10/30 Elwha Love, Cohen Commission, Norm Dicks, more BC quake, 'fracking' sand

Running free (PHOTO: John Gussman/SeaTimes)

With a big shot of dynamite, the last of Lake Mills drained through what's left of Glines Canyon Dam last week. There's still about 50 feet of the Glines Canyon Dam standing. But the last of the once 210-foot-tall structure will be gone by May. Today the river crashes over what's left of the dam in a waterfall. And while there is still a mixture of water and sediment that can't get past the remaining concrete yet, there are no more reservoirs on the Elwha. "She's all river now," Andy Ritchie, restoration hydrologist for the National Park Service said with a big smile. Lynda Mapes reports. "She's all river now": No more reservoirs on the Elwha

After spending $26-million and hearing from 150 witnesses, a federal judicial inquiry into the collapse of sockeye salmon runs in the Fraser River is about to release its findings. The report of the Cohen Commission – which was filed with the federal government on Monday and will be made public at a press conference in Vancouver on Wednesday – is supposed to provide British Columbia with a blueprint for managing its most important salmon stocks. Mark Hume reports. Fisheries stakeholders searching for answers on eve of Cohen report’s release  

U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, will be the lone recipient this year of the Hood Canal Environmental Achievement Awards, given annually by the Hood Canal Coordinating Council. Scott Brewer, executive director of the coordinating council, said Dicks' leadership in Congress helped secure funding for threatened fish, wildlife and related habitats in Hood Canal and throughout Puget Sound, but his passion for Hood Canal in particular really stands out.  Dicks recognized for efforts in Hood Canal

Another earthquake has rattled the north coast of B.C. The 6.2-magnitude tremor was recorded at 7:29 p.m. PT Monday at a depth of about 10 kilometres and was centred about 260 kilometres southwest of Prince Rupert, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Another earthquake rattles B.C. coast

The earthquake that rattled Haida Gwaii Saturday has also jolted the debate surrounding the proposed Northern Gateway project, with some saying the quake underlines the potential pitfalls of oil tankers plying the B.C. coast. That’s despite the fact that neither the pipeline nor the tanker routes outlined in the Enbridge proposal would cross the Queen Charlotte Fault, which runs along the west side of Haida Gwaii and was the seismic backdrop to Saturday’s 7.7-magnitude quake. Wendy Stueck reports. Quake raises more Northern Gateway concerns

The specialized sand arrives at Olympia in 1.5-ton “super sacks,” is poured into enclosed rail cars and then travels 900 miles to the northwest corner of North Dakota, where it plays a role in an economic oil boom reminiscent of Alaska in the 1970s. Called ceramic proppants and manufactured in China, the grains of sand have a hint of alumina and are coated with ceramics. They’re used in an oil-exploration process known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” that literally props up the weight of the earth so that oil, deep underground, can be released. Rolf Boone reports. Fracking in Plains means business at Olympia port

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT TUE OCT 30 2012
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON PDT TODAY THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
TODAY
E WIND 5 TO 15 KT...RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 12 SECONDS. RAIN.
TONIGHT
E WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 12 SECONDS. RAIN.

--
"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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.  

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told