9/6 Guillemots, murrelets, Columbia coal, spill damage, BC pipe, red jellies, dead zone, water penalties, Lummi fisher

PHOTO: Govinda Rosling

If you like to listen: Govinda Rosling, co-coordinator of the Pigeon Guillemot Research Group, is one of 60 volunteer citizen scientists who dedicate their time during the summer months to survey birds at 25 breeding colonies. The guillemots are an indicator species -- their health really echoes the overall health of the Salish Sea. Citizen scientists provide detailed information. They help us understand how human activities affect the ebb and flow of wildlife populations. BirdNote: Citizen Scientists Monitor Pigeon Guillemots

New blog: On Wednesday BBC News reported that radiation levels around tanks storing contaminated water at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant have risen by a fifth to a new high. I don’t know what millisieverts are but Tuesday’s reading near one set of tanks was 2,200 (mSv), a rise from the weekend’s 1,800 mSv reading...  Godzilla’s Revenge  

A federal judge has handed the timber industry another defeat in its effort to expand logging on the habitat of a threatened coastal seabird. U.S. District Court Judge John Bates in Washington, D.C., said marbled murrelets will keep their Endangered Species Act listing, and rejected an argument that central California murrelets, which are doing poorly, should not be lumped in with the populations in Washington, Oregon and Northern California. Bates also ruled old-growth forest habitat will remain protected during a three-year period when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service re-examines what it considers a flawed 1996 critical-habitat designation. Steven Dubois reports. Federal judge rules in favor of threatened seabird  

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reducing the area it will consider in its endangered species review for the Morrow Pacific coal export terminal proposed on the Oregon side of the Columbia River. Instead of considering the project’s impacts to threatened salmon and steelhead along 276 miles of the Columbia River channel, the agency will limit its assessment to less than one mile around the project’s proposed dock at the Port of Morrow in Boardman, Ore. Coal export opponents say the limited review overlooks many of the impacts the project could have on fish, and they’re worried that the Corps will also choose to ignore the project’s broader environmental impacts. Cassandra Profita reports. Army Corps Shrinks Endangered Species Review For Columbia River Coal Export Project

The federal government has pledged close to $300,000 to help rebuild habitats affected by the 2007 oil spill in the Burrard Inlet. Money will go towards rebuilding six estuaries, including the MacKay Creek Watershed. Project organizers say they want to construct a fresh water channel for the fish. While it’s unlikely the estuaries will ever be as pristine as they once were, organizers hope to see more wildlife return to areas damaged by the spill. Federal funds to help restore spill-damaged habitats

A $5-billion pipeline key to Premier Christy Clark’s plan to revitalize British Columbia’s economy through LNG development is facing a tough environmental battle on the north coast. “They can’t be allowed to follow that route,” grizzly bear biologist Wayne McCrory said Thursday of the pipeline corridor proposed for the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Project. Mr. McCrory said the pipeline poses a clear threat to bears because it would cut through the Khutzeymateen grizzly bear sanctuary, which became the first protected area of its kind in Canada when it was set aside 19 years ago. It is officially known as Khutzeymateen Provincial Park. Mark Hume reports. Northern B.C. pipeline plan faces environmental battle  

Ocean experts are warning anyone curious about the red jellyfish washing up on Vancouver Island beaches to keep their distance. Aquarist Sarah Friesen said the lion’s mane jellyfish, whose one-year life cycle causes an annual spike in beach sightings in August and September, can still sting even after dying... The lion’s mane jellyfish is a native species. They spend most of their life offshore, within 20 metres of the ocean surface. But the drifters are carried by ocean currents and often end up in shallow, sheltered bays toward the end of their lives. Amy Smart reports. Red jellyfish a beach find that’s better seen than touched  

A team of researchers from the University of Victoria embarks on a voyage (Thursday) to further explore an expanding zone of low-oxygen water off Vancouver Island that threatens coastal fisheries and aquaculture. The Schmidt Ocean Institute, which was created by Google’s chairman Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy, has offered the UVic team the use of its $62-million research vessel, Falkor, to further their research. Lindsay Kines reports. Researchers explore low-oxygen waters off Vancouver Island  

Two of the four largest environmental fines in Washington this spring stemmed from water pollution in Snohomish County, including a Bothell-area sewage leak that's accelerated tens of millions of dollars in pipeline upgrades. The sewage leak led to the state fining King County $22,000 -- the highest penalty levied during the second quarter of this year. The state last week released statistics for April through June... The fourth-highest environmental penalty in Washington last spring was a $19,500 fine against Industrial Plating Corp. of Mukilteo. The state said the company failed to protect water quality at a manufacturing facility on Russell Road, near the Mukilteo Speedway. Noah Haglund reports. Ecology issues fines for county water-pollution cases  

Jerry Anderson might not be Native American like the first reefnetters, but that doesn't mean the ancient fishing practice doesn't run in his blood. Alison Krupnick reports. Meet Lummi Island's fishing guru

And, finally, as the rains descend, Our Man in the Skagit writes: “Here is a fun arithmetic problem ... it has been about 75 days since we had any significant rain.  In the Samish Watershed there are at least 300 large livestock animals on various hillsides, pastures near ditches, and pastures by the river or its major streams.  Each one of those animals deposits about 50 lbs. of manure a day.  Let’s see – 50 x 300 x 75 = ... well, about 1.1 million lbs. of manure – all waiting for a nice big rain to ... Mr. Weather keeps saying it it coming.  We’ll see. Can you imagine the uproar if there were 300 dogs all over the Samish watershed, pooping hither and yon?”

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 230 AM PDT FRI SEP 6 2013
TODAY
W WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 12 SECONDS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
SAT THROUGH SUN
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 OR 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS.

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