Schrier, Newhouse Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Support Washington Farmers, Conservation Efforts

Sep 18, 2025

Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08) and Congressman Dan Newhouse (WA-04) introduced the Eliminating Needless Administrative Barriers Lessening Efficiency for Conservation Act (ENABLE Conservation Act), to allow more farmers to participate in voluntary conservation programs. The legislation will help support Washington state’s Conservation Reserve Program’s (CRP) State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) initiative.

“Farmers and landowners are eager to participate in the SAFE initiative, which pays farmers to allow some of their land to return to its natural state, preserves vital habitat for threatened species, and has protected thousands of acres in Washington state,” said Congresswoman Schrier. “I’m glad to work alongside my Washington Delegation colleague, Congressman Newhouse, on this important legislation that will allow more to take part in the program.”

“Many farmers across Central Washington work hard to protect habitats for vulnerable species, and this legislation ensures those who wish to participate in conservation programs like SAFE and CRP can do so without the burden of acreage caps,” said Congressman Newhouse. “I am glad to join Rep. Schrier in this important effort as we work to create new opportunities for farmers in Central Washington.”

Source : house.gov

Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.