6/29 Lk Whatcom, Fraser flood, Springer, coal lawsuit, Strait closure, DFO, debris dumpsters, Goldstream R.

Lk Whatcom (City of B'ham)

Last Friday in June, here’s to waiting for a stretch of warmer, drier weather to come, soon. We hope. Yes?

The state agency tasked with coordinating the cleanup of Puget Sound has secured new funding to protect Lake Whatcom. Michael Grayum with the Puget Sound Partnership says the $164,000 grant will help support local programs to stop invasive species, and reduce pollutants threatening water quality in the watershed. He says the partnership identified Lake Whatcom as a problem because of invasive species like Asian clams and their effect on water quality.  State Agency Finds Funding To Protect Lake Whatcom

When Stephen Déry looks out at the Fraser River sweeping past Prince George and threatening to overflow its banks, he knows he is looking at something British Columbians could see a lot more of in the future. After analyzing 100 years of hydrological data collected at 139 Environment Canada river gauges scattered throughout the watershed, Prof. Déry and his colleagues have concluded the Fraser is increasingly experiencing extreme flows, largely because of climate change and a catastrophic pine beetle epidemic that has killed off much of the forest in the central province.  More high Fraser River levels forecast for future  

This week marks the 10th anniversary of the rescue of Springer, an orphaned orca whale found alone in Puget Sound far from her family in Canada. The burning question today: can the commitment that brought adversaries together be mobilized to save the Sound’s remaining orcas? Orcas have survived for millions of years but they may go extinct within a hundred years. Martha Baskin has our story.  Can a Ten Year Anniversary Celebration of One Orca’s Rescue Trigger Resolve to Save the Rest?  

The Bellingham City Attorney's office has filed a lawsuit aimed at keeping an anti-coal train initiative off the ballot this November, after the Whatcom County Auditor's Office determined that the measure's backers had gathered enough valid signatures.  The City Council authorized the lawsuit's filing June 18. The city's legal staff had advised them that if the initiative were passed into law by city voters, the city would then be obliged to defend it in court, even though city attorneys believe it won't survive judicial scrutiny. Bellingham files lawsuit to block coal train initiative  

A mussel sample taken from Ediz Hook earlier this week has led to the closure for shellfish harvesting of additional beaches on the Strait of Juan de Fuca because of elevated levels of the potentially deadly paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP. Strait beaches from Dungeness Spit west to Cape Flattery now are closed to recreational harvesting of all species of shellfish. More Strait beaches closed to harvesting  

Heavy workloads and high turnover at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans could jeopardize the federal government's ability to protect Canadians from the dangerous impacts of industrial projects, say internal government records obtained by Postmedia News. High turnover at DFO threatens environmental reviews: records

Oregon is putting out dumpsters at coastal parks for beachgoers to throw away tsunami debris. Governor John Kitzhaber announced Thursday he’s appointed an interagency team to coordinate efforts to dispose of materials washed up from last year’s Japanese tsunami. Oregon sets out dumpsters for tsunami debris clean-up  

A Columbia Fuels truck driver whose vehicle crashed on the Malahat in  April 2011, spilling 42,000 litres of gasoline into Goldstream River, has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and violating the Fisheries Act. The slightly-built man, with sandy brown hair and eyeglasses, is also charged with impaired driving and driving with a blood alcohol level over 80 milligrams in connection with the April 16 crash. Trucker who spilled gasoline into Goldstream River pleads guilty   

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI JUN 29 2012
TODAY
SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT THIS MORNING...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. SW SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS. RAIN LIKELY THIS MORNING...THEN A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
NW WIND 10 KT EARLY...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN EARLY...THEN RAIN LIKELY AFTER MIDNIGHT.
SAT
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING W 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS. RAIN EARLY...THEN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 4 FT.
SUN
W WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 3 FT.

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