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| Brightly emerging [Laurie MacBride] |
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes:"Spring has been slow to arrive this year, but I think it’s finally here. Which means it’s time for me, like the crocuses, to emerge from my lengthy slumber. There’s much that needs to be done in our garden, a fact which seems daunting right now considering how sedentary I was over the fall and winter. I’ll pay for that indulgence in aches and pains galore, I know – but the aesthetic and edible rewards that lie ahead should make it all worthwhile."
Happy Birthday, San Juan Islands National Monument
On March 25, 2013 President Obama signed a proclamation creating the San Juan Islands National Monument to permanently protect the BLM Lands in the islands. National monument status permanently protects precious lands in the San Juan Islands. These sites, already managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), include recreational areas beloved by locals and visitors, cultural sites used by local tribes for thousands of years, historic lighthouses, disappearing habitat and much more. Islanders for the San Juan Island National Monument
Spending bill rejects Trump effort to gut water cleanups
President Donald Trump has gotten nowhere in his push to kill federal support for cleaning up some of the nation’s most prized waterways, as Congress voted to keep funding at current levels — and in some cases, boost it. A $1.3 trillion spending package approved Thursday by the House and early Friday by the Senate includes nearly $448 million for Environmental Protection Agency programs benefiting regional waters degraded by pollution, overdevelopment and exotic species invasions. That’s an increase from $436 million in the previous budget. John Flesher reports. (Associated Press)
Zinke gives support to grizzly bear restoration plan
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced Friday his support for restoring grizzly bears in the North Cascades. “I’m in support of the great bear. I’m also in support of doing it right,” he said. “When done right by professional management, the grizzly can return harmony to the ecosystem.” Zinke visited Sedro-Woolley to announce his position on restoration and to provide an update on the status of the environmental impact statement, or EIS, for the restoration. He said he has directed the Interior to expedite the review process when the EIS is complete and issue a decision by the end of the year. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald) See also: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke throws support behind grizzly bear recovery in North Cascades Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)
Avoid eating herring eggs on Vancouver Island — or risk getting cholera, health officials warn
Island Health and the First Nations Health Authority are warning people not to eat herring eggs after linking them to confirmed cases of cholera on Vancouver Island. The intestinal illness — which can cause nausea, vomiting and severe watery diarrhea — is most commonly found in travellers returning from endemic regions…. The advisory applies to herring eggs found on kelp, seaweed and other surfaces and harvested in the area from French Creek to Qualicum Bay. (CBC)
Remembering the Exxon Valdez Spill
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, March 24, 1989, when Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker owned by Exxon Shipping Company, bound for Long Beach, California, struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef at 12:04 am local time and spilled 10.8 million US gallons (260,000 bbl; 41,000 m3) of crude oil over the next few days. It is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused environmental disasters. The Valdez spill is the second largest in US waters, after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in terms of volume released. (Wikipedia)
Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May arrested at anti-pipeline protest
Two federal politicians, including Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, have been arrested at a protest against Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in Burnaby, B.C. May and NDP MP Kennedy Stewart joined demonstrations on Friday, opposing construction of the federally approved Trans Mountain expansion. (CBC) See also: Anti-pipeline protesters continue demonstrations at Burnaby terminal (CBC) And also: Alberta premier calls B.C. complaints about high gas prices environmental hypocrisy Bill Graveland reports. (CBC)
B.C. says federal court rejects appeal application for NEB ruling on Trans Mountain bylaw
The provincial government says the Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed its application to appeal a National Energy Board ruling that allows Kinder Morgan to bypass City of Burnaby bylaws during construction on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The NEB ruled in December that the company is not required to comply with two sections of the City of Burnaby's bylaws on land and tree clearances. (CBC)
Tsilhqot'in First Nation closes fishery, forgoes Aboriginal right to steelhead
The Tsilhqot'in National Government has closed its steelhead fishery and relinquished its Aboriginal right to fish local steelhead due to a low return in the Chilcotin River last fall. The Chilcotin River steelhead population has declined by 80 per cent over the past three generations — only 58 steelhead returned to the river last year…. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, B.C's fish and game branch, the Kamloops Fly Fishing Association and even actor and fishing enthusiast William Shatner have all spoken out about the dire situation for steelhead in the Thompson and Chilcotin rivers. Courtney Dickson reports. (CBC)
Tim Eyman withdraws referendums seeking vote on Atlantic salmon net-pen ban
Tim Eyman, the anti-tax crusader and longtime initiative sponsor, has withdrawn his proposed referendums on the Atlantic salmon net-pen ban enacted by the Legislature. The law, signed by Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday, phases out open-water Atlantic salmon net pens in Washington by 2025. More than 12,000 people asked the Legislature and Inslee to support the ban, and the bill passed the Legislature by wide margins. Eyman on March 15 filed two referendum petitions that would have put all or part of HB 2957 to a public vote. He wrote the Secretary of State’s office Friday withdrawing both referendums, stopping what surely would have been an acrimonious campaign before it even started. Lynda Mapes reports.
City of Bainbridge Island sued over updates to environmental codes
The Kitsap County Association of Realtors is suing the city of Bainbridge Island, claiming updates to the city’s critical areas ordinances are onerous, infringe on property owners’ rights and conflict with state laws on growth. After months of hashing through complex updates to its critical areas ordinances – codes that regulate sensitive environmental areas – a divided Bainbridge Island City Council approved the regulations late last month. The contentious new codes limit development at sites on most of Bainbridge with the goal of protecting the island's aquifer recharge, according to the city. Nathan Pilling reports. (Kitsap Sun)
Dispersants can turn oil spills into toxic mist, research shows
The dispersant chemicals used to clean up oil spills have the unintended effect of transforming crude oil into a toxic mist able to travel for miles and penetrate deep into human lungs, new research has found. A study by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore indicates that the dispersants used during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and other large spills breaks down oil into particles so small that they can easily take to the air. Just agitate the oil-dispersant mixture with a bit of wind, some waves – even raindrops – and the ultrafine particles go airborne, researchers said. (Times Picayune)
March For Our Lives
The kids are SHOUTING: 'This is just the start' (KUOW) Bellingham takes part in the March for Our Lives (Bellingham Herald) Skagit County students march to end gun violence (Skagit Valley Herald) Thousands in Marysville and Everett protest gun violence (Everett Herald) Protesting gun violence, 'March for Our Lives' fills Tacoma streets (Tacoma News Tribune) March for Our Lives rallies conducted on Peninsula (Peninsula Daily News) Hundreds in Kitsap join national march against gun violence (Kitsap Sun) At March For Our Lives Olympia, students call for action to stop school shootings (Olympian) Several hundred at Vancouver March for Our Lives rally against gun violence (Vancouver Sun) March For Our Lives: Six key takeaways from the US gun control rallies (BBC)
Vancouver Aquarium gave their new octopus a GoPro – because why not?
Giant Pacific octopus have a lifespan of three to five years. So seeing that the young cephalopod at the Vancouver Aquarium is part of the ‘selfie generation,’ then why not hand her a GoPro? Heck, give her eight. Aquarium staff recently let their octopus experiment with cinematography in the Treasures of the B.C. Coast gallery. Give an infinite number of octopuses an infinite number of GoPros and they will produce Gone With the Wind — or at least Waterworld. Scott Brown reports. (Vancouver Sun)
Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- 244 AM PDT Mon Mar 26 2018 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING
TODAY SW wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 5 ft at 7 seconds. Rain.
TONIGHT SW wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 10 to 20 kt after midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 5 ft at 7 seconds building to 7 ft at 9 seconds after midnight. Rain.
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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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