Cascade Headwaters Trust Bellingham, WA · Since 1987

The Journal

Field notes, written down before we forget them

Short pieces from staff and volunteers about particular days on particular creeks. No campaigns, no appeals — just what the ground was doing that week.

This month

August 24, 2026 · Ben Hallowell · Six minute read

What a thermometer in a shaded creek is actually telling you

Every August we get the same question from the same three people, and it is a good one: does the shade really change the water, or does it just change how the water looks? Here is what the record from the South Fork says, and where it stays quiet.

A temperature probe set in a shaded creek reach

The archive

Everything we have written down

By post and by email

We send a letter four times a year

Paper if you want paper, email if you do not. It carries the walk calendar, one field note, and nothing else. Ask the office and we will add you.