12/7 Salish Sea News and Weather: State parks, Darigold spill, Gateway pipeline, hydraulics fee, pine forests, bottling plant, B.C. Ferries, pocket gophers, pollution survey

First Flight Jitters(Laurie MacBride)

New blog at Eye on the Environment: “It’s a delight to watch young barn swallows when they’re first learning to fly. Though initially awkward, they’re extremely quick learners...”  Ready for Liftoff: Barn Swallows

New blog: What won’t the current Whatcom County Council do to please developers? Whatcom County’s Yew Street "Whack-A-Mole"

If you like to watch: Columbia Riverkeeper’s Coal Export Threatens the Northwest   But don’t just watch; stand up against coal: sign the No Coal Exports from Northwest Ports petition 

Poor Discovery Pass sales are resulting in nearly a third of Washington’s year-round state parks staffers being laid off and offered part-time employment. State parks jobs at risk amid slow Discover Pass sales

The October 2009 fish-killing spill of ammonia from the Issaquah Darigold dairy has resulted in Darigold employee Gerald N. Marsland being sentenced to two years probation, 70 hours of community service and a $2,000 fine. Darigold manager gets probation for Issaquah Creek spill

Gitxsan First Nation chiefs have fired the negotiators and the executive director who worked out a $7 million deal announced by Gitxsan First Nation hereditary chief Elmer Derrick and Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline.  Gitxsan chiefs say the deal was not sanctioned by the Gitxsan people and they claim traditional protocols were not followed by Gitxsan negotiators. Enbridge deal causes dissent among Gitxsan

The Washington permit system for construction near waterways is the only remaining major environmental permit in the state where no fee is charged. That might change. Lawmakers consider $150 fee for hydraulic projects

Larry Pynn in the Vancouver Sun continues his series on the natural and human destruction of B.C.’s interior pine forests. The Wilderness Tourism Association, with $1.6 billion in annual revenues in B.C., is concerned about rampant salvage logging running roughshod over ecotourism. "The situation is a free-forall," asserted association president Brian Gunn. "There's no control. There's no restriction. They have complete freedom to do what they want, when they want and nobody else has much say in that." It looks like Armageddon':  The destruction of B.C. pine forests

The city of Anacortes gave Tethys Enterprises the rights to 5 million gallons of water per day for a bottling plant— without public hearing. Now the opponents, Defending Water in the Skagit River Basin, fight back, first with a new website  Anti-bottling plant group launches website

Mike Corrigan is the new head of B.C. Ferries and will have his hands full as “the corporation seeks government approval to cut 400 sailings, while provincial politicians ratchet up pressure to cap ticket hikes and the independent ferry commissioner finishes a review of the entire system.” B.C. Ferries' new CEO heads for rough seas

The Thurston Economic Development Council has spent $45,000 to have Krippner Consulting do a study to show that the Mazama pocket gopher doesn’t need federal protections. Study: Gophers may not need federal protections

Surprise! EarthFix reports on its survey that shows water quality for drinking and recreation to of be a top environmental concern. Asked what was the major sources of pollution in their states’ major waterways — Washington’s Puget Sound, Idaho’s Boise River, and Oregon’s Willamette River-- 48 percent of Northwest respondents said it was from industrial and commercial sites, not runoff. Water Pollution: The Source Be With You

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 233 AM PST WED DEC 7 2011
  TODAY
 E WIND 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 12 SECONDS. AREAS OF FOG IN THE MORNING. AREAS OF DRIZZLE IN THE MORNING.
 TONIGHT
 E WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 11 SECONDS. AREAS OF FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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