1/26 Dupont gravel, Lisa Jackson, Audubon map, Victoria sewage, Kitsap shores, BC Ferries, eating mammals

PHOTO: Laurie MacBride

“On Valdes Island, Gabriola’s neighbour in BC’s Gulf Islands chain, fault lines have exposed the underlying sandstone to the elements. With the passing of time, the combined forces of salt, sun, rain and wind have carved an intricate design of hollows, crests and ledges in these west-facing cliffs.” Check out Laurie MacBride’s latest post, Life on the Edge: the Cliff Dwellers

You have to see this: "Blue Marble 2012" NASA unveils 'most amazing' high def image of Earth

Our North Sound Baykeeper blogs on meeting one of her heroes, a scientist/activist whose work studying plastic has prompted a global reassessment of plastics in the ocean. Meeting Captain Charles Moore  

The DuPont City Council has approved a settlement to restore the Sequalitchew Creek watershed in DuPont and open the door to expanded gravel mining in the area. CalPortland will provide up to $200,000 for development of a restoration plan in exchange for environmental groups not challenging its applications to mine 142 acres north of its existing mine and 200 acres southeast of its mine. DuPont will get up to $200,000 for watershed-restoration project

Ashley Ahearn at EarthFix reports on EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson Hosts Town Hall At UW

Woody Wheeler and Christi Norman talk about the new “Puget Loop” Audubon map guiding birders. Audubon map – new Puget Loop unveiled as enviro groups strategize

Victoria's Capital Regional District thinks that the decline in populations of shrimps, mollusks and sea worms near the Macaulay Point sewage outfall isn't due entirely to sewage discharge. Maybe climate change? Regions to ponder degradation of sea life  

The National Wildlife Federation lawsuit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency because it wasn't doing enough to prevent development in areas with vulnerable wildlife. Now the city of Everett and about a dozen cities are joining in opposition to the suit because they think the suit could make it impossible to develop along shorelines. Everett joining other cities to fight lawsuit seeking limits on shoreline development  

The Kitsap County shorelines task force wrapped up its regular work-- but property rights advocates continue to raise questions about the need for shoreline buffers. Disputes continue over Kitsap County shorelines plan

BC Ferries commissioner Gord Macatee has called for a major overhaul in a review of ferry operations released earlier this week. He urged the B.C. government to abandon its commitment to a user pay system and drop its opposition to major routes subsidizing the less-travelled ones. He recommended that fares be capped at the rate of inflation over the next three years. Crosscheck: The cost of BC Ferries  

The fate of the world's great whale species commands global attention as a result of heated debate between pro and anti-whaling advocates, but the fate of smaller marine mammals is less understood, specifically because the deliberate and accidental harvesting of dolphins, porpoises, manatees and other warm-blooded aquatic denizens is rarely studied or monitored. Marine Mammals On the Menu in Many Parts of World

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 315 AM PST THU JAN 26 2012
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
NW WIND 25 TO 35 KT...EASING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 4 TO 7 FT SUBSIDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 16 FT AT 14 SECONDS SUBSIDING TO 14 FT.  SCATTERED SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
W SWELL 13 FT AT 13 SECONDS. W WIND 10 TO 15 KT BECOMING SW AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT.

--
"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