10/18 Snow geese, salmon death, Longview coal, coal money, Hood Canal easements, Vancouver oilport

PHOTO: The (Everett) Herald 

If you like to watch: Snow geese arrive near Stanwood (photos)

$5-million study hopes to study mortality of B.C. salmon
Salmon are dying young in the Salish Sea — and now a $5-million international study hopes to find out why. The Pacific Salmon Commission and the Southern Fund Committee announced Thursday that the funding over five years will support the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project, an effort by Canada and the U.S. “to improve understanding of the causes of salmon and steelhead mortality” in the Strait of Georgia, Puget Sound and Juan de Fuca Strait. Equal recipients of the funding are the Vancouver-based Pacific Salmon Foundation and Seattle-based Long Live the Kings. Larry Pynn reports

Coal opponents more focused on climate at Tacoma hearing
Hundreds of coal opponents demanded that regulators consider the harmful environmental effects of increased worldwide coal burning before granting building permits for a proposed coal export dock west of Longview... Supporters of Millennium Bulk Terminals wore blue shirts at a rally on the sidewalk outside before the hearing and waved clocks, signaling “It’s time for more jobs.” They’re calling for regulators to speed up the permit process.... Only about 885 people showed up, according to regulators, and the crowd dwindled to a few hundred by the end of the three-hour hearing. Last month, a crowd three times larger crammed into the Cowlitz Expo Center for the first meeting in Longview... Once again, opponents outnumbered Millennium supporters by at least 2-to-1, similar to the ratio at previous hearings in Longview, Vancouver, Pasco and Spokane. They wore red and waved signs that said, “Red Herring designed to distract from the real issue.” They said the potential for job growth at the terminal is not worth the potential environmental damage. Eric Olsen reports.

How the big money ended up opposing coal ports
They worried from the start about big money from deep corporate pockets, the four progressives running to tip the balance on the Whatcom County Council on Nov. 5. It was all about the coal-export terminal proposed at Cherry Point north of Bellingham, a contentious issue in Washington’s far northwest corner. Rumors of large checks from deep corporate pockets permeated the mist from Bellingham Bay. “It was the big gorilla in the room, and it caused us to raise more money,” says two-term Council member Carl Weimer, one of a slate of four progressives. “We raised lots of money and the other side never showed up.” With ballots in the mail Friday and limitations on last-minute cash drops in place, the early rumors about corporate money pouring into an election that could determine the fate of the coal port have been proved groundless thus far. Floyd McKay reports.

Navy extends easement plans to Kitsap County
The Navy is continuing its efforts to control commercial over-water structures in Hood Canal. The idea is to buy subtidal conservation easements from the Washington Department of Natural Resources, which owns these deep-water areas. The first easement was proposed for the Jefferson County side of Hood Canal. The easement application is now working its way through a formal review process.... After that initial announcement, I was surprised that the Navy and DNR seemed reluctant to talk about the next phase, which turned out to be a second easement along the Kitsap County shoreline from the Hood Canal bridge to the county line near Holly. Christopher Dunagan blogs.

Port of Vancouver to reopen oil lease for new discussion and vote
The Port of Vancouver said Thursday it will reopen its lease for a controversial oil terminal to a new discussion and vote next week in light of concerns that it violated the state’s open public meetings law when it originally approved the $45 million deal in July. The port’s commissioners will meet Oct. 22 to review the lease they unanimously approved on July 23 — despite public testimony overwhelmingly against it — with Tesoro Corp. and Savage Companies. The companies want to build an oil-by-rail terminal handling as much as 380,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Aaron Corvin reports.

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 839 AM PDT FRI OCT 18 2013
TODAY
E WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 2 FT AT 10 SECONDS. AREAS OF DENSE FOG IN THE MORNING.
TONIGHT
LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. W SWELL 2 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
SAT
LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. W SWELL 2 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
VARIABLE WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
SUN
E WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
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