7/1 Coal, oil, trains, derelict gear, intertidal survey, bottle water ban, Cascadia fault zone, The Oregonian

NW Fishing: Rainbow Trout (Whitney Stensrud, SeaTimes)

New blog: It’s the first of July and in years past the wild rabbits have been eaten by the coyotes that howl in the woods at night. This year the coyotes have been silent and the rabbits are still around, living in the bushes and behind the woodpile, emerging in the morning and the evening to eat the yard’s clover and the planted beds’ succulent shoots.  Adventures in Bunnyland  

What makes the Pacific Northwest a fishing nirvana is the wide variety of colorful fish. Mark Yuasa and Whitney Stensrud report.  Water colors: Fishing the spectrum in the Pacific Northwest

A coal export terminal proposed for Cherry Point could increase the railroad traffic from its current level of up to 18 trains a day to more than 30. Hal Bernton reports. Coal train plans likely to choke city streets   And: Based on observations of coal trains already passing through Seattle, Parametrix researchers forecast that each coal train bound for Cherry Point would take from four to six minutes to traverse a road crossing. Coal trains would add to Seattle traffic waits

As the No. 2 exporter of coal in North America, Port Metro Vancouver has found itself, suddenly, on the hot seat. It’s being blamed for contributing to global warming on an international scale and for increasing coal dust and noise pollution locally.  Vancouver coal ports in the spotlight  

BP Cherry Point refinery is building a huge rail loop south of Grandview Road to handle crude oil shipments from North Dakota, and the Phillips 66 Ferndale refinery hopes to start building its own crude oil rail terminal later this year. In regulatory filings with Whatcom County, the oil companies say the projects will help them diversify their sources of supply. Phillips notes that Alaskan oil production is declining, and there are no pipelines capable of bringing large volumes of North American crude to this area. John Stark reports. Whatcom refineries gear up for crude oil via rail

Before dawn each day, rush hour begins on the rail equivalent of Interstate 5 in Western Washington. During that roughly four-hour period and a similar period in the afternoon, freight train traffic from the Port of Tacoma and the Tacoma Tideflats is prohibited from entering BNSF’s mainline track headed northward toward Seattle. John Gille reports. Passenger trains putting a squeeze on freight through the Tideflats

Grasping almost blindly on the floor of Dungeness Bay, a diver grabs hold of a rusted hunk of steel and wire, attaches it to a cable and swims back up to the surface to dump a dozen dead crabs onto the deck of a boat.  Then he goes back down.  Divers Joe Chang and Ken Woodside alternated those trips dozens of times this month as they combed the bay's floor to remove derelict crab pots for the Northwest Straits Foundation. Joe Smillie reports. Cleaning up the bay: Divers dig deep for derelict crab pots  

On a stretch of beach at Boulevard Park exposed by low tide, Bob Lemon uses forceps to gingerly pick at a piece of bright greenery draped over a rock while Bellingham Bay waves lap against the shore. The intertidal zone expert studies the sea lettuce for a bit before turning his attention to barnacles that April Markiewicz and Gaythia Weis are trying to identify. The three Bellingham residents were among the trained volunteers who surveyed intertidal life on two stretches of beach at one of the city's most popular parks June 22 and 23. Kie Relyea reports.   Surveys underway to track plants, animals at Whatcom County shorelines

Western Washington University is poised to become the largest public university in the country to ban sales of bottled water. The school joins Evergreen State College and Seattle University in making the move. For many young environmentalists, saying no to bottled water and yes to public taps is an easy choice and a cause they can get passionate about. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. WWU to become largest public college in U.S. to ban bottled water

This week, a research ship is retrieving dozens of seismometers that have spent the last year on the ocean floor off the Northwest coast. Earthquake scientists hope the data they're about to get will shed more light on the structure of the offshore Cascadia fault zone. That plate boundary will be the source of the Big One whenever it rips. Ship-to-shore video shows how researchers are using a remotely guided submarine to pluck armored seismometers off the Pacific Ocean floor. Tom Banse reports. Research cruise investigates 'lock zone' of dangerous offshore fault

The death of The Oregonian as you know it came at 9:58 am on June 20. That’s when reporters, editors, photographers and designers who put out the 163-year-old daily newspaper were told to “please proceed” to a large basement conference room.  Such meetings at the newspaper—especially on short notice—are unusual at The Oregonian’s headquarters at 1320 SW Broadway. But the staff knew what it was about. For months, there had been speculation The Oregonian’s owners, the Newhouse family, intended to cut back the publication schedule of the newspaper, rely more on its website to deliver news, and make deep cuts in staff. Aaron Mesh reports. Black and White and Red All Over  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 248 AM PDT MON JUL 1 2013
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
TODAY
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 15 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 2 FT AT 15 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