6/10 BNSF penalty, whale carcass, Jeff Matthews

Larry Hubbell (unionbaywatch.blogspot.com)

If you like to watch: Eric Lacitis writes in Fans flock to Union Bay bird blog: "Larry Hubbell has spent hundreds of hours photographing the eagles and other birds around Seattle’s Union Bay. He says they’re “magic,” and that has drawn numerous followers to his blog." Larry blogs.

New blog: “You want to reduce speeding accidents, you have to talk to drivers, right? And if you want to save Puget Sound shorelines, you have to talk to shoreline property owners. That’s not necessarily been an easy task around shoreline regulations, especially during the recent rounds of upgrading county and city shoreline master programs, and ending up telling shoreline property owners what they can and can’t do on their properties. Now, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Washington Department of Natural Resources are advertising for a consultant to learn how best to talk to shoreline property owners about voluntarily taking care of their properties...” Saving Puget Sound Shorelines One Property At A Time

State regulators have approved a settlement with BNSF Railway Co. that imposes a $55,000 penalty against the company for failing to repair defects at six railroad crossings in Whatcom County and one in Skagit County. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission approved the settlement. BNSF acknowledges that it failed to respond to repeated notices from the state commission about safety defects and did not repair crossings quickly enough, resulting in violations of state law. The company agreed to pay the $55,000 penalty now, and will face an additional penalty of $50,000 if it fails to comply with the settlement terms. John Stark reports. BNSF fined for railroad crossing defects in Whatcom, Skagit counties

Killer whale carcasses are seldom found, and the rare ones that wash up on Pacific shores are gold mines of critical information, says a new study by a team of Canadian and U.S. scientists. The study, published in the journal Marine Mammal Science, emphasizes the need for scientists to study stranded killer whale cadavers. “Only about 10 a year are found in the whole of the North Pacific,” said Joe Gaydos, SeaDoc Society director and one of the study’s authors.... Before Gaydos and Stephen Raverty, a veterinary pathologist in B.C.’s Agriculture Ministry, came up with a standardized orca necropsy system in 2004, only about two per cent of stranded killer whale cadavers received a full examination. Judith Lavoie reports. To scientists, dead killer whale a lucky find

North Vancouver resident Jeff Matthews joined the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's Dam Guardians Campaign this spring. The society says California sea lions are being scapegoated for declining salmon stocks in the Columbia River. Christine Lyon reports. Protector of the dammed; Sea Shepherd activist aids Columbia River sea lions

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON JUN 10 2013
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT...RISING TO 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS...BUILDING TO 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
--
"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