5/25 Springer, BC virus, Samish septics, Sinclair algae, bad acid, Bristol Bay mine, Bainbridge shores, water justice

Springer, 2002 (PHOTO: Mark Sears)

It was a wildlife drama with a happy ending, and much of it played out just outside West Seattle waters, in 2002. Now the 10th anniversary of the rescue of Springer the orphan orca will include a celebration on Alki, led by West Seattle-based advocacy/education group The Whale Trail. Read on for details! Springer the orphan orca: Alki anniversary party planned  

Check out: “Celebrate Springer” Facebook Page

A second B.C. salmon farm is under an official Canadian Food Inspection Agency quarantine order after a positive test for infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus. Grieg Seafood put its Ahlstrom Point farm, near Sechelt, into voluntary quarantine last week after routine tests by Fisheries and Oceans found a low positive result for IHN in the company's coho salmon.  Second salmon farm under quarantine for virus

In yet another step toward cleaning up the Samish River and encouraging higher inspection rates of septic systems in the Skagit Watershed, Skagit County commissioners are slated to vote Tuesday on a proposal to expand the Marine Recovery designation in the watershed. That expansion would include a swath of land in the upper northeast Samish, stretching from a western boundary just east of Interstate 5 to an eastern boundary just east of Highway 9; and part of the Willard Creek area at the southeast corner of the basin.  County aims to expand recovery area in Samish Watershed

A torrent of sunshine and temperatures in the ’70s have spurred marine algae blooms across the Puget Sound, including Sinclair Inlet.The Washington Depart of Ecology has noticed a number of blooms, the visible appearance of millions of tiny plant-like organisms in the water, in Sinclair Inlet. The blooms often appear as brown or green sludge at or near the surface of the water.  Algae blooming in Sinclair Inlet

More on bad acid: Remember those little pieces of paper you used to measure pH back in junior high school? You’d stick them into your can of Coke or on your tongue and the color would tell you how acidic that liquid was? Well if you stuck litmus paper into the world’s oceans it would come out closer and closer to the acidic side of the pH scale. The acidity of the ocean has increased by 30 percent over the last 250 years, says scientist Richard Feeley. He’s with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and serves on Gov. Chris Gregoire’s Ocean Acidification panel. Ashley Ahearn reports. Ending Puget Sound’s Bad Acid Trip

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to hold a public hearing in Seattle next Thursday on whether the world’s greatest salmon fishery — at Alaska’s Bristol Bay — can coexist with a gargantuan proposed gold, copper and molybdenum mine. The session, on May 31 at 2 p.m. in the Federal Building, is likely to hear from Puget Sound-area fishers and restaurant owners who oppose the proposed Pebble Mine on economic as well as environmental grounds. Joel Connelly asks:  Can Bristol Bay salmon survive big mine? EPA sets hearing  

The Bainbridge Island City Council got an earful at its first meeting on the city’s updated Shoreline Master Program Tuesday. The meeting served as a general introduction to the process that the council will undertake while considering the regulatory rewrite. It also allowed an hour’s worth of public comment on shoreline issues — an opportunity that had many in the community lining up to talk.  Draft shoreline plan brings wave of criticism from property owners  

Two communities, one close to home, the Swinomish Tribe in Skagit County, and the other more than half-way around the world, Occupied Palestine, weigh in on the concept of "water justice." Martha Baskin at Green Acre Radio reports. Water Access and Quality For Some Are a Matter of Justice  

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI MAY 25 2012
TODAY
NE WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
SAT
W WIND 10 KT...BECOMING NE. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT SUBSIDING TO 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 4 FT.
SUN
SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT.
SUN NIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 4 FT.
MON
W WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT.

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