Pat Neal

PAT NEAL: Jefferson County’s resiliency plan bad for Hoh River, salmon

In last week’s episode, we followed the extinction of the salmon from Europe to the Eastern shore of the New World and across the Continent… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: A short history of extinction

FOR SOME, THE new year begins in January. Out on our rivers, the new year begins now with the warming temperatures and the emergence of… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Does it always rain here?

With the blustery weather we have been experiencing lately, it seems like either the mildest January or the coldest June we’ve ever had. Rainfall events… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Traffic jam blues

when plans for the biggest traffic jam in the history of the Olympic Peninsula were made… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Things could always be worse

Recently, we described the deterioration of our antique transportation infrastructure on the Olympic Peninsula. State Highway 112 was closed by landslides and there are no… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Olympic Peninsula driving guide continued

In last week’s episode, we were traveling west on U.S. Highway 101 and had just successfully crossed the Elwha River bridge. This antique structure’s foundation… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Olympic Peninsula driving guide

With the real and present danger of an imminent tourist invasion, it’s time once again for the Olympic Peninsula driving guide. Escaping Pugetopolis, you head… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: No selfies in the outhouse

From our majestic melting glaciers to the acidified ocean, and all the scenic splendor in between, this year’s tourist migration seems even heavier than last… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: The voyage of the Lydia

In last week’s episode, we discovered the unhappy coincidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition spending a hard winter at Fort Clatsop, surviving on lean… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: A saga of spring, salmon and supplies

Spring is a time of spiritual renewal along with Easter, Ramadan and Passover. There is, however, another seasonal ritual that’s older than all these traditions… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: A short history of fishing laws

In last week’s episode, we were exploring a bizarre bit of bureaucratic bungling where the state of Washington demands that we purchase our new fishing… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: April Fools’ fun with fisherman

And so, my favorite holiday, April Fools’ Day, passes astern. Here’s hoping yours was the best ever! Over the years, who could forget the dreadful… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: They clearcut the ‘Tunnel of Love’

SOME NIGHTS, I dream of rivers. Ones I have floated and others that exist only in dreams of a distant past. Last winter was a… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: The Russians (still) aren’t coming

It was another tough week in the news. All of the rabid chickens came home to roost. The idle speculation put forth in this column… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Finding work when there’s no fishing

My life sucks ever since they shut down the fishing season. Without fishing, my life has had no meaning. Each day became a long dreary… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Are the Russians coming?

It was another tough week in the news with a feeling of history being repeated as Stalin’s “Iron Curtain” morphed into Putin’s pipe dream of… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: More research is needed

IT WAS ANOTHER tough week in the news, where this column’s prediction that the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife would execute an emergency… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Fishing without hooks

It was another tough week in the news. The Washington state Department of Wildlife threatened us with yet another emergency closure. We were warned last… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Fish are getting smarter

It was the American author John Steinbeck who said, “It has always been my private conviction that any man who puts his intelligence up against… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: A crazy way to stay sane

They say we live in an age of disinformation. I can think of no greater example of this modern-day dilemma than a recent reoccurring theory… Continue reading