3/7 Tree power, wildlife watching, coal jobs, oil tankers, Sequim Bay, plant award, Oak Bay chickens

Photo: Laurie MacBride

Laurie MacBride shares “an abstract impression of one of my favorite spots on our property, a small stand of Douglas firs that we call “the hammock grove”.  I wanted to convey the dream-like feeling I get amid these tall trunks, so I deliberately used camera motion and a slow shutter speed.” When Negative is Positive: The Power of Trees

If you like to watch: Bring wild inside! View nature as it happens. WDFW offers a selection of wildlife viewing through live cameras and recorded video. WildWatchcams

A new economic analysis of Gateway Pacific Terminal indicates that the proposed coal export pier could mean a net loss of jobs for Whatcom County, if it harms tourism, waterfront redevelopment and the county's overall image. But David Eichenthal, one of the study's authors, stressed that he has no crystal ball: "Unfortunately, when it comes to economic development projects like this, there usually isn't very much certainty." Proposed Cherry Point coal terminal could mean fewer jobs, not more   And Floyd McKay in Crosscut writes: Study questions coal's value to Bellingham  

Dan Chasan in Crosscut writes: "A few years from now, when our best-known marine life — endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales, threatened Puget Sound chinook salmon, or the Fraser River sockeye that have always made up the bulk of the Puget Sound commercial harvest — swim north to the Queen Charlotte Islands and beyond, they may encounter some new swimming companions: 1000-foot-long tankers known as Very Large Crude Carriers.  Each ship would be carrying up to 2 million barrels of dilute bitumen from the Alberta tar sands to foreign refineries, probably in China." Why a new invasion of tankers threatens Northwest waters  

A $1.86 million government grant-funded project to replace a berm with a bridge will restore fish passage into the northern 37 acres of Washington Harbor estuary marsh and tide flats on West Sequim Bay. The project is planned to begin in June and be completed in October. Bridge on Sequim Bay planned this year

Sound Native Plants of Olympia has won an environmental excellence award from the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association. The award goes to those who “significantly improved, protected or repaired the environment through the use of plants and proper horticultural practices.”  Group wins award for environmental impact

If Oak Bay follows Saanich, raising chickens will be allowed on lots of all sizes. Councillors have instructed staff to redraft bylaws that will eliminate the minimum lot size needed for people to keep hens. Councillors also agreed that the bylaw specify people be allowed to purchase pullets - hens about four to six months in age - in the hope of reducing the problem of people buying young chicks only to later discover they are roosters. Behind the tweed curtain, a coup for chickens  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST WED MAR 7 2012
TODAY
W WIND 10 KT EARLY...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING E 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to: msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.  

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told