2/17 Lk Padden, Ruby Berry, Canadian 'terror', bad Hargrove bill, sand lance, Esquimalt reef, orca death, Squamish Nation, AK seal deaths, good fracking, snowy owls, Avatar Grove

Andy Majeske water sampling (Phil Dwyer photo)

John Stark in the Bellingham Herald reports on the citizens' group People for Lake Padden which has been conducting a series of tests of the recreational lake's water quality, hoping that the data will provide information for city and county officials to use as they regulate development in its watershed. Citizens' group studies Lake Padden water quality

North Sound Baykeeper blog: “In 35 years as a resident of Bellingham, I’ve swam, hiked, biked, birdwatched, walked, run, paddled, hunted for mushrooms, and just sat still and admired Lake Padden, hundreds of times. I don’t know a single person around here who doesn’t love the lake. It’s a splendor, and appeals to everyone. If you act soon, you can do your part to help protect this local treasure.” Lake Padden Needs You!

“It's always a delight when I hear solutions that we've been pushing for that are met with great resistance, come to be commonplace, acceptable concepts.... We generally know who our supporters are. The reward occurs when we've convinced the skeptics.” That’s Georgia Strait Alliance program director Ruby Berry profiled in A Day in the Life: Campaign Manager

Oh, Canada.  Federal security services have identified Greenpeace and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals as the kind of “multi-issue extremist” groups that pose a threat to Canadians, documents obtained under Access to Information show.  Security services deem environmental, animal-rights groups 'extremist' threats

Sen. Jim Hargrove is sponsoring a bill this session that would restrict appeals of Growth Management Act decisions only to those individuals who can prove they would be directly impacted by a decision, effectively excluding citizens and advocacy groups from appealing. In addition, the bill would put off measures aimed at reducing stormwater pollution in Puget Sound and delay requiring new developments to include green upgrades like permeable pavement, green roofs, and rain gardens. Enviros Say Bill Would Gut GMA, Delay Stormwater Improvements   Martha Kongsgaard and Peg Staeheli tell you why this bill is bad in Legislature shouldn't delay stormwater plans

Sand lance, or candlefish, are tiny— about 5-to-8 inches long—forage fish that lay tiny eggs in sandy gravel beaches in Puget Sound. About 35 percent of juvenile salmon diets consist of sand lance, and the rate is even higher among juvenile chinook, at 60 percent. The Port of Langley has been making sure their cleaning of their boat ramp doesn’t harm any eggs and hasn’t found any spawns in the vicinity of their ramp. “It about triples the cost of a ramp cleaning,” Port Manager Ed Field said, adding about $300 to each cleaning. Worth it, we say. Good news for Langley boat ramp: No sand lance eggs found

Esquimalt Harbour has long been home to industry and naval activities. Now the Department of National Defence is building a reef in the water off CFB Esquimalt to enhance the fish habitat and lessen the impact of naval activities. Navy builds reef to attract fish to harbour

The death of a female orca off the coast this week and recent use of high frequency sonar by the Canadian Navy has whale advocates on high alert. The National Resource Defense Council plans to appeal the action to the Canadian and US governments. The burning question, why was sonar known to cause internal stress and sometimes death, allowed in coastal waters designated as critical habitat for endangered orcas? Martha Baskin at Green Acre Radio reports on  A Death in the Family: Southern Resident Orca Pod Loses Female in the Wake of Navy Sonar

The Squamish Nation and BC Parks have completed the Esté-tiwilh/Sigurd Creek Conservancy Management Plan and the Brackendale Eagles Park, Baynes Island Ecological Reserve and Tantalus Park Management Plan which will create a “continuous freeway for wildlife” on almost 13,000 hectares of land around Squamish. Squamish Nation, province ink wildlife conservation deal

Scientists in Alaska are trying to determine what has killed and sickened more than 130 seals since the summer, but say they don’t think radiation from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant is to blame. Cause of Alaska seal deaths a mystery

Chip Groat of the University of Texas reported at this week's annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Vancouver that his study found "no direct connection" between groundwater contamination and fracking. Fracking does not contaminate groundwater: study released in Vancouver  

“In future years we'll likely look back on the winter of '11-'12 as the season of the snowy owl,” writes Mike McQuaide in the Seattle Times. “Seems they've been showing up all over — the Nisqually Delta, Port Susan near Stanwood, a truck plant in Renton, residential rooftops in rural Whatcom County, and elsewhere. But perhaps nowhere is this Owlapalooza more owlt-of-the-ordinary than just north of the U.S.-Canada border at Boundary Bay Regional Park, in Tsawwassen, B.C. Specifically, the dike-top trail at the south tip of 72nd Street.”  Look for blizzard of snowy owls at B.C's Boundary Bay park

The B.C. Forest Ministry will protect Avatar Grove, a unique stand of centuries-old Douglas firs and red cedars near Port Renfrew, as an old-growth management area. That means no logging or mining, but is one step short of the legislated protection of park designation. Avatar Grove to be protected by province

Now, your weekend thank-goodness-for-tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST FRI FEB 17 2012
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT
TODAY
E WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 5 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 14 SECONDS. RAIN.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 25 TO 35 KT. COMBINED SEAS 9 TO 11 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 14 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 11 TO 14 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 14 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT. SHOWERS.
SAT
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 5 FT. W SWELL 16 FT AT 14 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 18 FT AT 14 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. SHOWERS.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT. W SWELL 16 FT...SUBSIDING TO 13 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
SUN
SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING SE 5 TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 5 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT IN THE
 AFTERNOON. W SWELL 10 FT...SUBSIDING TO 7 TO 9 FT IN THE AFTERNOON.
SUN NIGHT
E WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 6 FT.

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