4/26 Skunk cabbage, Audubon, salmon fishing, hatchery fish, Kitimat refinery, MPAs, offshore drilling, drinking water standards, Cascades glaciers, retiring coal plants, sea star disease, Skagit farms, plastics

Western skunk cabbage

Western skunk cabbage Lysichiton americanus
Western skunk cabbage (USA), yellow skunk cabbage (UK), American skunk-cabbage (Britain and Ireland) or swamp lantern, is a plant found in swamps and wet woods, along streams and in other wet areas of the Pacific Northwest, where it is one of the few native species in the arum family. (Wikipedia)

Happy Birthday, John James Audubon
John James Audubon (born Jean Rabin; April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his extensive studies documenting all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats. His major work, a color-plate book entitled The Birds of America (1827–1839), is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed. Audubon identified 25 new species.

NW Charter Fishing Fleet Casts Wary Eye Toward Possible Cutbacks To Save Orcas
Pacific Northwesterners are undeniably fond of their endangered resident orcas. Many locals are also fans of salmon fishing, a hobby that sustains charter fishing fleets in coastal harbors from Neah Bay, Washington, to Brookings, Oregon. But now there is a chance that future fishing trips on the ocean could be curtailed to leave more food for the killer whales. Regulators are preparing to reassess the Pacific salmon harvest and an environmental lawsuit seeks more action to save orcas. The cross-currents of this quandary remain beneath the surface for most visitors to the sport fishing haven of Westport, Washington.  Tom Banse reports. (NW News Network)

Hatchery Fish Are Less Successful at Reproducing in the Wild
Every spring, hatcheries in Alaska release more than a billion year-old pink and chum salmon. The fish spend a year out at sea growing up, before they return to be caught by the state’s fishing fleet. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work. Of the roughly 1.8 billion fish released each year in the state, about 100 to 200 million make it back from the ocean. Of those that survive to adulthood, fishers catch almost 99 percent. Inevitably, though, some salmon evade the nets and make their way into local rivers and streams to spawn alongside their wild relatives. There are concerns that these hatchery-raised fish might be negatively affecting wild salmon populations, either by disrupting their spawning, or by breeding with them and weakening the gene pool. “Wild returns in Alaska are stable, but there is evidence from the lower 48 that hatchery fish have reduced spawning success,” says Kyle Shedd, a geneticist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.... New research by Shedd and colleagues adds some discouraging evidence that backs up those fears. Based on research conducted over the past two years, hatchery fish appear to have reduced spawning success compared to wild fish. This means that they could be weakening the whole population when they breed with wild fish. Brian Owens reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Kitimat refinery trial balloon re-floated into shifting political wind
Victoria businessman David Black is pondering whether political winds might be blowing back in favour of his independent proposal to build an oil refinery near Kitimat, as opposed to the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion to Burnaby. Federally, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has been cold to the idea, Black said, and Premier John Horgan hasn’t been able to extend support. However, with Alberta premier-elect Jason Kenney preparing to take office and odds wavering over the possibility of a turnover in government at Ottawa after October’s election, Black is reflecting on the supportive comments he has heard from conservative camps. “There’s no question they’ll be supportive,” Black said Thursday. Black, whose regular job is owner of Black Press, first proposed his plan in 2012. Derrick Penner reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Canada to ban industrial activities inside marine-protected areas
Canada is banning industrial activities inside marine-protected areas (MPAs), including offshore oil and gas development and bottom-trawl fishing, but the prohibition won't automatically apply to activities in fisheries conservation areas designated as marine refuges. The decision, effective Thursday, also bans ocean mining and ocean dumping in MPAs, which are being created to help meet an international commitment to protect 10 per cent of Canada's ocean and coastal areas by 2020. Canada has reached 8.2 per cent of the conservation target. Paul Withers reports. (CBC)

Trump Administration Puts Offshore Drilling Plan On Hold After Setback In Court
The Trump administration is postponing controversial plans to greatly expand oil and gas drilling off of the nation’s coasts, following a recent setback in court and months of pushback from coastal communities. Last month, a federal judge in Alaska ruled that President Trump exceeded his authority when he signed an executive order to lift an Obama-era ban on oil and gas drilling in parts of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. The decision immediately reinstated those protections, and was a major blow to the administration’s efforts to boost oil and gas development across the country. Nathan Rott reports. (NPR)

E.P.A. Proposes Weaker Standards on Chemicals Contaminating Drinking Water
After pressure from the Defense Department, the Environmental Protection Agency significantly weakened a proposed standard for cleaning up groundwater pollution caused by toxic chemicals that contaminate drinking water consumed by millions of Americans and that have been commonly used at military bases. Standards released by the agency on Thursday eliminated entirely a section that would have addressed how it would respond to what it has described as “immediate threats posed by hazardous waste sites.” Those short-term responses, known as removal actions, can include excavating contaminated soil or building a security fence around a toxic area. Eric Lipton and Julie Turkewitz report. (NY Times)

Glaciers ‘deflating’ with Cascades snowpack 28% below normal
Glaciers in the North Cascades could shrink for the seventh year in a row. That’s because snowpack, which acts as a shield against hot summer days, has been lower than normal this winter, according to recent measurements taken at six sites in the region. The pattern continued despite an extra-chilly February that brought historic amounts of snow to the lowlands. Snowpack is currently 28 percent below normal, the fifth-lowest measurement since record keeping began in 1984 and the lowest since 2015. And there’s little time left for more snow to make up the deficit.continue to recede. Zachariah Bryan reports. (Everett Herald)

NW Utility PacifiCorp Considers Early Retirement For Some Wyoming Coal Operations
An energy company with hundreds of thousands of Oregon and Washington customers is considering the early retirement of some of its coal-burning operations. PacifiCorp released a new economic analysis Thursday that says its customers could save about $248 million over 20 years if the company decides to retire four of its Wyoming coal units by 2022. That would mean closing one coal-fired plant and reducing another plant’s capacity by half. PacifiCorp spokesman Bob Gravely said any electricity production lost from the retirement of coal operations would be made up in other ways, possibly with energy from wind, solar and natural gas. David Steves reports. (OPB)

The Unexpected Winners from Sea Star Wasting Disease
Since the darkness of sea star wasting disease fell upon the Pacific coast of North America in 2013, scientists have been working overtime to shed light on the consequences to the area’s complex marine ecosystem. At least 20 species of sea stars from Mexico to Alaska were affected by the disease, but the sunflower star, an aggressive predator with 24 arms, was hit the hardest. Sea star wasting disease rendered it into a pile of goo and spines. A new, decade-long study, which began six years before the outbreak and concentrated on two species at five intertidal sites in Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet, adds depth to the data. The study confirms that sea star species suffered unequally during the outbreak, and reveals that at least one species benefitted from diminished competition. The study tracked the changing abundances of the purple, or ocher, sea star, and the mottled sea star. Larry Pynn reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Agriculture census shows how farms changing in Skagit
Skagit County is losing farms, especially medium-sized ones, but is seeing new small farms sprout up. That’s according to 2017 data released this month from the Census of Agriculture, a U.S. Department of Agriculture survey conducted every five years. As of 2017, there were 1,041 farms in Skagit County, 33 fewer since the last survey in 2012, according to the results. The smallest operations, those with 1 to 10 acres, grew by 59, while the number of farms ranging from 10 to 500 acres decreased. Jacqueline Allison reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Reducing plastic's carbon footprint
From campaigns against microplastics to news of the great Pacific garbage patch, public awareness is growing about the outsized effect plastic has on the world’s oceans. However, its effect on the air is far less obvious. Plastic production, use, and disposal all emit prodigious amounts of greenhouse gasses, but scientists haven’t had a firm grasp on the scope.Now researchers at UC Santa Barbara have determined the extent to which plastic contributes to climate change, and what it would take to curb these emissions. The results appear in the journal Nature Climate Change. (UC Santa Barbara)

Heading out on B.C. waters? Keep your distance from marine mammals 
Planning to head out on the water this season? Remember to be mindful of your aquatic neighbours. Close encounters between British Columbians and whales, sea lions and other marine animals are well documented in viral videos and photos but it’s important to remember the mammals are protected by law, no matter how cute or amazing your photo op might be. Here are a few reminders on how to safely observe marine mammals. Stephanie Ip reports. (Vancouver Sun)



Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  253 AM PDT Fri Apr 26 2019   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM PDT EARLY THIS  MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING   
TODAY  W wind 15 to 25 kt becoming 20 to 25 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 7 ft at 9 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 8 ft  at 7 seconds. A slight chance of showers. 
SAT  W wind 20 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 7 ft at  7 seconds. A slight chance of showers in the morning then a  chance of showers in the afternoon. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind 20 to 25 kt becoming NW to 10 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 1 ft after midnight.  W swell 8 ft at 9 seconds. 
SUN  SE wind to 10 kt becoming E 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 9 seconds.

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