Tony Schick
Tony Schick is an investigative and data reporter for OPB's Science & Environment unit.
Tony previously worked as the web editor for Investigative Reporters and Editors, a journalism nonprofit based in Columbia, Missouri. He has worked as a freelance reporter and researcher since 2007.
He has undergraduate degrees in journalism and sociology from Gonzaga University, where he spent enough time after hours in the student newsroom that he and his wife named their dog, Myron, after the building’s beloved overnight custodian. He received his master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.
Tony was born and raised in Portland.
Latest Stories
Oregon officials wanted utilities to shut down power lines before 2020 wildfires, court documents show
State officials warned utilities about fire risks and encouraged them to shut down power lines before the 2020 Labor Day weekend wildfires, newly filed court documents show.
Oregon lawmakers consider bill to overhaul public defense system
Senate Bill 337 would create a new stable of public defense attorneys as state employees and create new methods and oversight for how the state contracts out the rest of its caseloads. It is the latest of several attempts in recent years to address problems in Oregon’s public defense system.
Federal leaders finally increase money for hatcheries, but tribes say it’s nowhere near enough
Columbia River salmon hatcheries need billions of dollars worth of upgrades to withstand climate change. They’re getting $50 million.
The fight of the Salmon People
Randy Settler’s family has spent generations fighting for its right to harvest salmon. But the federal government squandered its chance to recover the endangered fish before the onset of climate change. Now, Settler sees it all slipping away again.
After report on toxic salmon in Columbia River, Northwest lawmakers call for action
Citing a ProPublica and Oregon Public Broadcasting investigation into toxic contamination in salmon, the Oregon senator and others across the Pacific Northwest are calling for policy changes and more funding but are lacking details on next steps.
Unchecked pollution is contaminating the salmon that Pacific Northwest tribes eat
Native tribes in the Columbia River Basin face a disproportionate risk of toxic exposure through their most important food. While tribes have pushed the government to pay closer attention to dangerous chemicals and metals in fish, that hasn’t happened. So, we did our own testing. What we found was alarming for tribes.
How we tested Columbia River salmon for contaminants
Regulators have done little testing for toxic chemicals in salmon, a major food source and cultural fixture for Native tribes. So Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica did our own.
The racism, and resilience, behind today’s Pacific Northwest salmon crisis
OPB investigative journalist Tony Schick shares this reporter's notebook. "Salmon have been endangered my entire life," he writes. "Here’s what I didn’t realize until I started reporting."
How a federal agency is contributing to salmon’s decline in the Northwest
Damming the powerful waters of the Columbia River was a boon for cheap, clean electricity. But the fish that swam those waters are dying out. And the agency in charge isn’t stopping that.
The US has spent more than $2B on a plan to save salmon. The fish are vanishing anyway.
The U.S. government promised Native tribes in the Pacific Northwest that they could keep fishing as they’d always done. But instead of preserving wild salmon, it propped up a failing system of hatcheries. Now, that system is falling apart.