9/10 Stilly restoration, Deschutes hatchery, derelict boats, Elwha mud, Pt. Monroe, Kitsilano CG, Tucker's nose

Alison Sound (Laurie MacBride)

Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "What can one say about a place too beautiful for words? Cruising up Alison Sound, we ran out of synonyms for “wow”, “ooh” and “ah”. Eleven miles and hundreds of photos later, we anchored off the shallows at the head of the Sound. Granite mountains rose vertically to either side, and behind us, the mouths of two rivers and a creek formed a lush green delta that called out for exploring in our kayaks...." Exploring Alison: Beyond Superlatives

Five decades ago farmer Menno Groeneveld built an experimental dike around 150 acres of tidelands near Stanwood. One decade ago, The Nature Conservancy bought the land from Groeneveld heirs. On Saturday, Puget Sound will take the farm back. It’s an amazing journey for the land which was never very good for farming, but it was a once vital marshland where the Stillaguamish River met the Sound. With so many of those estuaries already gone, the chance to bring one back was a golden opportunity for the Nature Conservancy but first it had to convince neighbors it was the right thing to do. Gary Chittim reports. Puget Sound tides to reclaim Stanwood farmland

A $72,000 contribution from Squaxin Island Tribe will prevent a 75 percent cut in chinook production at the state’s Tumwater Falls salmon hatchery. Production at the Deschutes River facility has been steady at 4 million chinook, but because of a shortfall in funding, production would have dropped to 1 million. Production has been as high as 12 million fall chinook at the facility since the program began in the 1950s.  Tribe helps fund fish production  

Hundreds of derelict or abandoned boats, both large and small, are slowly rotting on Washington's waterways. And despite a program whose sole mission is to deal with these potential environmental catastrophes, the state just can't keep up with the tide. In March, 226 vessels were on Washington's "derelict or abandoned" list. By June, the state or other agencies had helped move, shore up, or dispose of 23 of them - which sounds pretty good, until you realize that, in the meantime, 18 more vessels were added to the list. Some boats are removed, only to wind up back on the list a second or third time. Maureen O'Hagan reports. Derelict vessels create headaches on NW waters

Biologists watching the Elwha River's recovery process believe that about half the material expected to flow toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca is yet to come. Flowing with it: the keys to restoring the river's once legendary fish habitat. Both state and private biologists are anticipating fall storms to bring higher water flows through the Elwha, along with coarser and larger-grained material than the fine silt that began entering the strait last spring. Jeremy Schwartz reports.  Elwha sediment flows to increase in coming months  

Development on Bainbridge Island’s Point Monroe sand spit has been great for homeowners but horrible for wildlife habitat. A new study of the area that was launched by the update of the city’s shoreline master program points out that new development will have to be tailored to avoid causing more environmental damage in the neighborhood, and recommends that even redevelopment of existing properties should trigger extensive studies before permits are issued by Bainbridge Island City Hall. Richard Oxley reports. Report suggests more studies before future development is allowed at Point Monroe

If you like to watch: A short video from Coastal Research Institute and Doubleclick Productions of what it looks like when herring have a ball. Watch here.

A confidential report on the risks of closing the Kitsilano coast guard base shows lives will be in danger if the closure goes ahead. Calling the report “explosive,” Mayor Gregor Robertson said it “clearly states a high risk of increased fatalities due to the Kits Coast Guard base closure. And that’s a massive concern for all of us in Vancouver.” Closure of Kitsilano coast guard base will cost lives, report proves: union  

Several readers enjoyed this and suggested sharing it with you: A dog named Tucker with a thumping tail and a mysterious past as a stray on the streets of Seattle has become an unexpected star in the realm of canine-assisted science. He is the world’s only working dog, marine biologists say, able to find and track the scent of orca scat, or feces, in open ocean water — up to a mile away, in the smallest of specks. Tracking a Subtle Scent, a Dog May Help Save the Whales

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON SEP 10 2012
TODAY
W WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING 10 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
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