to be reasonable and shall not be found to constitute a nuisance unless the activity or practice has a substantial adverse effect on public health and safety.

(2) Agricultural activities and forest practices undertaken in conformity with all applicable laws and rules are presumed to be good agricultural and forest practices not adversely affecting the public health and safety for purposes of this section and RCW 7.48.300. An agricultural activity that is in conformity with such laws and rules shall not be restricted as to the hours of the day or day or days of the week during which it may be conducted.

This doesn't mean they get off scot free. Their operations have to be consistent with good agricultural practices. And if your neighbor is polluting a creek, he's not exempt. I'd suggest you collect several water samples from the creek, at different times and locations along and downstream from his operation. If you can afford to have a lab test them yourselves, do it. If not, ask the county to do so. If this is really a salmon stream, you might consider contacting an environmental group like the Wild Fish Conservancy and asking whether they're interested in helping.

Or, another approach would be for you to take up falconry. Birds of prey just love fresh chicken.

This is untrue. Solar panels don't have to be replaced after 20 years. If you buy a quality panel, (like SilFab, which are made in Bellingham) it will come with a warranty guaranteeing the the conversion efficiency after 30 years will still be at 97% of what it was when new. The typical conversion efficiency for a new panel is 21-22% these days. So, after 30 years, your panels will still be cranking out plenty of power. In fact, they'll still be cranking out plenty of power after 40 years.

I've never visited there, because private zoos are generally awful places. Olympic Game Farm is being sued for animal cruelty, etc: https://aldf.org/case/challenging-the-treatment-of-captive-animals-at-olympic-game-farm/

Thanks, that was enlightening.

To me, a coat of arms echoes everything about European royalty that the American revolution was intended to reject. I'd rather see a flag that incorporates the state's physical wonders: mountains, trees, water. My favorite state flag is Alaska's, which is just Ursa Major and Polaris.

But hats off to you for taking a stab at anything that would replace our bland currrent flag.

If you believe fervently enough, your bathtub is a healing spring.

I've never seen it on the Olympic Peninsula, nor the North Cascades.

Probably not. These aren't sustainable jobs, because mining economies are always boom-bust. The highest-paying jobs will go to people the company brings in from elsewhere. The people of Ferry County will be serving them in restaurants and cleaning their motel rooms. But on the bright side, the people of Ferry County might eventually cash in when the time comes to clean up the mess that gold mines always leave behind. Of course, that depends on whether there's any money left to fund the clean-up.

> how the northern pacific coast, compared to the northern pacific coast,

Huh?

Yes, and the Pourhouse.

9 times in the last 5 years.

Well, Washington D.C. was named in 1801, while Washington State wasn't named until 1889. So the men who chose to name this state for George Washington should have known it was a recipe for endless confusion. Maybe they should have named the state Tahoma, the indigenous name for Mt. Rainier. It means "mother of waters", which is a very nice image.

https://www.wta.org/go-outside/map

And DNR land, as long as you're not in a developed site like a campground.

Indeed. This list is a typical bullshit survey intended to boost traffic to the website. Among the factors they use to rank parks is "proximity to big cities" and "entrance fees", as if either has any bearing on how good a park is.

Yes, the private and DNR lands are still heavily cut over.

Verizon has the best coverage in the Olympics, but that's still not very good. You can find service on some high ridges, like High Divide and Klahhane Ridge, and in the Elwha Valley near Elwha Ranger Station, but in general you won't have service in river valleys like the Hoh. Haven't tried on the beaches, but I doubt you'd find much service.

Rialto Beach, Port Townsend, Fort Flagler State Park, Dungeness Spit. If you're there on a Fri-Sun, the Park keeps the Hurricane Ridge Rd plowed, and you can drive up to the top of the ridge and stomp around in the snow. The road is closed the rest of the week. Check ahead for conditions, of course. You need to have chains in your car, and they'll generally ask you at the entrance station.

Homesteading? Do you mean staking a claim on public land and making it your own? You're a few decades too late. The last vestiges of the Homestead Act were repealed in 1976. If you want land you have to pay for it like everyone else.

Just read a novel in which this exact place was featured: Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver.