Eric Hirst

Citizen Journalist • Member since Jul 23, 2015

Eric Hirst has a Ph.D. in engineering from Stanford University, spent 30 years as an energy policy analyst at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and retired to Bellingham 18 years ago. He is a local environmental activist.

Articles by Eric Hirst

Nooksack Adjudication vs. State Water Law?

By Eric HirstOn Jun 14, 2024

Jim Davenport recently wrote an excellent piece on the just-started adjudication of water rights in the Nooksack River Basin. He emphasizes the importance of seeking “constructive, broad public and water-user [...]

You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure

By Eric HirstOn Feb 02, 2022

It feels weird to write about water scarcity during this very wet, rainy season. However, streamflows throughout the Nooksack River basin are very low during the summer, when fish most [...]

Would Adjudication Resolve Nooksack River Water Issues?

By Eric HirstOn May 19, 2020

How can we best resolve long-standing water-resource issues in the Nooksack River Basin? These problems–primarily too little water in the river and streams during the summer months–have been [...]

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Recent comments

"Hi David, Thanks for your insightful comments. I agree that unpermitted water use in the agricultural sector is a big problem, perhaps 40% of total irrigation water use in Whatcom County. [...]

May 28, 2018 on
An Engineer Looks at Washington State Water Law

"John, Congratulations on turning 77 and deciding to begin a well deserved retirement.  Although I often disagree with the stories and/or comments published in NW Citizen, I very much [...]

May 17, 2018 on
A time to change NW Citizen ownership

"Elisabeth, thanks for your helpful comments on my article. We likely both believe that salmon are doing poorly because of many factors, some involving ocean conditions and others involving their [...]

Feb 01, 2018 on
Water, Water Everywhere, But ...

"I agree with Greg’s comments. As he notes, we have allocated more water for human, out-of-stream uses than is actually available. Therefore, salmon, other fish and the environment in [...]

Dec 19, 2017 on
Whatcom Water Resources: A Major Problem and a Reasonable Solution

"I agree"that it is impossible to make definitive statements about who is or is not using water illegally, until we have accurate data.” But there are no plans, at [...]

Dec 18, 2017 on
Whatcom Water Resources: A Major Problem and a Reasonable Solution