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During the anti-immigration climate of the Trump administration rooted in racist nativist rhetoric, the feeling of vulnerability became palpable for Undocumented and DACAmented students. Racist nativism, however, is not a new phenomenon; it existed long before the Trump Effect. This study presents the testimonios of seven Undocumented and DACAmented Latinas as they grow up in central and eastern regions of Washington State. These testimonios reflect the lived experiences in the intersections of racism, nativism, and classism. A LatCrit framework with an analysis of racist nativism is used to illustrate the ways racism intersects with other facets of discrimination as these students navigate their high school and college educational trajectories. Using this framework provides a window for understanding how K-16 educators normalized and legitimized racist nativist discourses during the period of 2000 to 2010. This study also highlights the ideological complexities as these discourses intersect racism, nativism, and classism. Finally, this study calls for policies to address racist nativist discourses in the educational system and address Undocumented and DACAmented students' educational needs, primarily to mitigate the negative impact of the last four years' extreme political rhetoric on this vulnerable but empowered group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the effectiveness of various employer-based travel demand management strategies in promoting multimodality and mode substitution among employees in Washington state using a mixed multinomial logit model. The study found that employee transportation coordinators played an important role in encouraging the use of sustainable travel modes. Spatial analysis revealed that individuals who lived and worked in proximity were more likely to adopt multimodal transportation. The study also highlighted the convenience of driving alone and the lack of information on sustainable alternatives as two major barriers to the adoption of sustainable transportation modes and recommended educational campaigns to increase awareness. To inform practice, this study identified transit subsidies, parking pricing, and work schedule flexibility as the most effective TDM strategies to promote multimodality and mode substitution, followed by compressed workweeks, and providing easy access to transit and amenities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Despite curative treatment options since 2014, only 12% of individuals in Washington State diagnosed with Hepatitis C (HCV) received treatment in 2018. Washington State agencies launched an elimination plan in 2019 to promote access to and delivery of HCV screening and treatment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate provider and health system barriers to successful implementation of HCV screening and treatment across Washington State. Methods This is a cross-sectional online survey of 547 physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and clinical pharmacists who provide care to adult patients in Washington State conducted in 2022. Providers were eligible if they worked in a primary care, infectious disease, gastroenterology, or community health settings. Questions assessed HCV screening and treating practices, implementation barriers, provider knowledge, observed stigma, and willingness to co-manage HCV and substance use disorder. Chi-squared or fishers exact tests compared characteristics of those who did and did not screen or treat. Results Provider adoption of screening for HCV was high across the state (96%), with minimal barriers identified. Fewer providers reported treating HCV themselves (28%); most (71%) referred their patients to another provider. Barriers identified by those not treating HCV included knowledge deficit (64%) and lack of organizational support (24%). The barrier most identified in those treating HCV was a lack of treating clinicians (18%). There were few (

Wildfires have become increasingly prevalent in the western United States, posing threats to human communities and the built environment. This study builds upon previous research by investigating the factors influencing wildfire hot spot distribution in Washington State. Using spatial regression models (generalized linear regression and geographically weighted regression), we examine the relationships between wildfire hot spots and various geographic features, including climate variables, human-caused ignitions, land use, population density, road density, and the wildland-urban interface. Our results indicate that lightning-caused fires and road density are significant factors contributing to hot spot intensity in central Washington, while human-caused ignitions play a crucial role in eastern Washington. Surprisingly, precipitation shows varied correlations with hot spots, with some areas experiencing an unexpected positive relationship between precipitation and hot spot intensity due to increased fuel growth. The study highlights the importance of localized approaches to wildfire mitigation, emphasizing the need for tailored risk reduction strategies based on regional factors.

There is growing interest in working with beavers (Castor canadensis and Castor fiber) to restore and maintain ecosystem function, improve hydrologic conditions and build climate resiliency in freshwater ecosystems. Beaver translocation into historically occupied but degraded systems has been increasingly applied as a restoration practice over the last two decades. Knowledge of beaver distributions on the landscape is critical to understanding where and when beaver translocations may be effective. However, current understanding of beaver occupancy and translocation success is limited by uncertainty, subjectivity and inefficiency associated with available monitoring methods. We evaluated the efficacy and spatial inference associated with environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques for detecting beaver presence in natural wetland and stream systems in the Cascade mountains of Washington State. We conducted eDNA sampling paired with radio‐tracking of translocated beavers at four relocation sites from October 2020 through October 2022 to elucidate spatial patterns of site use, eDNA detection probability and eDNA quantity. We found that eDNA techniques detected beaver rapidly over long distances – up to 2.9 km from known locations within the first week after release – and reliably detected beavers when they were upstream, with positive detections in 92.4% of downstream eDNA samples collected 1–3 months after release. We also found that eDNA quantity decreased with increasing distance from beaver and increased with the amount of upstream beaver activity. Our study suggests that eDNA is a sensitive tool for monitoring translocated beaver and can provide spatial information on beaver location and site use within a stream system. Hence, eDNA methods could be a valuable tool for rapid inventory and assessment of beaver occupancy and our findings highlight important implications for using eDNA to monitor other semi‐aquatic mammal species that share similar life histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite curative treatment options since 2014, only 12% of individuals in Washington State diagnosed with Hepatitis C (HCV) received treatment in 2018. Washington State agencies launched an elimination plan in 2019 to promote access to and delivery of HCV screening and treatment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate provider and health system barriers to successful implementation of HCV screening and treatment across Washington State. Methods: This is a cross-sectional online survey of 547 physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and clinical pharmacists who provide care to adult patients in Washington State conducted in 2022. Providers were eligible if they worked in a primary care, infectious disease, gastroenterology, or community health settings. Questions assessed HCV screening and treating practices, implementation barriers, provider knowledge, observed stigma, and willingness to co-manage HCV and substance use disorder. Chi-squared or fishers exact tests compared characteristics of those who did and did not screen or treat. Results: Provider adoption of screening for HCV was high across the state (96%), with minimal barriers identified. Fewer providers reported treating HCV themselves (28%); most (71%) referred their patients to another provider. Barriers identified by those not treating HCV included knowledge deficit (64%) and lack of organizational support (24%). The barrier most identified in those treating HCV was a lack of treating clinicians (18%). There were few (< 10%) reports of observed stigma in settings of HCV treatment. Most clinicians (95%) were willing to prescribe medication for substance use disorders to those that were using drugs including alcohol. Conclusion: Despite widespread screening efforts, there remain barriers to implementing HCV treatment in Washington State. Lack of treating clinicians and clinician knowledge deficit were the most frequently identified barriers to treating HCV. To achieve elimination of HCV by 2030, there is a need to grow and educate the clinician workforce treating HCV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important public concern about the impact of recreational cannabis legalization is how it may affect adolescent cannabis use. Prior research on this issue has primarily focused on the implications of medical cannabis legalization for adolescents and used data that cover a relatively short post-legalization period. This study extends this line of research by examining the relationship between recreational cannabis legalization and adolescent cannabis use in Washington State, using the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDHU) data from 2005 to 2019. Based on a quasi-experimental research design, this study found some evidence suggesting a positive effect of recreational legalization on the prevalence of adolescent cannabis use and cannabis initiation. Findings suggest the need to create a cannabis regulatory environment that minimizes adolescent access to this drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sparganophilidae are one of the few non monotypic families of earthworms with no reported parasites, pathogens, or endosymbionts. While conducting a survey of the Sparganophilidae across North America we took the opportunity to examine a population from an exposed lakebed for endoparasites. Worms were dissected after anesthetizing them in clove water; 4 of 24 worms (16%) harboured a new species of Stomatophora (Apicomplexa: Monocystidae) and one worm harbored a juvenile Rhabditida (Nematoda). Based on these collections we described Stomatophora benhami n. sp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important public concern surrounding the legalization of recreational marijuana is its impact on offenses related to hard drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and other dangerous drugs, about which competing perspectives exist. Prior research using rigorous methodology to empirically examine this issue remains limited. Based on Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program data from 2007 to 2019 and a quasi-experimental research design involving interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) and the synthetic control method (SCM), this study examines the effects of recreational marijuana legalization on the rates of a variety of drug offenses including possession violations related to marijuana, heroin/cocaine and their derivatives, and other dangerous nonnarcotic drugs in Washington State (WA), which passed its recreational marijuana law (RML) in late 2012 and began legal sales in July 2014. This study found that WA has experienced decreases in the rate of possession offenses for the two categories of more harmful drugs—heroin/cocaine and their derivatives, and other dangerous nonnarcotic drugs—over the post-sale period, relative to the states that have not legalized marijuana for recreational use, offering some evidence suggesting a drug offense reduction effect of marijuana legalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microborings made by bangialean rhodophytes and classified as Conchocelichnus occur as filamentous traces within living stylasterid corals or mollusc shells. These microborings have a fossil record spanning Ordovician to Recent within organic calcareous substrates such as mollusc and brachiopod shells, crinoid columnals, corals, and even sponges. The ichnotaxon Conchocelichnus seilacheri, based on microborings within Oligocene bivalves from Germany and Recent shells from the Bahamas has now been discovered in the tube walls of the spirorbid polychaete Neodexiospira vanslykei from the late Eocene basal part of the Lincoln Creek Formation in western Washington State, USA. Our research thus represents the first known interaction of endolithic traces Conchocelichnus seilacheri within fossil polychaete tubes and the first Eocene record of these microborings from North America. Neodexiospira vanslykei was also associated with the calcareous rhodophyte Corallina sp., representing the first Cenozoic record of Corallina from the Pacific Coast of North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extreme, known potential outcome of intimate partner violence (IPV) is death, with national data revealing females are more likely to be killed by intimate partners than by others. In a novel pairing, the King County Medical Examiner's Office data management system and the Washington State Attorney General's Office's Homicide Information Tracking System were retrospectively analyzed (1978-2016) with information gathered pertaining to female homicide victims. Analyses show that female victims commonly knew their assailant(s) (79.3%) who were overwhelmingly male (92.8%) and commonly intimate partners (31.4%). Disproportionately represented were Black (20.17%) and Native American (4.25%) females; Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5 times that of Whites) and elderly (24%) females among homicide-suicide deaths; and Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic females in cases of IPV. "Domestic violence" was the most cited motive (34.3%) and most assaults occurred in a residence (58.73%). Females under 10 years of age were most commonly killed by a parent or caregiver (42.86%), while those over 70 were most likely to be killed by a child (23.08%) or spouse (21.80%). Serial murders, most commonly by the Green River Killer (80%) but including others, accounted for at least 7% of deaths, with victims notably young and commonly sex workers (68%). As compared to males, females were more likely to be killed by multiple modalities, asphyxia, and sharp force, though IPV-related deaths were more likely to be associated with firearms. This study reinforces the vulnerability of females to IPV, sexual assault, and serial murders as well as to caretakers at the extremities of age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background To address the research question of how simultaneous users of alcohol and cannabis differ from concurrent users in risk of cannabis use problems after the recreational marijuana legalization in Washington State. Methods We used generalized estimating equations with a Poisson distribution to analyze the association between simultaneous use of alcohol and marijuana (SAM) and cannabis-related problems compared to concurrent use. The data is a longitudinal sample of drinkers and cannabis users (n = 257, 47% female) aged 18 years and older from Washington State in 2014–2016. We adjusted for survey weights to account for differential probability of selection and response rates. The primary outcome is the past-six-month CUDIT problem subscale (ranging from 0 to 28), which is the total score for seven CUDIT problem items, after excluding the three items that covered marijuana use frequency. Covariates include marijuana use frequency (daily/near daily use, regular use, or infrequent use), marijuana daily quantity, alcohol daily volume, panel survey cycle, medical marijuana recommendation, driving time to nearest marijuana outlet, age of marijuana use onset, and other demographics. Results After adjusting for covariates, we found that compared to concurrent use, SAM was significantly positively associated with CUDIT problem subscale (IRR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.25–2.27, p

Despite more than 150 years of research on the Jurassic and Cretaceous trigoniid bivalves of the Pacific Coast of North America, little mention is made of Washington State trigoniids. In this study, five trigoniid species from the Methow Basin are documented from three sites in the Lower Cretaceous conglomerate of Patterson Lake (cPL). Three of the species, Yaadia whiteavesi, Columbitrigonia condoni, and Notoscabrotrigonia oregana, are well-known in the literature. The other two, Parvitrigonia n. gen. cooperi n. sp. and Earlpackardia methowensis n. sp. are undescribed rutitrigoniids. These identifications revise the faunal lists from previous geological studies of the Methow Basin and allow a middle Albian age assignment to the upper portion of the cPL.

Background: To address the research question of how simultaneous users of alcohol and cannabis differ from concurrent users in risk of cannabis use problems after the recreational marijuana legalization in Washington State. Methods: We used generalized estimating equations with a Poisson distribution to analyze the association between simultaneous use of alcohol and marijuana (SAM) and cannabis-related problems compared to concurrent use. The data is a longitudinal sample of drinkers and cannabis users (n = 257, 47% female) aged 18 years and older from Washington State in 2014–2016. We adjusted for survey weights to account for differential probability of selection and response rates. The primary outcome is the past-six-month CUDIT problem subscale (ranging from 0 to 28), which is the total score for seven CUDIT problem items, after excluding the three items that covered marijuana use frequency. Covariates include marijuana use frequency (daily/near daily use, regular use, or infrequent use), marijuana daily quantity, alcohol daily volume, panel survey cycle, medical marijuana recommendation, driving time to nearest marijuana outlet, age of marijuana use onset, and other demographics. Results: After adjusting for covariates, we found that compared to concurrent use, SAM was significantly positively associated with CUDIT problem subscale (IRR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.25–2.27, p < 0.001); daily/near daily use of marijuana was strongly significantly associated with CUDIT problem subscale compared with infrequent use (IRR = 5.1, 2.71–9.57, p < 0.001) or regular use (IRR = 3.05, 1.91–4.85, p < 0.001). Secondary analyses using CUDIT total score as the outcome also showed a significant positive association with SAM compared to concurrent use (IRR = 1.17, 1.02–1.34, p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study highlighted the importance of SAM, in addition to cannabis use frequency for predicting cannabis-related problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detailed understanding of crustal components and tectonic history of forearcs is important due to their geological complexity and high seismic hazard. The principal component of the Cascadia forearc is Siletzia, a composite basaltic terrane of oceanic origin. Much is known about the lithology and age of the province. However, glacial sediments blanketing the Puget Lowland obscure its lateral extent and internal structure, hindering our ability to fully understand its tectonic history and its influence on modern deformation. In this study, we apply map‐view interpretation and two‐dimensional modeling of aeromagnetic and gravity data to the magnetically stratified Siletzia terrane revealing its internal structure and characterizing its eastern boundary. These analyses suggest the contact between Siletzia (Crescent Formation) and the Eocene accretionary prism trends northward under Lake Washington. North of Seattle, this boundary dips east where it crosses the Kingston arch, whereas south of Seattle the contact dips west where it crosses the Seattle uplift (SU). This westward dip is opposite the dip of the Eocene subduction interface, implying obduction of Siletzia upper crust at this southern location. Elongate pairs of high and low magnetic anomalies over the SU suggest imbrication of steeply‐dipping, deeply rooted slices of Crescent Formation within Siletzia. We hypothesize these features result from duplication of Crescent Formation in an accretionary fold‐thrust belt during the Eocene. The active Seattle fault divides this Eocene fold‐thrust belt into two zones with different structural trends and opposite frontal ramp dips, suggesting the Seattle fault may have originated as a tear fault during accretion. Plain Language Summary: The Puget Lowland of Washington State contains several potentially dangerous seismic faults, including the Seattle fault, which runs south of downtown Seattle. To accurately assess the earthquake hazard in this region, we need to understand the architecture and geologic history of the rocks that host these faults, deep below the Puget Lowland. We do this by using small changes in Earth's gravity and magnetic fields to create images of the Earth's subsurface. These rocks formed in a subduction zone 50 million years ago when a set of volcanic islands, similar to modern day Iceland, collided with the edge of North America. This added a layer of rock, called Siletzia, to the continent. We show that as the islands piled up, they broke and folded into mountain ranges. South of Seattle, Siletzia was pushed up and over ancient North America, whereas to the north Siletzia was pulled down and under the continent. We argue that a tear in Siletzia between these two zones eventually became the proto‐Seattle fault, which provides a story for the Seattle fault's origin and earliest history. Our images also provide information that can improve models of ground shaking from future earthquakes affecting the greater Seattle urban area. Key Points: Includes map interpretation and models of the upper crust utilizing constraints from gravity, aeromagnetics, seismology and geologyModeled structures show an accretionary fold and thrust belt, wrapping around the northern edge of an obducted northern margin of SiletziaInterpreted structures suggest the Seattle fault could have an earliest Eocene history as a tear fault within the fold and thrust belt [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether organizational performance shapes government resource allocations or not has long been a contentious issue, especially since the 1990s when the New Public Management movement vitalized performance-based budgeting across countries. To contribute to this ongoing debate, this study examines if different levels of organizational performance achievement affect annual budget changes, focusing on Washington State's public programs from 2006 to 2015. This study finds a significant relationship between program performance and budget changes, particularly during fiscally hard times. The findings also suggest the reward mechanism associated with performance-based resource allocation, indicating that higher program performance may lead to budget increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elucidating patterns of adult survival rates is key to understanding population dynamics of large mammals. We used data from 7 separate studies of mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) conducted from 2002 through 2022 in western Washington, USA, to quantify survival rates in relation to key biotic and abiotic factors using known fate models implemented in program MARK. We monitored 324 (206 females, 118 males) radio‐marked mountain goats for 178,339 days. A substantial number of mountain goats in our sample (n = 217) had been translocated from the Olympic Peninsula to the Cascade Mountains on Washington's mainland, providing an added opportunity to examine translocation effects. We adopted a sequential modeling approach, first building a set of models to examine fundamental survival patterns by age, sex, season, study area, and translocated status. We used variables retained from the top model in a second set to investigate relationships between annual survival and local weather covariates hypothesized by previous studies to influence mountain goat behavior, habitat selection, and vital rates. Survival among adult females in spring was slightly lower than other sex and age categories, but seasonal patterns were otherwise not evident. There were significant negative relationships between survival and winter snow depth, an index of the previous year's drought, and mean daily temperature during the previous May, and a positive relationship with previous year's precipitation. Weather effects were similar among resident and translocated animals. By the end of the study period, weather effects had evidently contributed to reductions in mountain goat survival to a level low enough that population stability was unlikely. Because the frequency of droughts and warm spring temperatures are expected to increase with climate change, mountain goat populations in Washington will likely be increasingly challenged as the atmosphere warms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) are widespread and abundant predators in Washington State and their diet is of interest given their potential impact on fish species of concern. Although the diet of this species has been well described, no data exist for most of the Pacific coast along the Olympic Peninsula and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Here, we provide diet data (via DNA metabarcoding and hard parts) of male and female Harbor Seals from the northwestern coast of the Olympic Peninsula and the western Strait of Juan de Fuca, based on 59 scats collected during December 2020–March 2021. Despite the difficulty in collecting usable scat for hard-parts analysis during the winter months, we were able to determine diet in all collected scats via DNA metabarcoding, highlighting the value of this technique. Based on DNA metabarcoding, the species most frequently consumed by Harbor Seals were Lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus), Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasii), Kelp Greenling (Hexagrammos decagrammus), and Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini). Although based on a small sample size, this prey composition differs from that of other sites in the state, supporting the view of Harbor Seals as opportunistic central-place foragers that consume locally and seasonally available prey. Male and female Harbor Seals also appeared to differ in their diet, although the small sample size of this study limits our ability to make a direct comparison. Our results highlight the need for additional studies in the Olympic Peninsula to fully describe the diet of these predators as well as variations among seasons and between sexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting in 2026 Washington State building performance standards will come into effect that require commercial buildings larger than 50,000 sf to meet site energy use intensity targets. To support a state incentive program designed to encourage building owners to start complyingearly, we characterized the building stock energy use of 11 building types, analyzed 43 energy upgrade measures, and developed seven packages of energy upgrade measures using the ComStock energy analysis tool. Each energy upgrade package included from 4 to 17 energymeasures consisting of lighting, HVAC, and envelope upgrades. Package savings were calculated for four priority building types using a sample of 35,000 buildings characterized by four building area bins, three climate zones, and two county types (urban and rural). Of the 28package and building type combinations analyzed, 17 (61%) met or exceeded program energy savings targets and two packages met targets for all four building types.

Summer brood-rearing habitat is important for sustaining populations of Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). Although Sage-Grouse in many populations move to more mesic sites during the late brood-rearing period, some populations do not select for these resources as strongly. We used generalized linear mixed models to evaluate the locations of 51 Sage-Grouse hens in the Crab Creek Management Unit in central Washington State. We compared their proximity to mesic patches with that of a set of random locations. We further compared the distance to mesic patches between brooding and non-brooding hens, wet and dry years, and early and late seasons. Sage-Grouse hens did not show any greater affinity to mesic patches than random, nor did brooding hens show greater affinity to mesic patches than non-brooding hens. Further, Sage-Grouse hens did not show any greater proximity to mesic patches in dry years compared to wet years, nor did they appear to move closer to mesic patches later in the summer. To evaluate differences in mesic and upland forage resources for Sage-Grouse, we measured percent cover and richness of forbs, along with overall horizontal cover, at 23 paired transects in mesic and upland sites. We found that whereas the cover of highly preferred forbs was higher in mesic sites, there was no difference between habitat types when moderately preferred forbs were also considered. Forb richness was higher in upland sites. We suggest that upland sites may have sufficient forb cover and richness for foraging translocated Sage-Grouse in the Crab Creek area during the brooding season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two species of sea lions occur in the inland waters of Washington State: the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) and the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus). Both species breed elsewhere, but they typically move into Puget Sound and adjacent waters of the Salish Sea from autumn through spring. There is a need for information on their current abundance and seasonal use patterns as both species prey heavily on threatened/ endangered stocks of salmon and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus spp.), and empirical abundance estimates of these species are lacking for inland Washington waters. From 2013 to 2016, we conducted 39,399 km of aerial surveys for marine mammals in this area, sighting 255 groups of sea lions. We used a subset of 7,841 km of effort and 165 sea lion sightings made during surveys in good sighting conditions to estimate in-water abundance using line-transect methods. Historical tagging data collected in Pacific Northwest waters were used to evaluate the proportions of time that each species spent on land and conducting dives, and then to develop correction factors to derive total abundance for both sea lion species, providing the first empirical abundance estimates for these waters. We estimated that between 33 and 442 California sea lions were found in Puget Sound/ Hood Canal in different seasons, with nearly 3,000 being found in the broader inland Washington waters in the peak season (spring). Steller sea lions occurred in much smaller numbers, with a peak of 219 animals in Puget Sound/Hood Canal/Strait of Juan de Fuca in autumn (and possibly as many as 600 to 700 in the entire study area). While some estimates suffer from low precision, this study demonstrates that substantial numbers of sea lions use waters of the study area throughout much of the year. Our results provide an important step toward a better understanding of these two species in the inland waters of Washington, as well as their potential effects on protected salmonid prey species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rural surgeons operate in an environment significantly different from that of their colleagues, and as such they face unique challenges. We hypothesized the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) research agenda (as identified in the results of the 2014 Delphi study) will differ in its priorities from those identified by rural surgeons. We aimed to pilot a study in Washington state that could be replicated in other areas of the USA and the world. Methods: We identified general surgeons working at rural critical access hospitals in the state of Washington. We then conducted virtual, semi-structured interviews and followed up with surveys and site visits. The survey included the 2014 SAGES Delphi-ranked research priorities. We asked rural surgeons to rank their top 5 of these 40 priorities and to detail any additional which were not on the list. Results: We contacted 79 surgeons with a 30% response rate. We conducted 25 semi-structured interviews and received 18 completed follow-up surveys. These interviews were followed by site visits at 4 of the 23 sites. Of the original Delphi research priorities, those most cited by rural surgeons were #8 ("What is the best method for incorporating new techniques and technology for surgeons of variable levels of experience or training?") and #1 ("How do we best train, assess, and maintain proficiency of surgeons and surgical trainees in flexible endoscopy, laparoscopy, and open surgery?"). Four surgeons included the last SAGES priority (#40 "Is quality of life improved after ventral hernia repair?") among their top 5. Conclusion: This study suggests that although rural surgeons' research priorities align with the published SAGES Delphi survey, these surgeons rank the priorities differently. This may be because the predominant study population of the Delphi is SAGES membership who work in urban and academic centers. Plans for future SAGES Delphi survey could capture these unique priorities by intentional involvement of rural and community surgeons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Since 2012, the production, sale, and use of marijuana and its derivatives for recreational consumption have been legalized in 15 states and Washington, DC, but remain controversial nationwide. Critics argue that marijuana retail outlets attract criminal activity in surrounding areas and promote social disorganization. This paper examines this issue by analyzing secondary data from Washington State, one of the first states to legalize the medical and recreational use of marijuana. Methods: Using geocoded police incident reports as a proxy for criminal events, retail outlet licensing/sales data, and other contextual data, we use a difference-in-difference and other quasi-experimental techniques to model whether the opening of a recreational outlet affects crime in the surrounding neighborhoods, specifically in the cities of Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma. Results: The analyses find modest but statistically significant increases in property crime in Census block groups containing new retail stores. Conclusions: The findings from this study are consistent with some previous research that finds a link between marijuana outlets opening and an increase in neighborhood crime, but additional research is needed to further explore the association, for instance, in other states that have legalized recreational marijuana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring species to better understand their status, ecology, and management needs is a major expense for agencies tasked with biodiversity conservation. Community science data have the potential to improve monitoring for minimal cost, given appropriate analytical frameworks. We describe a framework for integrating data from the eBird community science platform with agency‐collected monitoring data using a multistate occupancy model. Our model accounts for the structural differences across datasets and allows for estimation of both occupancy and breeding probabilities. The framework was applied to Common Loons (Gavia immer) in Washington State. A total of 766 sites had observation effort, of which 713 sites had only eBird effort, 26 sites had only Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) effort, and 27 sites had both. We predicted that the probability of occupancy was only 0.07 (95% Bayesian credible interval, BCI = 0.02–0.51) at the 2324 sites in our sampling frame, though the probability that Common Loons were breeding at occupied sites was 0.95 (95% BCI = 0.71–1.00). We found that probability of occupancy was positively related to waterbody size (probability of a positive effect = 0.88) and negatively related to an index of human influence (probability of a negative effect = 0.94). We found that probability of breeding at occupied sites was positively related to tree canopy cover (0.86), negatively related to elevation (0.99), and negatively related to barren, scrub/shrub, and herbaceous land cover (0.98). We found that state agency biologists were 16 times more likely to detect breeding Common Loons at a site than were eBird users (0.94, 95% BCI = 0.78–0.99 for agency biologists vs. 0.08, 95% BCI = 0.06–0.10 for eBird users). However, the amount of effort expended by eBird users meant that they confirmed Common Loons at 94 sites while agency biologists confirmed them at just 24 sites, although evidence of reproduction was only contributed by agency biologists. Our results provide a better understanding of the distribution of Common Loons in Washington, while further demonstrating that community science data can be a valuable complement to agency‐collected data, if appropriate frameworks are developed to integrate these data sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen scientists may provide unique opportunities for surveillance and early detection of management-relevant biological invasions. Here, we report results of a classroom citizen science program that detected the first record of the invasive red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852) from northern Idaho, United States. Secondary school students trapping storm water ponds in a public park of Lewiston, Idaho detected an unusual crayfish that they identified as P. clarkii. We confirmed this identification by crayfish morphology and mitochondrial DNA barcoding. Management agencies were promptly notified and have initiated monitoring and removal efforts for this population, which directly neighbors a major river in the study region. Procambarus clarkii may be well-suited to citizen science surveillance by classroom programs because of its tendency to invade freshwater ecosystems like storm water ponds in urban and suburban landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factors associated with structural racism, disenfranchisement, poverty, and other persistent sources of inequity are associated with vulnerability and exposure to environmental hazards. Social, demographic, and environmental factors associated with vulnerability to environmental hazards have been used by many researchers to produce indexes of hazard vulnerability. In preparation for a climate change health risk assessment for Washington state, we compared methods and results from six indexes designed to support environmental health risk assessment. Production of these indexes varies in the number of variables considered, calculation complexity, and exposure of local causal pathways. Results for these indexes are generally very similar, especially at the highest decile of vulnerability, the exception being the Environmental Health Disparities index, the only one to consider hazard exposure. Some indexes used methods that hide causal pathways. Those that exposed causal pathways limited model structure. Results indicate that simpler indexes may be more appropriate for use in decision support tools as they require less overhead for data updates and scenario analysis and that other methodologies may provide a more useful framework for index generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In anthropology's spatial turn, cultural anthropologists directed portions of their attention to the spaces in which human habitation takes shape. This article concerns the large planned spaces configured in the Modernist era of the twentieth century. Utilizing a fieldwork-based methodology that draws on the ethnographic toolkit, analysis compares and contrasts three large planned spaces located in Washington State: the former site of the Northern State Mental Hospital in Sedro-Woolley, the location in central Spokane at which Expo 74 was hosted, and the rural location of the never-completed Satsop Nuclear Facility near Elma, Washington. Our analysis suggests the singular use for which these sites were once constructed poses challenges for reconfiguring them to contemporary use. Notably, those sites with interconnections to nearby communities, and those that conjure or draw upon a broader social memory of place, have fared better in their path to the present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On August 2019, the New York Times (NYT) commenced an ongoing initiative, "The 1619 Project," in the New York Times Magazine seeking to reframe the nation's history. The state of Washington was admitted to the Union on 11 November 1889. In alignment with the NYT's aim to reframe the history of the country, this article examines the truthful history of Washington State and underlines the necessity of introducing an honest narrative into the state's instructional discourse and educational curriculum in an effort referred to as the The 1889 Project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Employer-based travel demand management (TDM) programs have been implemented worldwide for decades, but rarely are longitudinal analyses implemented. This study utilizes a longitudinal dataset to assess the effectiveness of TDM measures on vehicle trip rates (VTRs) over time. The results suggest: (1) VTR grows over time, and TDM measures may decelerate the growth but cannot reverse the trend; (2) for organizational tools, collective bargaining is negatively associated with VTR; (3) distributing transit passes is negatively associated with VTR; (4) ride match is positively correlated with VTR; (5) guaranteed ride home measures, including emergency rides and employer-provided vehicles, are positively associated with VTR; (6) subsidies promoting multimodal transportation (transit, walking, biking) incentivize vehicle trip reduction; the more subsidies, the lower VTR, and such effects are reinforced over time; (7) in contrast, subsidies promoting carsharing are associated with more vehicle trips; (8) larger companies and areas with higher job densities have a lower VTR. To inform practice, when rewarding employees, distributing transit passes is a preferred strategy. Collective bargaining builds agreements between employers and employees and helps promote trip reduction. Carpooling-related and guaranteed ride-home measures should be applied with caution. • Vehicle trip rates grow over time. • TDM measures may decelerate the vehicle trip growth but cannot reverse the trend. • Distributing transit passes to employees is a preferred strategy. • Collective bargaining builds agreements and helps promote trip reduction. • Carpooling-related and guaranteed ride home measures should be applied with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The state of Washington legalized cannabis for adult use in 2012 and retail stores began to open in 2014. While details of the legal market have been tracked by the state, the total market for cannabis and characteristics of purchasers can only be identified through surveys. Methods Six cross-sectional samples of the Privatization of Spirits in Washington (PSW) surveys were collected between January 2014 and October 2016 with two in each year. Random digit dial procedures were used to recruit a sample aged 18 and older, with 40% of cases from mobile phones. A total of 5492 respondents participated. Analyses of the population-weighted sample utilized purchasing amounts and frequencies, use frequency and related measures to estimate total and mean amounts and expenditures. Sensitivity analyses were conducted for key assumptions. Results The market for cannabis flower is estimated to have increased from 158 metric tons and $1.23 billion in 2014 to 222 metric tons and $1.7 billion in 2016, with little change from 2014 to 2015. Purchases from legal sources, retail and dispensaries, were estimated at 69% of the total market. Daily or near daily (DND) users accounted for about 83% of sales in 2014, rising to 91% in 2016. The prevalence of past year use rose substantially from 25% in 2014 to 32% in 2016, with DND use rising from 10.2 to 11.3%. Average purchase amounts for DND users rose from 291 g in 2014 to 374 g in 2016, while mean amounts among non-DND users declined from 78 to 28.6 g. Conclusions The expansion of retail cannabis stores in Washington appears to have led to increased market size in 2016 with all of the increase attributed to DND users. Frequent users may be important to consider in legalization evaluations.

The ongoing neoliberalization of higher education has meant that college and university students at state institutions face declining state support for their education, increasing debt, precarious postgraduation job opportunities, and a dominant cultural emphasis on personal responsibility rather than collective care. These neoliberal conditions exacerbate structural inequities (along various axes, including race, economic status, disability, etc.) within student populations. This paper explores two aspects of inequity in food insecurity among students: specific challenges and inequities students face by virtue of their position as college students, and intersectional inequities faced by some students by virtue of other identities to which they belong. This paper presents findings from two research efforts at Western Washington University, a public university in the USA Pacific Northwest. First, we share findings from a 2018 qualitative, interview-based study of food-insecure students on the campus. We then draw from our experiences as practitioners and present critical reflections on our own campus food security efforts, differentiating between those that address food security (access), food justice, and food sovereignty. Our findings from the qualitative study suggest that students feel a sense of personal responsibility for their food insecurity, and that food-insecure students both rely on social networks for support and feel stigmatized by their food insecurity. Our critical reflections on campus programs reveal that most of the traditional food security efforts (e.g. emergency aid, food pantries) neglect to either effectively support BIPOC students and others most affected by food insecurity, or provide a sustained communitysupport mechanism for food-insecure students in general. We position food sovereignty-oriented programs as a way forward in addressing the intersectional inequities faced by students, and also in bolstering communities of support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hanford Site in Washington State is the most contaminated area in the United States and is one of the biggest decontamination efforts in the world. During the Cold War, the area was shrouded by secrecy, including denials of any dangers to the environment, workers, and local communities downwind of the site. Efforts to regenerate neighboring areas are ongoing, including establishing the area as a national park and national monument, investing in local communities, plans to re-establish a town, encouraging viticulture and other agricultural activities, and encouraging the return of spawning salmon to the Columbia River. Rising costs and delays have hampered efforts in the clean-up process. Through an online survey, this study examines the local people's attitudes toward these various efforts at urban and agricultural regeneration, their attitude toward information from the authorities, and budgeting for decontamination. It was found that there is widespread support for the establishment of park status for the site and that organic certification of produce has had a positive impact on purchasing intentions. However, there remains a degree of skepticism about the information about the decontamination process, and support for budgeting plans falls largely along partisan lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative models of black‐tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) habitat selection do not exist for Pacific Northwest landscapes but are needed to make predictions of how deer respond to timber harvest. We developed models to estimate habitat selection by black‐tailed deer within seasonal home ranges in the west‐central Cascade Mountains, Washington, USA, from 2008–2019. Even with moderately high global positioning system (GPS) fix success within summer and winter (both averages ≥0.87), we were concerned about landscape or vegetation characteristics causing fix success failure that would bias estimates of habitat selection. Year of GPS‐collar production, deer activity, and diel period (night, day, crepuscular) were associated with fix success. The odds of acquiring a fix were 2.53 times greater when the deer were inactive compared to active, and this difference was greater for those deer with higher average percent canopy cover within their home range. These relationships only explained a portion of the variation in the data and did not negate concerns about the effects of missing locations when estimating habitat selection, so we estimated deer habitat selection within summer and winter using an integrated step selection function (iSSF) and a probability of detection integrated step selection function (PDiSSF). The iSSF ignored missing fixes; the PDiSSF accounted for GPS fix failure due to the landscape and vegetation conditions. Covariates in the final summer PDiSSF included step length, an index of forage biomass, distance to cover‐forage edge, and distance to road. The winter model was similar but did not include forage biomass. We modeled the probability of detection in the PDiSSF as a function of canopy cover in both seasonal models. The standard iSSF resulted in estimates of stronger selection for areas with higher biomass, presumably because fix success was higher in these more open areas. Predictions of habitat selection from the final PDiSSF summer model evaluated well with independent data from a nearby study area. Evaluation of the final winter model was less promising. Ignoring missing GPS locations, even with an average fix success as high as 87%, would have led to different predictions of habitat selection by black‐tailed deer. We recommend that researchers consider the effect of habitat‐induced bias in fix success on the accuracy of estimates of habitat selection and consider using the PDiSSF to remove bias related to missing fixes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: While microscale pedestrian environment features such as sidewalks and crosswalks can affect pedestrian safety, it is challenging to assess microscale environment associated risk across locations or at scale. Addressing these challenges requires an efficient auditing protocol that can be used to assess frequencies of microscale environment features. For this reason, we developed an eight-item pedestrian environment virtual audit protocol and conducted a descriptive epidemiologic study of pedestrian injury in Washington State, USA.Methods: We used data from police reports at pedestrian-automotive collision sites where the pedestrian was seriously injured or died. At each collision site, high school students participating in an online summer internship program virtually audited Google Street View imagery to assess the presence of microscale pedestrian environment features such as crosswalks and streetlighting. We assessed inter-rater reliability using Cohen's kappa and explored prevalence of eight microscale environment features in relation to injury severity and municipal boundaries.Results: There were 2248 motor vehicle crashes eliciting police response and resulting in death or serious injury of a pedestrian in Washington State between January 1, 2015 and May 8, 2020. Of the crashes resulting in serious injury or death, 498 (22%) resulted in fatalities and 1840 (82%) occurred within municipal boundaries. Cohen's kappa scores for the eight pedestrian features that were audited ranged from 0.52 to 0.86. Audit results confirmed that features such as sidewalks and crosswalks were more common at collision sites within city limits.Conclusions: High school student volunteers with minimal training can reliably audit microscale pedestrian environments using limited resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2020 growing season presented new and significant challenges for farmers and farms across the United States as they navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. The rich and diverse agricultural landscape of Washington State offers a valuable microcosm in which to explore the experiences of farms in the U.S. during the pandemic. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on directly marketing small farms in western Washington State, with a focus on farmers' experiences with resilience. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 15 farmers and used thematic analysis to explore the influence of the pandemic on overall experiences, responses, and values and perceptions related to small farms. Interviewees provided insights on the impacts of the pandemic on their daily farm operations, production costs, marketing channels, demand, and revenue. Farmers also reported shifting personal and public attitudes towards small farms during the pandemic. Product diversity, flexibility, multiple forms of support, values, and access to resources emerged as drivers of COVID-19 impacts and farm adaptations. When compared to existing frameworks on farm resilience, farms in this study are seen to demonstrate resilience via buffer and adaptive capabilities, which enable them to absorb and adjust to shocks. Farmers also discussed resilience via transformative capability, the potential to create new systems, leveraging the collective power of small farms to shape future food systems. Future research on the resilience of small farms should focus on ways to both promote resilience attributes and facilitate the ability of farmers to act on resilience capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) historically occurred in Washington State, USA, until their local extinction in the early 1900s as a result of the maritime fur trade. Following their extirpation, 59 sea otters were translocated from Amchitka Island, Alaska, USA, to the coast of Washington, with 29 released at Point Grenville in 1969 and 30 released at La Push in 1970. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has outlined 2 main objectives for sea otter recovery: a target population level and a target geographic distribution. Recovery criteria are based on estimates of population abundance, equilibrium abundance (K), and geographic distribution; therefore, estimates of these parameters have important management implications. We compiled available survey data for sea otters in Washington State since their translocation (1977–2019) and fit a Bayesian state‐space model to estimate past and current abundance, and equilibrium abundance at multiple spatial scales. We then used forward projections of population dynamics to explore potential scenarios of range recolonization and as the basis of a sensitivity analysis to evaluate the relative influence of movement behavior, frontal wave speed, intrinsic growth, and equilibrium density on future population recovery potential. Our model improves upon previous analyses of sea otter population dynamics in Washington by partitioning and quantifying sources of estimation error to estimate population dynamics, by providing robust estimates of K, and by simulating long‐term population growth and range expansion under a range of realistic parameter values. Our model resulted in predictions of population abundance that closely matched observed counts. At the range‐wide scale, the population size in our model increased from an average of 21 independent sea otters (95% CI = 13–29) in 1977 to 2,336 independent sea otters (95% CI = 1,467–3,359) in 2019. The average estimated annual growth rate was 12.42% and varied at a sub‐regional scale from 6.42–14.92%. The overall estimated mean K density of sea otters in Washington was 1.71 ± 0.90 (SD) independent sea otters/km2 of habitat (1.96 ± 1.04 sea otters/km2, including pups), and estimated densities within the current range correspond on average to 87% of mean sub‐regional equilibrium values (range = 66–111%). The projected value of K for all of Washington was 5,287 independent sea otters (95% CI = 2,488–8,086) and 6,080 sea otters including pups (95% CI = 2,861–9,300), assuming a similar range of equilibrium densities in currently un‐occupied habitats. Sensitivity analysis of simulations of sea otter population growth and range expansion suggested that mean K density estimates in currently occupied sub‐regions had the largest impact on predicted future population growth (r2 = 0.52), followed by the rate of southward range expansion (r2 = 0.26) and the mean K density estimate of currently unoccupied sub‐regions to the south of the current range (r2 = 0.04). Our estimates of abundance and sensitivity analysis of simulations of future population abundance and geographic range help determine population status in relation to population recovery targets and identify the most influential parameters affecting future population growth and range expansion for sea otters in Washington State. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]