2/10 BC orcas, Duwamish, polluters pay, Stillaguamish, ship waste dump, K21, King County gas, tribal growth

Protect that habitat! (Photo: Times Colonist)

New blog: We hooted in derision when the late Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska brought federal dollars home to build the “bridge to nowhere.” We cheered when Rep. Norm Dicks brought millions home to his son David Dick’s Puget Sound Partnership to save Puget Sound... Norm Dicks’ Millions For Puget Sound 

My mother in Hawaii last night said, “We’re having your mainland weather.”  Cliff Mass agreed: “You would think the weather is very different in Hawaii than here in the Northwest, but there are a lot of things we share, and particularly today. This morning an unusually strong front pushed across the islands, with strong southwesterly winds before passage and powerful northwesterly winds and cooler temperatures behind.  And they even had a convergence zone....just like ours! Weather Cousins In Hawaii  

Canada’s federal Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that the federal government is legally bound to protect killer whale critical habitat in the Strait of Georgia and Juan de Fuca Strait — critical habitat for endangered southern resident killer whales — and the Queen Charlotte Strait and Johnstone Strait — critical habitat for threatened northern resident killer whales. Thank you Ecojustice, David Suzuki Foundation, Greenpeace, Wilderness Committee, Georgia Strait Alliance, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Sierra Club and Dogwood Initiative.  Government must protect orca habitat: court

“After years of study, one of the region’s toxic hot spots just got a major make over. It didn’t come cheap. The total cost was a cool eight million. But the clean up demonstrated that an urban waterway can be home to both industry and nature.” Listen to Martha Baskin reporting on A Toxic Hot Spot Gets a Make Over and Otters and  Salmon A New Urban Rest Stop

The Washington Department of Ecology issued $117,372 in penalties of $1,000 or more during the fourth quarter of 2011. Some names of polluters are found at Ecology issues penalties for Q4 2011  

The Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians have nearly restored a side channel along the North Fork Stillaguamish River which once provided salmon habitat until railroad tracks cut it off from the river's main channel in the 1930s. Work to restore salmon habitat on Stillaguamish River near Darrington nearly complete

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has mandated a federal rule that will ban ships from flushing their sewage into the sea within 3 miles of California’s coast. Regulations are already in the works in Hawaii, Puget Sound and in the Great Lakes. EPA Finalizes Ban on Ships Dumping Waste Off California's Coast

David Ellifrit at the Center for Whale Research has identified K21 as one of the orcas spotted in Discover Bay. And David thought K40, k16, K35 and members of Lpod were there as well. See the video at Friday Harbor whale center identifies at least one of Discovery Bay orcas

King County this week released its study, “Greenhouse Gas Emissions in King County” which found that in King County, per-person sources of greenhouse gas emissions amount to half the national average. However, greenhouse gas emissions produced by good and services from outside King County double the collective carbon footprint for the region. Most greenhouse gas emissions in King County come from outside sources

The membership rolls at some Northwest tribes are swelling much faster than growth in the general population. Fast growth has strained the fabric of some tribes, while others wish they had more.  Tom Banse reports in Growth A Source Of Pride, And Strain, At Some Northwest Tribes

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST FRI FEB 10 2012
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
SE WIND 20 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 11 FT AT 12 SECONDS. RAIN.
TONIGHT
W SWELL 10 FT AT 11 SECONDS. E WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. RAIN LIKELY.
SAT
E WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 9 FT AT 11 SECONDS. SCATTERED SHOWERS.
SAT NIGHT
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING S 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. SW SWELL 7 FT.
SUN
S WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT.

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