4/15 BC sockeye, green budget, fin whale, Puget Sound's pulse, Coquitlam sewage, Whatcom fecals, Maury park, oil spill pact, Swinomish suit, B'ham Bay cleanup, slime eels

The Ties That Bind (Laurie MacBride)

Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "This image, taken last summer in Port McNeill, seems to sum up the way my two worlds – land and sea – bump up against each other and compete for my attention. Every spring and summer I am torn between the two. One half of me is tethered to the land, wanting to be home in the garden…the other half is casting off the lines, wanting to slip away to explore the BC coast. Both worlds pull at me, in a dichotomy I’ve felt for most of my life..." The Pull of Two Worlds  

If you like to watch: The American Bird Conservancy (ABC) in cooperation with the San Juan Preservation Trust, the San Juan County Audubon Society, and the Ecostudies Institute is working to reestablish a breeding population of Western Bluebirds (Sialia mexicana) to areas of their historic range where they have been extirpated in the San Juan Islands.  Western Bluebird Reintroduction Project

Key scientific documents needed before the department of Fisheries and Oceans can implement its plan to save British Columbia’s wild salmon have been held up in Ottawa for a year. The documents, concerning sockeye conservation units on the Fraser River, were withheld from the Cohen Commission even though they were substantially ready for release at the time the federal inquiry was under way. The reports, confidential draft copies of which have been obtained by The Globe and Mail, show that seven of the 24 conservation units in the watershed have been designated as “red zones” with another four rated red/amber. That classification means the salmon populations in those areas are considered at risk of extinction. Mark Hume reports. Ottawa withholding reports on B.C. wild salmon

Even with a budget crunch and a coalition of Republicans and fiscally conservative Democrats controlling the Washington Senate, the green groups that lobby every year as the Environmental Priorities Coalition seems likely to get a good deal of its "Conservation Works" shopping list funded through the next state capital budget. The list includes money for Puget Sound, including stormwater management and flood plain restoration; forest health; and the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program, which provides money for habitat and parks. At least some money for these programs appears in capital budgets put forward by the Governor, the House and even the Senate. Dan Chasan reports. How green is the state budget?

If you like to watch: Hundreds of people showed up Sunday to get a good look at a dead fin whale that washed ashore at Seahurst Park in Burien. The whale washed up Saturday morning, and biologists believe the whale was either dragged or drifted ashore. It may have been dead for as long as a week. Experts say it's rare to see a fin whale in Puget Sound, but now this dead one at Seahurst Park is attracting a crowd. Kristen Drew reports. 'It's breathtaking, actually': Burien's dead whale draws a crowd  See also: Dead whale on Burien beach likely hit by ship  

Christopher Dunagan at the Kitsap Sun reminded me after reading Friday's Salish Sea Communications blog about progress towards meeting the Puget Sound Partnership's goal of Puget Sound recovery by 2020 that the Kitsap Sun is continuing a series of stories examining six categories of indicators the Puget Sound Partnership is using to gauge the health of Puget Sound. Stories will look at indicators in categories like the ecosystem's food web, water quality, water quantity, species and habitats. Check out Chris's reporting at Taking the Pulse of Puget Sound

A broken sewage pipe has contaminated a fish-bearing stream in Coquitlam, B.C., prompting a demand for immediate federal cash to upgrade aging pipes and other infrastructure. Mayor Richard Stewart says there's still no word how much sewage poured into Scott Creek, a tributary of the Coquitlam River, but he says the broken pipe carries one million litres daily, so officials know the spill is significant. Broken pipe pumps thousands of litres of sewage into Coquitlam creek

Washington Department of Ecology inspectors are taking water samples and identifying sources of fecal coliform bacteria in Bertrand Creek watershed to clean up pollution that could sicken people and is threatening Lummi Nation shellfish beds in Portage Bay. "The water sampling shows that the fecal coliform levels in the Bertrand Creek watershed continue to rise, and they have for the last 10 years," said Dustin Terpening, Ecology spokesman. "They do not meet state and federal standards for clean water." Those bacteria levels are three times greater than they were in 2003, when they last met standards. Kie Relyea reports. Shellfish effort aims to reduce pollution in Whatcom County waterways

Drayton Harbor and Samish Bay have been closed to shellfish harvest after test results showed high levels of fecal coliform pollution entering both bays from rivers that drain into them. The Washington state Department of Health closed Drayton Harbor to commercial harvesting on Friday, April 12. Water samples taken earlier in the week from where California and Dakota creeks empty into Drayton Harbor showed "very high levels of fecal coliform," said Bob Woolrich, shellfish growing area manager with the state Department of Health. Drayton Harbor, Samish Bay close to shellfish harvesting  

The Maury Island open space formerly owned by Glacier Northwest will likely see funds for restoration and improvement from a new county parks foundation, King County announced last week. On April 9, King County Parks announced it has established a new foundation with a $75,000 initial gift from a Seattle wealth management firm. The parks agency, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, hopes to grow the foundation to $75 million over the next decade, largely with gifts from the private sector. The county has already identified the 250-acre Maury Island site it purchased from Glacier Northwest in 2010 as one of seven priority projects it hopes to funnel foundation money into in the coming years. The property, which the county has designated as a natural area, contains large madrone stands, sweeping views of the water and one of the largest undeveloped shorelines in all of Puget Sound. Natalie Johnson reports. Former Glacier site will likely benefit from county’s new parks foundation

The first written statement of the collaboration between the Makah tribe and the U.S. Coast Guard in vigilance against oil spills in the Strait of Juan de Fuca was celebrated with a traditional potlatch and blessing in the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in Seattle last week. The memorandum of agreement, or MOA, signed Friday is the first written statement of the working relationship between the Makah and the Coast Guard, who collaborate in preventing and responding to oil spills in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Parker said. Leah Leach reports. Makah, Coast Guard pact a first on several fronts  

Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is demanding $9 million in damages from the city of Oak Harbor for the desecration of a burial ground. The tribe filed a complaint for damages with the city Tuesday. The claim accuses city officials of violating law and breaching their legal duty by digging up the known site of an ancient tribal village and burial ground. The excavation occurred during the 2011 road project on Pioneer Way. Justin Burnett reports. Swinomish seek $9 million in damages from city of Oak Harbor

Port of Bellingham and city staffers have assured the city's Planning and Development Commission that waterfront cleanup and building plans will be safe, and the Washington Department of Ecology will be checking those plans to make sure. At their Thursday, April 11, meeting, planning commissioners got a briefing on plans to deal with the legacy of industrial toxins in the soil and water, and on plans to deal with earthquake hazards and sea level rise. Ecology cleanup site manager Mark Adams said environmental cleanup plans for 237 waterfront acres won't be completed or executed until his agency approves. John Stark reports. Port says waterfront development plans will be safe  

A new, relatively untapped fishery is growing on the North Olympic Peninsula, with at least two fish distributors planning to expand hagfish operations to supply Asian markets. Hagfish, also known as “slime eels,” are not eaten in the U.S. but are a popular food in South Korea, Brandt Koo, general manager of Five Ocean Seafoods Inc., told Port of Port Angeles commissioners last week. Arwyn Rice reports. You may go ewww, but slimy hagfish might be Peninsula's next fishery boon

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON APR 15 2013
TODAY
LIGHT WIND. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
NW WIND TO 10 KT BECOMING NE. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
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