John Ryan
Environment Reporter
About
John Ryan joined KUOW as its first full-time investigative reporter in 2009 and became its environment reporter in 2018. He focuses on climate change, energy, and the ecosystems of the Puget Sound region. He has also investigated toxic air pollution, landslides, failed cleanups, and money in politics for KUOW.
Over a quarter century as an environmental journalist, John has covered everything from Arctic drilling to Indonesian reef bombing. He has been a reporter at NPR stations in southeast and southwest Alaska (KTOO-Juneau and KUCB-Unalaska) and at the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce.
John’s stories have won multiple national awards for KUOW, including the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi awards for Public Service in Radio Journalism and for Investigative Reporting, national Edward R. Murrow and PMJA/PRNDI awards for coverage of breaking news, and Society of Environmental Journalists awards for in-depth reporting.
John welcomes tips, documents, and feedback. Reach him at jryan@kuow.org or for secure, encrypted communication, he's at heyjohnryan@protonmail.com or 1-401-405-1206 on the Signal messaging app.
Location: Seattle
Languages: English, some Spanish, some Indonesian
Professional Affiliations: SAG-AFTRA union member and former shop steward; Society of Environmental Journalists member and mentor
Stories
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Washington sees 11th-hour rush to buy EVs before tax incentive disappears
Washington's electric vehicle sales have mostly sagged in 2025. But with federal tax breaks for purchasing electric vehicles disappearing at the end of September, interest in plug-in vehicles has surged — at least temporarily.
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Glacierless Peak? The icy realms of Washington’s North Cascades lose their cool
The ice fields that give Washington’s Glacier Peak its name are disappearing, though few people may have noticed.
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Newborn orca spotted with Northwest's endangered J Pod
The orca J pod has been very active in Central Puget Sound waters Friday, and they've got reason to be animated: There's a new calf.
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Orca mom carries dead newborn calf in San Juans
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Many older forests spared by Washington state order. Others to be logged
An executive order by Washington Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove has put 77,000 acres of older forests off-limits to logging.
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Plan to return grizzlies to the North Cascades appears to be in hibernation
A federal plan to bring grizzly bears back to Washington's North Cascades appears to have gone into hibernation under the Trump administration.
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Smoke, sprinklers, aluminum foil: Fighting fire on the Olympic Peninsula
Extreme heat launched the Bear Gulch Fire across 2,000 additional acres of forest on Tuesday and Wednesday, pouring thick smoke on the Hood Canal communities of Hoodsport and Skokomish, Washington.
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Scientists finally solve the mystery of melting sea stars
For more than a decade, scientists studied the wasting disease but couldn’t figure out why it was happening. A new paper in Nature Ecology and Evolution details the likely culprit.
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Scientists crack the case of the melting sea stars. It only took a decade
Researchers in Washington and British Columbia say they have solved a deadly mystery that has stumped scientists for more than a decade.
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Keeping the Northwest’s buzz alive: saving the western bumblebee
One of the Northwest’s most common animals has all but disappeared from much of the region.