1/18 Enviro agenda, TM pipe schedule, Navy water, Skagit steelhead, bird kill, Storming the Sound, Trump Tower

Elwha nearshore, 1/16/18 (Tom Roorda)

Elwha nearshore 16 January 2018
Anne Shaffer at Coastal Watershed Institute writes: "And so the wait for spring begins. We're going on eight years since dam removals started-and five years since dam removals ended. The planning process estimated that the majority of sediment delivery to the nearshore would occur within five years of dam removals. The salmon that use these shorelines have two-three year life history cycles. Putting all this together? We should begin to see a transition from the vigorous 'restoration phase' of the nearshore to a more 'stable' ecosystem cycling   this year. The nearshore is still responding, but physically the changes should be more subtle.  We should also begin observing young from  the fifth generation of post dam removal salmon recruiting to the nearshore. The decade spanning CWI led and collaborated nearshore beach (and bluff) mapping and fish surveys will give us a glimpse of what the beginning of this new phase of a world scale nearshore ecosystem restoration looks like. Stay tuned."

Water, climate, oil spills and more on Legislature’s environmental to-do list
Even with Democrats in charge of both houses of the Washington Legislature and the governor's mansion, the 2018 legislative session is far from a sure-fire win for environmentalists. Climate, water use, oil spill prevention and more are being discussed. Can anything significant pass? Sally Deneen reports. (Investigate West)

Kinder Morgan says Trans Mountain project could be a year behind schedule
Kinder Morgan Canada is projecting that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project could be a year behind schedule as it continues to encounter permitting delays. The estimate is three months further behind from the company's last estimate in December, and now potentially puts the $7.4-billion project in service by December 2020, depending on regulatory, permit and legal approvals. Kinder Morgan Canada says it has scaled back spending in 2018 to focus on securing needed final approvals for the project, which faces significant opposition from numerous Indigenous groups, environmentalists and municipalities in British Columbia. (Canadian Press)

Navy to pay for water-filter system after chemicals found in Whidbey Island wells 
The Navy will foot the bill for a filter system to protect the Coupeville water supply from chemicals found in firefighting foam used at an airstrip near the Whidbey Island town. The action announced Tuesday is part of a broader Defense Department effort — in Washington and elsewhere — to track pollution plumes from firefighting foam used at military installations and offer assistance when the chemicals have been detected in drinking-water supplies. On Whidbey Island, the Navy will pay to design, install and operate a filter system to treat perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — or PFAS. One of these chemicals was found in a Coupeville drinking-water well at just below the 70 parts per trillion lifetime exposure guideline set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

Steelhead plan draws mixed reactions
Fishermen have mixed reactions to proposed steelhead trout fisheries for the Skagit River watershed. About 150 anglers attended a meeting Tuesday night at the Sedro-Woolley Community Center to hear from the state Department of Fish & Wildlife about the proposal and to provide input. Tensions ran high, with some anglers shouting across the room at Fish & Wildlife staff and others pacing while they listened to the department's 20-minute presentation. Some said they don't want a fishery opened until wild Skagit River steelhead have more time to recover. Some criticized the state agency's lack of biologists and enforcement officers who would be required to staff the fisheries that haven't been open since 2009. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Trump Eases Rules For Bird-Killing Wind Turbines, Power Lines; Trump Administration Boosts Energy Industry At Expense Of Birds
…. Electrocution is often less traumatic than getting struck by a wind turbine blade. When that happens, birds are usually dead before they hit the ground….. Those consequences for birds had been the subject of scrutiny under a 100-year-old law called the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. But not anymore. In late December, the Department of Interior announced a major change to how the law is enforced. It leaves hundreds of bird species vulnerable at a time when their numbers are already declining across the country. Jes Burns and Courtney Flatt report. (OPB/EarthFix)

Environmental lecture series set to begin
An annual environmental lecture series hosted by the nonprofit Friends of Skagit Beaches is set to begin Friday. This will be the 13th year the organization has hosted the free lecture series, which focuses on area environmental research and topics of interest. Lectures will focus on invasive and migratory species, the Salish Sea ecosystem and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The four lectures will be held at 7 p.m. on the third Friday of each month, January through April, in Anacortes at the Northwest Educational Services District Building, 1601 R. Ave. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

19th Annual “Storming the Sound” Workshop
Ginny Broadhurst, Salish Sea Institute director, is the keynote speaker featured at the one-day conference designed for teachers seeking environmental resources for their classroom, environmental education resource providers, and students interested in environmentalism. Storming the Sound will be taking place on Thursday, January 25th from 9AM-4:30PM at Maple Hall in La Conner, Washington.  Registration is $10 for the day and includes a mostly local and organic lunch. Register now.
 
Motion-sensing cameras capture candid wildlife shots
As motion-detecting wildlife cameras get ever smaller, cheaper and more reliable, scientists across the U.S. are using them to document elusive creatures like never before. Mean Gruver reports. (Associated Press)

Vancouver’s Trump Tower a ‘shithole’, say Yelp reviewers
According to a recent surge in Yelp reviews for the Trump Champagne Lounge at Vancouver’s Trump Tower, the place is a “total shithole.”…. On Tuesday, CNN reported that the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., had seen its average Yelp ratings drop from four out of five stars to two stars thanks to almost 800 one-star reviews describing the hotel as a "shithole." Mar-A-Lago's Yelp page was besieged with similar comments, as were Trump hotels in other states, and even other countries. Harrison Mooney reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  252 AM PST Thu Jan 18 2018  
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT  
TODAY  S wind 20 to 30 kt becoming SW in the afternoon.  Wind waves 3 to 5 feet. SW swell 25 to 27 ft with a dominant  period of 19 seconds. Showers. A slight chance of morning tstms.
TONIGHT  S wind 20 to 30 kt. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. SW swell  26 ft at 17 seconds subsiding to 22 ft at 16 seconds after  midnight. Showers.

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"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.

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