6/26 BC flood, levee pact, sea rise, Coquitlam salmon, owl birth, hummers & butterflies

Fraser flooding (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

By the end of the week it will be known whether the flood threat has passed. But for the next few days everyone will be watching to see if water levels drop after peaking just below the lip of the dikes that are holding back the churning waters.  With heavy rainstorms and sudden snow melt causing a flurry of flooding around the province over the weekend, officials were worried the Fraser could rise to levels it has reached only four times before in the Lower Mainland, when the mighty river swept across the flood plain in the valley, where most of British Columbia’s population is concentrated.  All eyes on the mighty Fraser River as breaching point nears  

The Puget Sound Partnership says it has reached a memorandum of understanding with the Army Corps of Engineers and others that will help it resolve the issue of vegetation on levees. The state agency says the corps, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have agreed to work together to make sure levees in the region to protect the public while also protecting salmon. Corps, partnership agree to collaborate on levees

A new report from the National Research Council in Washington DC looks specifically at the West Coast, as compared to global sea level rise over the next century.  It says the problem here won’t be as bad as in California, which is expected to see sea levels slightly higher than projected globally. The report found sea levels in Washington and Oregon are predicted to rise about 2 feet over the next century. Most of California could see a three and a half foot rise.  Study: Rising seas will hit Calif. hardest, but Washington still sees damage

Juvenile salmon are benefiting from a $4-million habitat enhancement project in Colony Farm Regional Park in Coquitlam. It has been confirmed that juvenile chinook, chum, coho, and pink salmon are using the Wilson Farm area of the park as a rearing area for the first time since dikes were built for agricultural purposes about a century ago. Juvenile salmon to utilize Coquitlam's Colony Farm for first time in a century  

A captive pair of northern spotted owls has successfully given birth to a male owlet — for the first time with help from an artificial incubator.  The human-assisted birth offers a flicker of hope for the endangered owls, which have suffered over the years from habitat loss and fragmentation due to logging of old-growth forests. Endangered northern spotted owl born in captivity in Langley

For many passionate gardeners, there is no greater source of joy and inspiration than the sight of hummingbirds and butterflies in the summer garden. After all the digging, composting, planting and garden maintenance, the opportunity to relax, reflect and enjoy these magnificent creatures presents a welcome respite. Jeff and Eileen Bidwell report. Dishing the Dirt: Attracting Hummingbirds and Butterflies

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 254 AM PDT TUE JUN 26 2012
TODAY
W WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. SW SWELL 3 FT AT 14 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT. SW SWELL 3 FT AT 14 SECONDS.

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