Is the Pacific Northwest ready for a wave of climate migration? Monica Nickelsburg December 10, 2025 / 10:41 am

Jason Dove Mark threw a bucket of scraps to the chickens and checked for eggs – slim chance in November – before he and his big, friendly mutt, Cody, descended into the forest for their midday walk. The rain had just started, but they didn’t mind.

“It seriously is like a balm,” he said. “I grew up in Arizona. I lived for 20-plus years in California, and I cannot get over that I live in such a fecund, moist, moss-draped place. I'm still pinching myself.”

Listen to this story on Booming , KUOW's economy podcast.

Mark’s family moved from Oakland to Bellingham in 2020, in large part because of the drought and wildfire risk in California. He’s an environmental writer, and

See Full Page