5/1 Elwha Love, Manson spill, Navy dock, E.coli test, Chinese appetites, no prayers

Happy Beltane! Thanks for your support. We’re now sending out this morning news service to 170 souls directly and have increased daily web visits to about 40 a day. Both ways make it worth my while to compile the clips to meet Salish Sea Communication’s goal to communicate, educate, advocate. Ask others to subscribe (no cost) or to log on here.

Cliff Mass asks-- and answers: “What is it with Mt. Vernon and funnel clouds during the annual spring Tulip festival?”  Tornadoes and Tulips: The Mt. Vernon Connection

Elwha Love: The sediment loads in the Elwha River are spiking because the reservoir behind former Elwha Dam is now completely gone. That means the settling of fines that used to occur in the lake is no longer happening so all that material is pouring into the river, and heading on down to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.... And while the amount of sediment is large -- about 50 times normal levels for the Elwha -- don't call it mud. Sediment is a single word for a whole range of material that the river has been depositing behind the two dams for the past 100 years: rocks, gravel, cobble, sand, silt, and clay. About 40 percent of that material is expected to eventually make its way out to sea. Lynda Mapes at the Seattle Times explains. Elwha sediment not just mud, it's nourishment

A Seattle-based construction company has been fined $10,000 for spilling 177 gallons of diesel into the Blair Waterway.  The Washington State Department of Ecology announced the fine Monday. The spill happened Oct. 29, 2010, when Manson Construction Co. was transferring fuel from a tugboat to a barge. Seattle firm fined $10,000 for Tacoma waterway spill

The Navy invites the public to comment on a supplemental environmental assessment on its explosives handling wharf pile replacement project. The supplement is the result of changes to the project and the appearance of unexpected animals since the original environmental assessment was issued. Public can comment about work on existing explosives handling wharf  

Urban beach closures due to coliform outbreaks have become disturbing signs of summer, yet water-testing technology has never been fast enough to keep up with changing conditions, nor accessible enough to check all waters. Now, researchers at McMaster University have developed a rapid testing method using a simple paper strip that can detect E. coli in recreational water within minutes. The new tool can close the gap between outbreak and detection, improving public safety.  Rapid Test Strips Detect Bacterial Contamination in Swimming Water

Blame the Chinese but spell the crime right: Geoducks, the long-lived clam with the odd-sounding name, are fetching top dollar on the international market, particularly in China. The surge in demand makes Washington geoducks (pronounced “gooey ducks”) the most valuable of all Puget Sound seafood products. The insatiable Chinese appetite for geoducks has apparently triggered a resurgence in geoduck poaching, a problem that has plagued the fishery off and on since deep-water harvest of the clams first began in earnest some 40 years ago. Rampant pouching puts region’s geoduck populations at risk

No aboriginal prayer ceremonies, please, and no kindergarten plays about dead fish: The request from Taseko Mines Ltd. seeks to reshape the federal environmental review for its new Prosperity Mines application. Taseko Mines asks Harper to place limits on first nations input  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT TUE MAY 1 2012
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM PDT THIS MORNING
 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM PDT THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT EARLY BECOMING 15 TO 20 KT IN THE MORNING. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 10 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
 SCATTERED SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 10 SECONDS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS EARLY.

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"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.

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