1/25 Rhody, gray whale, Samish, Lime Kiln, Obama's fish, oil pipelines, wetlands, debris, green power

PHOTO: Seattle Aquarium

Everything you might want to know about sea otters. It's a girl! Baby otter doing great at Seattle Aquarium  

If you like to watch: Watch 131 Years of Global Warming in 26 Seconds

Vashon Island resident historian Bruce Haulman tells the story of the ferry Rhododendron: An Islander remembers: The Rhody’s journey has been long  

The first gray whale made its appearance in the waters south of Priest Point near Tulalip and was spotted by Sharon Johnson Monday. First whale sighting of the season

Go harvest shellfish. Samish River water samples collected from the Samish River Monday morning showed the amount of fecal coliform bacteria had decreased to an acceptable rate. Samish Bay to reopen Wednesday

At the end of last year, the budget-strapped State Parks cut 16 full-time permanent construction and maintenance staff and 66 full-time rangers from the payroll. Lime Kiln Point State Park on San Juan is losing two full-time positions — Ranger William Hoppe and Ken Schilling, in charge of construction and maintenance — effective Jan. 31. Lime Kiln's newest endangered species: staff

Dan Chasen at Crosscut examines whether the President’s proposal moving the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its National Marine Fisheries Service into the Interior Department would make any difference to recovering endangered wild salmon.  President Obama's poster fish for reform: the salmon

About 40 per cent of the First Nations along the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline route in Alberta and B.C. have quietly signed on to an equity offering that will give them long-term profits if the line is built, says Enbridge. Enbridge is still negotiating with many First Nations, and the deadline to sign up is not until May 31. First Nations signing on to Gateway equity offer, Enbridge says

An undisclosed amount of crude oil spilled at Kinder Morgan’s Abbotsford facility on Tuesday but posed no threat except that of “nuisance odours,” according to a company spokesperson. Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline runs from Edmonton to the Lower Mainland, where a portion of its flow is then shipped by tanker out of Vancouver. The company will seek permission to double the capacity of its pipeline. Oil spill at Abbotsford tank farm raises concerns over pipeline expansion

Canada's ForestEthics has been a strong voice opposing the Northern Gateway oil-sands pipeline project but they've fired their spokesman Andrew Frank who accused the Prime Minister’s Office of resorting to intimidation tactics against the project’s critics. Environmentalist’s departure sheds light on tension felt by green groups

Rachel Nuwer in the New York Times writes about the value of wetlands and how new research,"Structural and Functional Loss in Restored Wetland Ecosystems," calls into question whether manmade versions can ever compensate for wetlands buried beneath parking lots and subdivisions. Not All Wetlands Are Created Equal

According to the federal Marine Debris Program, next winter’s storms may begin to bring the bulk of tsunami debris to North Olympic Peninsula beaches. Best to be ready.  Peninsula agencies urged to prepare for influx of debris from Japanese quake-tsunami in a year

Power companies this month are facing mandates voters imposed in 2006 to either produce green energy or buy credits from those who do. Utilities complain that Initiative 937 requires them to buy power they don’t need – especially with the economic downturn depressing demand – and say they are passing costs to their customers. Environmentalists credit the law for Washington’s burgeoning green-power industry, which they say has invested $7.5 billion here. Can there, will there be compromise?  Compromise sought on green-power mandate

Now, your tug weather--
 WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 AM PST WED JAN 25 2012
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING
TODAY
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 24 FT AT 14 SECONDS. SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT...RISING TO S 20 TO 30 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 22 FT AT 14 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 19 FT AT 15 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT. RAIN.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.  

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told