Thursday, November 9, 2017

11/9 Surge Narrows, 2020 goal, SRKW & Chinook recovery, Tuesday orcas, sea rise, B'ham waterfront, BC pipe lawsuit, Pt Roberts

Surge Narrows Provincial Park
Surge Narrows Provincial Park is located on the south end of Maurelle Island, east of Quadra Island off central Vancouver Island. With its high tidal changes and many reefs, this park has ideal conditions for marine life. Sea urchins, sea cucumbers, sea stars and anemones flourish in these prime conditions. These tidal currents are also notorious for their strength, particularly at Surge Narrows on the east and Seymour Narrows on the west. (BC Parks)

Guest Blog-- Kathy Fletcher: Throwing In the Towel on Puget Sound’s 2020 Goal
The Puget Sound Partnership has now officially thrown in the towel on the goal of restoring Puget Sound to health by the year 2020. From press accounts of this latest report, one might have concluded that the 2020 goal was set only 10 years ago, when the current version of the Partnership was established. Actually, the goal was set more than 30 years ago by Washington State, in 1985 legislation that created the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority…. (read more)

Officials: Salmon, orca recovery important as ever 
As the number of endangered southern resident orca whales continues to decline and threatened Puget Sound chinook salmon remain imperiled, officials say the need to save the two species is becoming more dire. The leadership council for the state’s Puget Sound Partnership passed a resolution last week recognizing the connection between the fish and whales, and committed to accelerating the recovery of both iconic species.... While Skagit River chinook populations appear to be increasing or at least holding steady, the overall salmon population throughout Puget Sound is about one-third what it was 100 years ago, according to the Puget Sound Partnership…. Puget Sound Partnership Leadership Council Chair Jay Manning told the Skagit Valley Herald he believes the expertise of local organizations, including the Skagit Watershed Council, will be key in moving salmon and orca recovery forward…. Skagit Watershed Council Executive Director Richard Brocksmith said several habitat restoration projects benefiting chinook salmon have been done in the Skagit River estuaries, floodplains and stream-side forests. By some estimates, the work has achieved 25 percent of the goal set in the Skagit Chinook Recovery Plan, which is to restore enough habitat to support 1.35 million more young chinook salmon throughout the watershed. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

If you like to watch: Live your best life and watch these orcas in Puget Sound
Ben Maud on Tuesday captured on video from West Seattle some orcas passing near Vashon Island. Josie Hollingsworth and Dahlia Bazzaz report. (Seattle Times)

Sea level maps show coastal communities like Vancouver in race against time 
Metro Vancouver’s urban waterfronts are a beacon for condo developers, tourists and everyone in between. But even in best-case scenarios for global warming, a new series of interactive maps that illustrate the impact of rising sea levels suggest Metro, an indeed much of coastal Canada, is facing a mind-boggling challenge to keep such popular and often historic neighbourhoods from becoming lost at sea. John Clague, an earth sciences professor at Simon Fraser University, says thanks to global warming, our oceans are getting an average of 3.3 millimetres higher every year, up from 2 mm a year in the latter half of the 20th century. (Canadian Press)

Sparks fly at Port meeting over plans for the Waterfront District
A discussion about the latest waterfront design got a bit heated at Tuesday night’s Port Commission meeting. Port of Bellingham Commissioner Mike McAuley used the last few minutes of the meeting to strongly criticize the latest plans for the Waterfront District, which includes the former Georgia-Pacific property on Bellingham’s waterfront. He made it clear he was not voting for the latest design, saying “this is not close to what the public asked us to provide.” Dave Gallagher reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Democracy Watch drops B.C. pipeline lawsuit over bankruptcy worries
A non-profit group has abandoned a legal challenge of the Trans Mountain pipeline project in British Columbia, saying losing the case could bankrupt the organization. Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch says the advocacy group decided to withdraw its legal action after the B.C. Supreme Court judge assigned to the case suggested from the bench the premier was not responsible for the decision to grant environmental approval to Kinder Morgan’s pipeline expansion. The original court action alleges that the decision to sanction the $6.8-billion project was “tainted” by political donations made by its proponents to former premier Christy Clark and the B.C. Liberal party. (Canadian Press)

New book explores Point Roberts
The more local history buff Mark Swenson learned about Point Robert’s unique place in the history of the Salish Sea, the more he thought, “There’s a book here.” “Point Roberts Backstory: Tales, Trails and Trivia of an American Exclave” is a whopping 593 pages long, with 100 images, 900 footnotes and 10 maps. The two-pound book includes a 16-page historical timeline to accompany eight chapters that take readers on a tour of different sections of the Point, telling their stories. Meg Olsen repairs. (Northern Light)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  300 AM PST Thu Nov 9 2017  
TODAY
 E wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 8 ft  at 10 seconds. Showers likely.
TONIGHT
 SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  7 ft at 10 seconds. A chance of showers.

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