8/25 Barred owls, Skagit fire, Vic sewer, Nautilus, Tesoro xylene

Barred owl (Paul Bannick/BirdNote)

If you like to listen: The Barred Owl Calls
Barred Owls are very territorial, and they don't migrate. Solitary calls from a male in early spring probably mean that he has not attracted a mate. In May and June, he continues to hoot, though less frequently. By summer, breeding season has passed. Maybe this solitary Barred Owl is what some scientists call a "non-breeding floater". Perhaps his patch of woods is just too small to host a pair of owls year round. (BirdNote)

Wildfire Shuts Down Hydropower On The Skagit River. What You Need To Know
Eight fires are burning more than 4,000 acres in Washington’s North Cascades. The largest of the fires has damaged transmission lines, leading Seattle City LIght to shut down power generation at three dams on the Skagit River. The utility is losing $100,000 in revenue each day that the lines are down. Conditions have remained unsafe for repair crews to work on the power lines. Ashley Ahearn reports. (EarthFix)

Victoria mayor promises sewage solution coming, tourism boycott unnecessary  
Victoria's mayor says the city needs to do a better job of letting its Washington neighbours know it has a handle on the Capital Regional District's sewage situation.  Last week, the Seattle Times published an editorial on Victoria's constipated political process, suggesting it's time for a tourism boycott unless the district makes progress getting a treatment system up and running…. Mayor Lisa Helps says the editorial's timing is ironic, coming days after the district announced what she calls a big step forward — hiring consultants to cost out potential new sites and appointing an independent oversight panel. (CBC)

Robotics-equipped Nautilus to help maintain UVic's undersea labs
The man credited with finding the wreck of the Titanic in 1985 is providing his research vessel for an expedition to benefit the renowned underwater laboratory systems run by University of Victoria -based Ocean Networks Canada. Robert Ballard knows ONC president Kate Moran from their days together at the University of Rhode Island, so he was happy to have the ship Nautilus, with all of its specialized equipment, put to good use by his friend. He said he will keep a close eye on the trip from his computers at home in Connecticut. Jeff Bell reports. (Times Colonist)

How Tesoro’s Petrochem Plans May Threaten Anacortes & the Salish Sea
In July 2014, Tesoro Corporation announced plans to build a xylene extraction facility at the site of its existing oil refinery in Anacortes, Washington. The $400 million facility would be capable of producing 15,000 barrels per day for export to Asia in oceangoing vessels. Yet xylene is a little-known chemical, and it’s worth asking: what is the risk of xylene to Northwest communities? Eric de Place reports. (Sightline)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-900 AM PDT TUE AUG 25 2015
TODAY
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING W TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
 TONIGHT
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 16 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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