3/28 Skagit buffers, BLM lands, Enbridge protest, Invader, bog preserve, Rayonier cleanup, bag ban, Shilshole fees, coral herpes

Skunk Cabbage (K.Kennell)

A state board says that Skagit County is now in compliance with a 22-year-old state land use law aimed at providing buffers between farmland and streams. In January, Skagit County enrolled in the state’s Voluntary Stewardship Program, which will provide incentives for landowners to protect streams. Growth Management Hearings Board ruled Monday that the county now complies with the 1990 Growth Management Act because of participation in the program, created by the state Legislature last year. Skagit County in compliance with state law, board says

San Juan Country citizens Asha Lela, Tom Reeve and Jamie Stephens visited with Washington Congressional delegation offices and Bureau of Land Management officials in Washington D.C. earlier this month to discuss local efforts to permanently protect BLM lands in the islands.  Conservationists calls on council to back protection for BLM lands  See also: The 1,000 acres in the San Juan Islands that the Bureau of Land Management oversees deserve additional protections so that members of the public, including military veterans and their families, can enjoy them for generations to come. Guest columnist and Navy veteran Rick Hegdahl opines. Protect Public lands in the San Juans (and elsewhere) for future generations

Students from the University of B.C. and local high schools plan to go door to door in B.C. Premier Christy Clark’s Vancouver-Point Grey riding Saturday in an attempt to convince the premier to oppose Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline. Teams of students, aged 16 to 21, will try to visit every home in the riding between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. asking residents to sign a petition demanding that Clark oppose the pipeline. UBC students to battle B.C. premier Christy Clark on Enbridge pipeline; Pipeline petitioners hope to give Clark a crude awakening

The tugboat Invader, which had been partly submerged in Port Gardner in Everett since March 18, was refloated on Monday. The boat contains an estimated 60,000 gallons of diesel fuel.  The fuel is scheduled to be removed from the boat this week. A sunken drydock believed to have caused the boat to capsize remains underwater.   Partly submerged tug refloated; minor spills cleaned up  

After nearly three years of effort, a nature preserve protecting a rare and potentially imperiled sphagnum bog on the north end of the Island has doubled in size. The Vashon Land Trust closed on a transaction last week that added 10 acres to the Whispering Firs Bog Preserve, bringing the protected area to 19 acres. The deal came to fruition after the land trust secured $306,000 from the Washington Wildlife and Restoration Program and raised another $81,000 from members and supporters.  After a long effort, rare bog gets added protection  

Gov. Chris Gregoire has notified city officials that the city can take part in a habitat-restoration plan for the Rayonier pulp mill site — but only in a consulting capacity. A city representative won't sit on the multi-agency panel that is putting the plan together, a higher level of participation that was vigorously sought by city and business leaders.  Gov. Gregoire gives Port Angeles in Rayonier cleanup effort

Issaquah citizens can learn more about a proposed plastic bag ban at a forum Thursday featuring Councilman Mark Mullet and Robb Krehbiel, a program associate from the nonprofit organization Environment Washington. The forum is meant to educate participants about the impact of discarded plastic bags on Puget Sound wildlife. The forum runs from 5-6 p.m. at Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop, 1011 N.E. High St., No. 103. Issaquah forum to focus on proposed plastic bag ban

Fees are going to rise for the largest liveaboard community on the West Coast, but Port of Seattle officials say they want to work with boaters at Shilshole Bay Marina to help cushion the change. Port vows to work with Shilshole liveaboards around fee increase

As corals continue to decline in abundance around the world, researchers are turning their attention to a possible cause that's almost totally unexplored -- viral disease. It appears the corals that form such important parts of marine ecosystems harbor many different viruses -- particularly herpes. And although they don't get runny noses or stomach upset, corals also are home to the adenoviruses and other viral families that can cause human colds and gastrointestinal disease.  Viral Disease -- Particularly from Herpes -- Gaining Interest as Possible Cause of Coral Decline 

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 418 AM PDT WED MAR 28 2012
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING
TODAY
SE WIND 25 TO 35 KT...EASING TO 20 TO 30 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. COMBINED SEAS 9 TO 11 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF
 11 SECONDS. WIDESPREAD SHOWERS IN THE MORNING...THEN NUMEROUS SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 25 TO 35 KT. COMBINED SEAS 9 TO 12 FT WITH A
 DOMINANT PERIOD OF 9 SECONDS. RAIN.

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