6/28 Bull trout, crude transport, fish farm suit, pigeon guillemots, talkin' climate

Bull trout

Bull trout Salvelinus confluentus
The bull trout is a char of the family Salmonidae native to northwestern North America. Historically, S. confluentus has been known as the "Dolly Varden" (S. malma), but was reclassified as a separate species in 1980. Bull trout are listed as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (1998) and as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.(Wikipedia)

West Coast Crude Transport Tracking Project
The Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force has recently updated a map of crude movement across the West Coast. This map was initiated in 2014 and has been updated annually to reflect current routes of crude transport by rail, pipeline, barge and tanker. Check out the map and report. (Oil Spill Task Force)

Salmon Farm Suit Survives Due to Risk of Future Escapes
The Washington State salmon farm that accidentally released 200,000 non-native fish into the Puget Sound couldn’t convince a federal judge to throw out claims that it is continuing to pollute the water. Strong tidal currents in 2017 caused one of Cooke Aquaculture Pacific LLC’s salmon pens to collapse, releasing more than 200,000 farm-raised Atlantic Salmon and other debris into the Puget Sound. (Bloomberg Environment)

Unsung seabirds could help track Puget Sound health
Pigeon guillemots have attracted relatively little scientific attention compared to other seabirds in Puget Sound. That may be because their population is generally stable, but a group of citizen scientists is helping to put guillemots on the conservation radar. They hope the birds can be used as an indicator of Puget Sound health. Eric Wagner reports. (Salish Sea Currents)

Conversations That Matter: Digging into the science of climate
You would think with all the talk going on about climate that we’d all have a good understanding on the elements of our atmosphere, the role of carbon and other greenhouse gases and the correlation between human activity and climate change. But most people know little about the range of greenhouse gases and their interplay at different levels of the atmosphere. The Canadian government is now declaring a climate emergency. We sat down with a climate professor, Simon Donner, for a Conversation That Matters about the science of climate, how it works, what we can do and the reality of our climate and the future. Stu McNish writes. (Vancouver Sun)


Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  255 AM PDT Fri Jun 28 2019   
TODAY  E wind to 10 kt becoming NW in the afternoon. Wind waves  1 ft or less. W swell 2 ft at 10 seconds. A chance of showers. 
TONIGHT  NW wind to 10 kt in the evening becoming light. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 2 ft at 13 seconds. A chance of  showers. 
SAT  SE wind to 10 kt becoming W 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 2 ft at 9 seconds. A slight  chance of showers. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind to 10 kt in the evening becoming light. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. SW swell 1 ft at 11 seconds. 
SUN  Light wind becoming NW to 10 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. SW swell 1 ft at 12 seconds.



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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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6/27 Thistle, no fossil fuel, transient orcas, trash barge, sewage, lowest tides, oyster acid, Bill Wehrum

Bull thistle [Sheldon Navie]

Bull thistle Cirsium vulgare
Bull thistle, spear thistle or common thistle is a widespread biennial thistle originally from Europe and Asia, but now introduced throughout North America. Although it is intimidating in appearance and can sometimes form large infestations, this thistle is not as challenging to control as many others and is mainly a problem in hay fields and pastures. Bull thistle is also commonly found along trails, roads and vacant fields. (King County)

Washington's Port Of Vancouver Says No To New Fossil Fuel Projects
Port of Vancouver commissioners passed a significant energy policy shift that shuts the door on any future bulk fossil fuel terminals. By a vote of 2 to 1, commissioners laid out a new statement: “the port chooses not to pursue new bulk fossil fuel terminals on port-owned industrial property.” For the past several weeks, dozens of environmental activists have crowded board meetings, urging commissioners to pass a new policy taking a stance against future fossil fuel projects. Molly Solomon reports. (OPB)

Transient orcas visit Dyes Inlet, thrilling many shoreside observers
A group of about eight transient killer whales came to visit the Bremerton-Silverdale area today (Wednesday), exciting lots of people who watched from shore. Mark Sears and his grown daughter Maya, both federally permitted orca researchers, caught up with the whales in Sinclair Inlet and began taking photos to identify the individual animals. Chris Dunagan writes. (Watching Our Water Ways)

Trash barge from Philippines to arrive in Vancouver on Saturday
Containers of Canadian trash that have festered in the Philippines for years are set to be returned to Canada by ship on the long weekend the country marks its 152nd birthday. The Anna Maersk is scheduled to dock at the Port of Vancouver with the containers of rot on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT. It's the next step in a garbage saga that has led to a diplomatic dispute with the Philippines and drawn attention to the growing global problem of plastic waste... The trash will be burned in Metro Vancouver's waste-to-energy incinerator in Burnaby, said to be the most environmentally sustainable way to get rid of the garbage. (CBC)

Golden Gardens Park closed to swimming, fishing after sewer overflow
Seattle officials are advising beachgoers to stay out of the water at Golden Gardens Park after a sewer overflow in the area. The city has stopped the overflow, which occurred just north of the beach. But water samples show elevated levels of bacteria, according to a statement from Seattle Public Utilities and Public Health — Seattle & King County. Water activities are banned until samples show the water is safe to contact. Asia Fields reports. (Seattle Times) See also: Bay View beach reopens for recreation  The beach at Bay View State Park has reopened for recreation following a six-day closure due to bacterial contamination. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Lowest tides of the year coming to Seattle beaches next week
Puget Sound is expected to experience extremely low tides throughout next week, including the lowest tide of the year. Seattle tides will reach -3.4 feet next Wednesday at 11:58 a.m. and Thursday at 12:44 p.m., which is the lowest this year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There will also be -3-foot tides on Tuesday at 11:14 a.m. and Friday at 1:31 p.m. Allison Sundell reports. (KING)

As the oceans acidify, these oyster farmers are fighting back
When visitors to Hog Island Oyster Co. shuck Pacific oysters at picnic tables overlooking Tomales Bay, it’s the final stage in a story that founding partner Terry Sawyer likes to tell about the shellfish, the bay, and all the steps that went into bringing the briny delicacies to the plate just a few hundred meters from where they were harvested. It’s a story that now also touches on the carbon cycle, climate change, and the ways in which the very chemistry of the ocean is shifting and how small businesses like Hog Island – along with the entire ocean ecosystem – are struggling to adapt. Amanda Paulson reports. (Christian Science Monitor)

Top Clean-Air Official Plans To Step Down From EPA Post Amid Ethics Probe 
Bill Wehrum is stepping down as the Environmental Protection Agency’s chief air quality official at the end of the month, amid mounting scrutiny over possible ethics violations.... Wehrum was confirmed to the EPA post in November of 2017. Since then, he has been regarded as the architect of some of the Trump administration’s most controversial climate policies, overseeing efforts to roll back regulations that limit air pollution. One casualty was the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which just last week was replaced by the Affordable Clean Energy regulation — new rules that allow more greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Vanessa Romo reports. (NPR)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  251 AM PDT Thu Jun 27 2019   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt becoming NW in the afternoon. Wind waves  1 ft or less. W swell 2 ft at 12 seconds. A chance of showers. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming S after midnight. Wind  waves 2 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 11 seconds. A chance of  showers.



--
"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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6/26 Octopus, octo arms, VanAqua cetacean ban, PS funding, Fraser rockslide, Skagit water, oil pipe consensus

Giant Pacific octopus [Monterey Bay Aquarium]

Giant Pacific octopus
The giant Pacific octopus, also known as the North Pacific giant octopus, is a large marine cephalopod belonging to the genus Enteroctopus. Its spatial distribution includes the coastal North Pacific, along California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alaska, Russia, Japan, and Korean Peninsula. (Wikipedia) See also: Giant Octopus Revealed  According to local legend, the largest octopus in the world lives below the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Dive deep into one of Puget Sound’s most beloved mysteries... Some say it’s a 600-pound creature, once coined King Octopus by the The News Tribune, that tackles divers in the murky waters beneath the bridge. Others know it to be a scientific phenomenon, seeking nothing more than solitude on its ocean throne. Lauren Foster writes. (South Sound Magazine/Sept2015)

Researchers model how octopus arms make decisions
Researchers studying the behavior and neuroscience of octopuses have long suspected that the animals' arms may have minds of their own. A new model being presented here is the first attempt at a comprehensive representation of information flow between the octopus's suckers, arms and brain, based on previous research in octopus neuroscience and behavior, and new video observations conducted in the lab. The new research supports previous findings that octopus' suckers can initiate action in response to information they acquire from their environment, coordinating with neighboring suckers along the arm. The arms then process sensory and motor information, and muster collective action in the peripheral nervous system, without waiting on commands from the brain. (American Geophysical Union)

Vancouver Aquarium agrees to cetacean ban in new 35-year lease agreement
The Vancouver Aquarium has agreed to a cetacean ban as part of a new 35-year lease agreement with the Vancouver Park Board. It's also dropping its legal action against the park board over lost revenue because of the ban. In 2017, the Vancouver Park Board voted to ban keeping whales and dolphins in captivity at the aquarium. Ocean Wise followed with a lawsuit against the city, claiming the ban resulted in millions of dollars in lost revenue and constituted a breach of contract. Jodi Muzylowski reports (CBC)

Budget Cuts Will Devastate US Estuaries, Experts Warn
When an endangered orca named Tahlequeah lost her calf last summer, the entire pod swam 1,000 miles with the grieving mother as she carried the young whale’s body for 17 days through the Salish Sea. Laura Blackmore, executive director of the Puget Sound Partnership, told House lawmakers Tuesday that Tahlequah’s story is one of many that speaks to the death knell that has been sounding for the Seattle-area deep fjord estuary.... The House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment invited experts like Blackmore to testify this morning against the Trump administration’s proposed 31% cut to the Environmental Protection Agency budget — a move that would cut nearly $650 million in funding for environmental and restorative efforts. Jack Rodgers reports. (Courthouse News Service)

Rock slide in Fraser River may hinder salmon passage
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says it is aware of a “significant” rock slide that occurred in the Fraser River in British Columbia, which could possibly hinder the passage of returning salmon.Rancher Tom Hancock says the slide happened Tuesday morning north of the Big Bar Ferry, causing a disturbance in the river. In a statement, the fisheries department says it is aware that the slide occurred in a narrow portion of the Fraser River. (Canadian Press)

Residents asked to conserve water
Because of drought conditions and low streamflow in the Skagit River, the city of Anacortes and the Skagit Public Utility District are asking customers to reduce their water consumption, according to a Monday news release from the Anacortes Public Works Department. The state Department of Ecology has established minimum instream flows for the Skagit River. The levels fluctuate during the year mostly to provide adequate streamflow for fish, according to the release. The minimum flow for June is 12,000 cubic feet per second. A U.S. Geologic Survey site in Mount Vernon reported Monday morning a flow of 10,300 cubic feet per second. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Is finding consensus on oil pipelines ever possible?
"... Although both sides of the TMX debate have valid arguments, the government sided with the proponents. This move will result in more delays as the decision is challenged on the grounds that consultation with First Nations was rushed to meet an artificial deadline. This will be accompanied by the inevitable protests to block construction. The government may ultimately conclude that these political risks combined with the economic risks of higher construction costs, more competition from other pipelines and weaker oil markets may make TMX not worth building. It would be imprudent for the government to ignore these risks. Instead of fanning conflict by picking a side, the government could have sought more creative options that come closer to meeting the interests of both sides...." Thomas Gunton, director of the Resource and Environmental Planning Program at Simon Fraser University and a former deputy minister of environment in B.C. writes (Globe and Mail)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  254 AM PDT Wed Jun 26 2019   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt rising to 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft. W swell 3 ft at 11  seconds. A slight chance of showers. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 3  ft at 13 seconds. A chance of showers.



--
"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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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6/25 Jay, BC LNG, orca diet, glitter ban

Steller's jay [Audubon]

What Are Birds Saying with Their Crests?
A bird’s crest is made up of a slender array of feathers on top of its head. These feathers are a bit longer and can be spiked up or slicked back, depending on what the bird is trying to communicate. Even birds without crests, like crows or sparrows, sometimes puff up their short crown feathers. (BirdNote)

Bill Morneau announces $275 million for LNG Canada development
Ottawa is putting up $275 million in federal support for LNG Canada’s $40-billion liquefied natural gas development in Kitimat as an investment in “cleaner technology” to get Canadian resources to new markets. The contribution will include $220 million to help LNG Canada buy more energy-efficient gas turbines to power its natural gas liquefaction plant, and $55 million to replace an aging highway bridge in Kitimat on the road that leads to the town’s industrial area. Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau travelled to Kitimat on Monday for the announcement, where he said the project, the largest private-sector investment in the country’s history, would diversify Canada’s trade, grow the economy and crate middle-class jobs. Derrick Penner reports. (Vancouver Sun)

UBC scientists want to see if orcas' dinner plate is empty or full
UBC researchers will track chinook salmon as they navigate the summer feeding grounds of the southern resident killer whales, to see if the whales’ dinner plate is empty or full. About 100 mature wild chinook are being fitted with high-tech acoustic tags near Port Renfrew on the west coast of Vancouver Island to see how they behave in the presence of the salmon-eating orcas, and hopefully determine why the whales appear malnourished. Is there a shortage of chinook — their preferred food — or is noise from freighters and oil tankers interfering with the whales’ ability to catch enough fish to feed themselves? Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

No more microplastic sparkles: Richmond art centre bans glitter to protect environment
If glitter seems like a nightmare to clean up at home, just imagine what it does to the environment.  That's why a city-run art centre in Richmond is banning the sparkly, microplastic sprinkles. The ban on glitter started Monday. Clare Hennig reports. (CBC)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  250 AM PDT Tue Jun 25 2019   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt becoming NW 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 4 seconds. A slight  chance of showers. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 3  ft at 4 seconds. A slight chance of showers.



--
"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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6/24 Hummer, Otter Is, UBC ammonia, BC pipe, industry oil lobby, Skagit MRC, Padden zebra mussels

Ruby-throated hummingbird [Audubon Field Guide]

Audubon and the Ruby-throated Hummingbird
John James Audubon, the French naturalist who spent his adult life studying and painting portraits of the birds of North America, described a hummingbird as a “glittering fragment of the rainbow.” The only hummingbird species that Audubon ever observed in nature was the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a summer visitor to eastern North America. Hummingbirds have a symbiotic relationship with flowers: The hummingbirds buzz in close to drink the sweet nectar that the flowers make....Birds do it, and bees do it, and Audubon knew it. He noted in his journal that hummingbirds “advance on fairy wings, carefully visiting every opening flower cup.” (Frances Wood/BirdNote)

On I-5’s edge, biologists revive a vanishing world for salmon
This is what nature intended. Lush vegetation to either side of the brackish channel called to mind the Deep South bayou country, if only for lack of comparable landscapes. This certainly wasn’t Louisiana. There were no live oaks with Spanish moss, alligators or copperheads. This was the Snohomish River estuary. On Otter Island, one of the few largely intact pieces of natural tidal marsh between Everett and Marysville, spruce trees grow stunted amongst Oregon grape, salal and sedge. One April morning, clouds filtered the sun, almost hinting at a rainbow. Bald eagles watched stoically from branches high above. Mallard ducks, mergansers and blue herons occasionally flapped by below them. The water, however, held the most significant sight for a group of habitat and floodplain experts poking around the islet on an aluminum-hulled boat. Thousands of juvenile chum salmon parr, no longer than a pinky finger, darted through submerged grass along the near-pristine banks. In the months ahead, their salmonid relatives, the endangered Chinook, would arrive from upriver.... People who have lived much of their life rushing past this landscape on nearby I-5 could be forgiven for being awestruck. It shouldn’t look exotic, but it does. Much of the area once resembled Otter Island, until settlers built dikes to convert the soggy, low-lying earth to farmland. By the early 20th century, that had happened throughout the Snohomish River delta, and the region’s other river systems. Noah Haglund reports. (Everett Herald)

UBC fined $1.2M for releasing ammonia into Fraser River tributary
Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued hefty fines to the University of British Columbia and CIMCO Refrigeration for releasing ammonia-laden water into a tributary of the Fraser River in Vancouver. According to a written statement, UBC was fined $1.2 million and CIMCO $800,000 stemming from a complaint about an ammonia odour at an outfall ditch connected to Booming Ground Creek in Pacific Spirit Regional Park on Sept. 12, 2014. The ministry says UBC and CIMCO were fixing the refrigeration system at Thunderbird Arena at the university's Vancouver campus when they purged residual ammonia vapours from the system into a storm drain that flowed into a ditch and then the creek. (CBC)

TMX approval was already factored in to Paris emissions target, fisheries minister says
The Liberal cabinet's approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will not make it harder for Canada to meet the emission reduction targets it agreed to in Paris, says Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. Adding another line to the existing TMX would triple the line's capacity to 900 barrels a day, significantly adding to Canada's overall emissions. Wilkinson told CBC News' The House that increase of 13 to 15 megatonnes in annual emissions is a big number, but it was already accounted for when Canada agreed in Paris to reduce its emissions 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.... But many environmentalists and climate scientists insist Canada is not on track to meet even the 2030 target, and question the government's commitment to the goal. The Parliamentary Budget Officer reached a similar conclusion this week — that, based on the government's current emissions projections, Canada would still fall well short of its emissions target of 513 megatonnes. (CBC)

Industry responsible for 80 per cent of Senate lobbying linked to Bill C-69
Lobbyists from industry and related groups — primarily from the oil and gas industry — met 224 times with the Senate on new environmental assessment law, while environmental groups had just 36 meetings. (Sharon J. Riley and Sarah Cox report. (The Narwhal)

Marine Resources Committee celebrates 20 years of work
On any given day, volunteers and members of the Skagit Marine Resources Committee might be found on area beaches, playing with their families or doing work such as setting traps for invasive species.... For 20 years, the committee — one of seven formed in the region under the Northwest Straits Initiative — has done that type of work in Skagit County. Congress authorized the initiative in 1998 in an effort to establish community-driven conservation in the area. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald( See also: Area environmental education programs grow  Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

They’re smaller than grains of rice, but these pests could end recreation in Lake Padden
Lake Padden could be closed to recreation if the spread of a dark snail that’s smaller than a grain of rice can’t be contained, the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department warned. The New Zealand mudsnail is an invasive species that’s been found on Lake Padden’s northwest side, which is a popular access point for swimming, casual fishing and boating at the park, the Parks Department said in a news release. Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  241 AM PDT Mon Jun 24 2019   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt rising to 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft in the afternoon. N  swell 5 ft at 9 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. N swell 4 ft at 9 seconds.



--
"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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6/21 Warbonnet, summer solstice, tanker ban, ship traffic, Snohomish R habitat, Pt Wells, new BC park, high tide tax, more rabbits, goat roundup

Mosshead warbonnet [Janna Nichols]

Mosshead warbonnet Chirolophis nugator
Uncommon prickleback. Hides in cracks and holes on rocky beaches and sub tidally 20-20 meters Aleutian Islands to southern California. Life history not well known. (Marine Wildlife of Puget Sound, the San Juans, and the Strait of Georgia)

9 things to know about the longest day of the year
Friday, June 21 will be the longest day of 2019 for anyone living north of the equator. If pagan rituals are your thing, this is probably a big moment for you. If not, the solstice is still pretty neat. Technically speaking, the summer solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, or 23.5 degrees north latitude. This will occur at exactly 11:54 am Eastern on Friday the 21st. Brian Resnick and Brad Plumer explain. (Vox)

Bill to ban oil tankers in northern B.C. waters passes in Senate
A bill restricting oil tankers in British Columbia's northern waters has narrowly passed the Senate.Bill C-48 bans tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tonnes of oil from docking along B.C.'s north coast, an area that stretches from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the Alaska border.It passed in a close 49-to-46 vote Thursday evening. (CBC)

Salish Sea Vessel Traffic Projections
Friends of the San Juans just released an updated Salish Sea Vessel Traffic Projections infographic that identifies an additional 2,044 ocean going vessels making 4,088 transits to and from ports in British Columbia and Washington State from 24 new or expanding proposals.... All these projects have one thing in common; increased air and noise pollution that could affect the Southern Resident orcas ability to communicate, socialize and successfully hunt for scarce prey. For more, go to Safe Shipping.

Scientists say Snohomish River salmon habitat needs $1.5 billion
Scientists working to restore salmon habitat around the Snohomish River Estuary estimate they need $1.5 billion to finish the work. Alison Morrow reports. (KING)

Judge gives Point Wells high-rise project another chance
A massive condo development proposed on Puget Sound has another shot at life. A judge has given a developer six more months to seek approval for approximately 3,000 condos at Point Wells, after Snohomish County denied the project last year. The land-use petition revisited a hearing examiner’s conclusion that BSRE Point Wells’ project could not be built, as proposed. On appeal, the Snohomish County Council upheld the examiner’s decision.... BSRE’s plans call for 46 buildings at Point Wells, an unincorporated area next to Woodway. Almost half of the proposed buildings would exceed 90 feet, with the tallest reaching 180 feet — roughly 17 stories. The surrounding neighborhoods consist almost entirely of single-family homes. Noah Haglund reports. (Everett Herald)

Group wants to turn remote swath of stunning coastal wilderness into B.C. Park
It's a spectacular 800-hectare piece of unspoiled wilderness nestled in the remote Princess Louisa Inlet on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast, and it's for sale. The B.C. Parks Foundation, a relatively new independent charity that works with B.C. Parks to improve the provincial park system, is trying to raise a total of $3 million to buy the land before a deadline at the end of August when the seller will consider other offers. They have already raised $2 million. If the foundation is successful, it hopes to bundle the land with an existing provincial park, private land set aside for conservation and Crown land to create an enormous new 9,000-hectare park surrounding the entire inlet. Rafferty Baker reports. (CBC)

Climate change will cost Washington $24 billion in ‘high tide tax,’ report says
A new study from a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group takes a look at the near-term costs of projected sea level rise due to climate change. Washington faces the highest cost on the West Coast for impacts to shorelines.   The study, "High Tide Tax," released Thursday by  the Center for Climate Integrity, is meant to be a registry of the bare minimum states will have to spend to defend themselves against sea level rise. The authors wanted to create a consistent measure that could be compared across all states. So, they looked at the cost of installing seawalls or bulkheads to protect infrastructure that would otherwise be inundated two decades from now. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX) See also: Report: WA must spend $24B now to stave off climate-related flooding  A nationwide study claims coastal states would need to invest more than $400 billion. Locals applaud the effort, but say the math and the method aren’t quite right. Hannah Weinberger reports. (Crosscut)

What do people truly believe when it comes to climate change?
Chris Dunagan in Watching Our Water Ways writes: "Nationwide polls show that more and more people believe that humans are responsible for increasing greenhouse gases and thus altering our climate — including unusual changes in weather patterns, rising sea levels and disruptions in the oceanic food web.I keep waiting for public opinion to reach a critical mass, so that government officials feel compelled to take serious actions to get climate change under control..."

Seattle rabbits seem to be breeding like, well, rabbits
Little brown bunnies seem to be everywhere. People are seeing them in their gardens, in driveways, even in the streets. What gives? Kim Malcomb and Katherine Banwell report. (KUOW)

Lopez Island rabbits
Yesterday's critter profile about San Juan Island rabbits [San Juan Island Rabbit Tales] brought forth this impassioned response from a Lopez Island reader: "When I read the headline "Rabbits" this morning, I had hoped it would be about the terrific invasion of rabbits we have had on Lopez for years, but it proved to be an historical perspective of the rabbits on San Juan. Very interesting but not very consoling for us. These days San Juan does not have a large rabbit population like Lopez, since there are predators on that island including foxes. Here on Lopez, we seemed to have had some dieback late this winter. But they're reproducing again very rapidly due to their almost non-stop reproduction capacity. Also there are no predators for the rabbits on Lopez, except for eagles and owls. As well as their increased numbers, there is the damage they create from all their rabbit holes. Just look at the land in front of our post office for an example. Talk to any gardener here and they ering their hands over these Belgian Hares brought in a century ago to provide some protein for our hungry citizens. Those who live in the rural parts of Lopez regularly "dispatch" them but in the village this is not possible to do with guns or arrows. Could you feature another article where you describe the issue and offer solutions in "urban" parts of our islands where there are no major predators to rabbits?"

Olympic National Park officials plan more mountain goat roundups
The first round of goat wrangling in Olympic National Park has come to an end and 98 goats have been moved to the North Cascades. Monday marked the conclusion of the two-week capture and translocation process that moved 98 mountain goats from Olympic National Park to the North Cascades — including 11 kids that were released with their nannies — and removed 115 mountain goats from the park. Jesse Major reports. (Peninsula Daily News)


Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  236 AM PDT Fri Jun 21 2019   
TODAY  Light wind becoming W 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves less than 1 ft becoming 1 to 3 ft in the afternoon. W swell  6 ft at 9 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt easing to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft subsiding to 1 ft or less after midnight. W  swell 5 ft at 8 seconds. 
SAT  W wind to 10 kt rising to 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft in the afternoon. W  swell 5 ft at 7 seconds. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  5 ft at 7 seconds. 
SUN  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5 ft  at 7 seconds.



--
"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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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6/20 Rabbit, BC pipe, BC fish habitat, Trump's climate rules, rising seas, Bob Simmons, Edmonds road, singing whale, ocean junk cars

European rabbit Oryctolagus cunuculus

San Juan Island Rabbit Tales
For several decades in the middle of the twentieth century, San Juan Island was virtually overrun with rabbits. A population of several thousand domestic rabbits released in 1934 from a failed breeding operation grew by 1971 to an estimated 1 million on the 55-square-mile island, part of the San Juan archipelago lying between mainland Washington and Vancouver Island.... Around 1979, a significant "die off," whose causes remain mysterious, greatly reduced the island's rabbit population. In 2012 the San Juan Historical Museum sponsored a presentation titled "Rabbit Tales: 1930s to the 1970s," which featured historical accounts of the rabbit phenomenon and stories from islanders who remembered the time when rabbits were ubiquitous. (Boyd C. Pratt, Shaun Hubbard, and Louisa Nishitani on HistoryLink)

First Nations ownership in Trans Mountain a PR problem for opponents
The re-approval of the Trans Mountain expansion throws open the door for pro-pipeline First Nations to gain an ownership stake in the project, which could pose a public relations dilemma for opponents. Ottawa will kick off a series of meetings with interested First Nations starting July 22 in Vancouver, with stops in Victoria, Kamloops and Edmonton. The government is prepared to discuss equity ownership, revenue sharing and royalty agreements with 129 First Nations, according to the department of finance. Interest from First Nations is considerable. The Indian Resource Council — which represents more than 130 First Nations with oil and gas resources on their territories — has already consulted with the federal government and led preliminary meetings with First Nations about making a bid for the pipeline. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun) See also: B.C. and Ottawa still sparring over 'gaps' in oil spill response plans  Randy Shore and Nick Eagland report. (Vancouver Sun)

B.C. environmentalists applaud new bill increasing protection for fish habitat 
Environmentalists in British Columbia are applauding changes to the federal Fisheries Act that became law this week. The Senate in Ottawa passed Bill C-68 on Tuesday night, securing greater protection and conservation measures for fish and fish habitat.... The amendments reverse changes that were made to the act in 2012... According to Nikki Skuce, the director of the Northern Confluence Initiative, the bill gives more power to protect marine life. "The biggest change in 2012 was that the protection of fish habitat was basically taken out and, without protecting fish habitat, you have no fish," Skuce said. Clare Hennig reports. (CBC)

E.P.A. Finalizes Its Plan to Replace Obama-Era Climate Rules
The Trump administration on Wednesday replaced former President Barack Obama’s effort to reduce planet-warming pollution from coal plants with a new rule that would allow plants to stay open longer and slow progress on cutting carbon emissions. While the Obama plan would have set national emissions limits and mandated the  reconstruction of power grids to move utilities away from coal, the new measure gives states broad authority to decide how far, if at all, to scale back emissions. Lisa Friedman reports. (NY Times)

With More Storms and Rising Seas, Which U.S. Cities Should Be Saved First?
As disaster costs keep rising nationwide, a troubling new debate has become urgent: If there’s not enough money to protect every coastal community from the effects of human-caused global warming, how should we decide which ones to save first? Christopher Flavelle reports. (NY Times)

Bob Simmons, stellar KING-TV pundit, RIP: A life to appreciate
...(Bob) Simmons, 88, died Saturday at home in Bellingham, on the 62nd anniversary of marriage to beloved wife Dee. Simmons was one of the cerebral but fearless pundits who defined KING-TV in the last years of ownership by its founding family, the Bullitts. In oral history, he belongs alongside Don McGaffin, Charley Royer and Bob Royer. "Bob was a chip off the KING block -- a free thinker, an advocate for long-form journalism, a stalwart liberal as the KING ship was going down," recalled David Brewster, founder of the Seattle Weekly and Crosscut, and once news editor at KING. Joel Connelly eulogizes. (SeattlePI)

Edmonds council nixes contentious roadway project to beach
Edmonds 'back to square one' after killing emergency connector. The city council voted 4-3 Tuesday evening to end the estimated $27.5 million project. Ian Davis-Leonard reports. (Everett Herald)

Scientists record singing by rare right whale for first time 
It’s not America’s Top 40, but it’s a cutting edge song. Federal marine biologists for the first time have recorded singing by one of the rarest whales on the planet, the North Pacific right whale. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers used moored acoustic recorders to capture repeated patterns of calls made by male North Pacific right whales. It’s the first time right whale songs in any population have been documented, said NOAA Fisheries marine biologist Jessica Crance on Wednesday from Seattle. Dan Joling reports. (Associated Press)

Sedan overboard! How the bottom of the Pacific got littered with junk cars
Miles off the Washington coast, the sea floor is alive with anemones, sponges and even deepwater corals. Rockfishes older than any human hover near crevices and caves. Also dotting the sea floor is something you wouldn’t expect in this remote and watery wilderness: crushed cars, with Canadian bumper stickers and license plates. How in the world did they get there? John Ryan reports. (KUOW)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  235 AM PDT Thu Jun 20 2019   
TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt rising to 15 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 6 ft at 8 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt easing to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft subsiding to 1 ft or less after midnight. W  swell 6 ft at 9 seconds.



--
"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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6/19 Japanese beetle, BC pipe OK'd, BC enforcement, air permits, cannabis sewage, oyster threat,Teck pollution

Japanese beetle

Japanese beetle Popillia japonica
The Japanese beetle is a species of scarab beetle... It is not very destructive in Japan, where it is controlled by natural predators, but in North America, it is a noted pest of about 300 species of plants including rose bushes, grapes, hops, canna, crape myrtles, birch trees, linden trees, and others. The adult beetles damage plants by skeletonizing the foliage, that is, consuming only the leaf material between the veins, and may also feed on fruit on the plants if present, while the subterranean larvae feed on the roots of grasses. (Wikipedia) See also: Vancouver limits plant disposal in attempt to stop spread of Japanese beetle  (CBC)

Trudeau cabinet approves Trans Mountain expansion project
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet have again approved the Trans Mountain expansion project, a crucial next step for the much-delayed pipeline project designed to carry nearly a million barrels of oil from Alberta's oilpatch to the B.C. coast each day. The cabinet has affirmed the National Energy Board's conclusion that, while the pipeline has the potential to damage the environment and marine life, it's in the national interest and could contribute tens of billions of dollars to government coffers and create and sustain thousands of jobs. Beyond approving the project, Trudeau also committed to directing every single dollar the federal government earns from the pipeline — which, when it's built, is estimated to be some $500 million a year in federal corporate tax revenue alone — to investments in unspecified clean energy projects.... A senior government official, speaking on background to reporters ahead of the official announcement, said while there are still a number of permits and regulatory hurdles facing the controversial project, the government expects construction work to start sometime this year. John Paul Tasker reports. (CBC) See also: Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion approved; ‘shovels in ground’ soon, Canada’s PM says  Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times) See also: House of Commons declares a climate emergency ahead of pipeline decision   The House of Commons has passed a non-binding motion to declare a national climate emergency in Canada, kicking off a week that will test the Liberals' promise to balance environmental protection with economic development. (CBC)

'Woefully under-staffed': judge laments fisheries resources in scathing decision
A B.C. judge lamented the state of protections for Canadian fisheries this month as she tore a strip off a commercial skipper with a history of repeat fishing violations. Powell River Provincial Court Judge Kimberley Arthur-Leung slapped Tuan Huu Le with a $20,000 fine, a four-month fishing prohibition and an order to forfeit his traps after he pleaded guilty to a series of crab fishing offences. But in coming up with a sentence, she said repeat offenders like Le must know that the penalty for threatening the vitality of a key Canadian resource "must be more than a simplistic cost of doing business." "The reality of the matter is that Fisheries and Oceans is woefully under-staffed. This incredible country is bound by significant bodies of water. The Pacific Coast is vast and staffing is significantly under-resourced," wrote Arthur-Leung. Jason Proctor reports. (CBC)

Permitting process could get more difficult with update to air pollution limits
Proposed updates to the state’s toxic air pollution rules will make regulations slightly stricter overall to protect young and unborn children from exposure, according to the state Department of Ecology. The changes could make it more difficult for new businesses to get industrial permits, officials said. The rule sets limits for industry air emissions of about 400 different toxic chemicals.  Mallory Gruben reports. (Longview Daily News)

Wastewater study finds Puget Sound has 'highest cannabis use per capita' worldwide
Why is there a freezer full of sewage in Tacoma? A new study is using Puget Sound wastewater to understand trends in cannabis use since legalized sales began in August 2014.  The findings suggest that the black market for marijuana was rapidly displaced by legal recreational sales. This is one of the first studies to use hard data, rather than surveys, to understand how cannabis consumption has been affected by legalization in Washington state. Laura Fattaruso reports. (KING)

Washington's Oyster Industry Threatened By A Booming Shrimp Population
The booming population of a native species of Northwest shrimp threatens the oyster beds of Washington's Willapa Bay and a coastal way of life. Molly Solomon reports. (OPB)

Canadian mining company liable for pollution flowing from Kootenays to U.S.
Vancouver-based mining giant Teck has run out of appeals after polluting the Columbia River and Lake Roosevelt in Washington State for decades from its huge lead-zinc smelter in Trail, B.C. The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear Teck's appeal of the case brought by the Colville Confederated Tribes (CCT) in Washington State. The CCT successfully argued Teck used the Columbia River in southeastern B.C. as a "convenient disposal facility for its wastes."  Bob Keating reports. (CBC)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  302 AM PDT Wed Jun 19 2019   
TODAY  W wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 7 ft  at 8 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 6 ft  at 8 seconds. A chance of showers.



--
"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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6/18 False Solomon's seal, BC pipe, Snohomish estuary, Edmonds connector, 'zero carbon,' Chinook kill

False Solomon's Seal

False Solomon's Seal Smilacina racemoss
The name 'Solomon's-seal' (originally given to Polygonatum multiflorum is traditionally thought to refer to the rhizomes of this species. They bear surface scars, or show markings when freshly cut, which resemble the seal of Solomon: a 6-pointed star. However, Grigson (1974) claims the original medieval Latin refers to one of the flowers hanging like a seal on a document. S.racemosa resembles P.multiflorum-- hence 'false' Solomon's-seal. (Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast)

What to watch for in today's cabinet decision on the TMX pipeline project
The federal cabinet will decide on Tuesday whether to again approve the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. An outright rejection of the project is thought to be unlikely, given how much political and financial capital the government already has invested in the controversial pipeline — a project that oilpatch boosters have long demanded as a solution to constrained pipeline capacity and perpetually low prices for Canadian oil. The company building the pipeline — now a Crown-owned entity — has already received some 30 per cent of the pipe needed to build the much-delayed project. But even if the Trans Mountain expansion gets approval, it may have a long way to go before shovels can hit the ground. Jon Paul Tasker reports. (CBC)

Snohomish River estuary project an example of why salmon recovery takes so long
When Kurt Nelson started working on restoring a large plot of estuary habitat for salmon on the Snohomish River, his youngest daughter had not yet been born.  Now she's preparing to graduate college. Though Nelson can't believe he's spent so much of his adult career working on a single project, it shows just how painstakingly slow salmon recovery moves. Alison Morrow reports.... The Qwuloolt Estuary project involved nearly two dozen partners, such as Snohomish County and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and took two decades to complete. (KING)

Waterfront disconnect; Edmonds roadway stirs online outrage
A proposed roadway known as the connector isn’t exactly uniting folks around here. The idea behind Edmonds’ Waterfront Connector was to provide an emergency route over the railroad tracks, when stopped trains cut off the bustling ferry terminal, beaches and marina. That can be a life-or-death matter when police or firefighters need to reach the area in a hurry. The city has spent at least seven years pondering the dilemma. To date, 50 ideas have been discarded, for cost, aesthetics or practicality. By 2017, city leaders had launched initial design work on a possible solution: a one-lane elevated road that would link Sunset Avenue to Brackett’s Landing North, the popular diving destination next to the ferry terminal. Noah Haglund reports. (Everett Herald)

County, Sequim officials get insight on lab’s work
Officials from Clallam County and the city of Sequim toured the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Marine Sciences Laboratory in Sequim recently, learning about the facility’s research on climate change. During presentations at the laboratory Wednesday, part of the county’s series of events focusing on the impacts of climate change, officials learned about a study in Grays Harbor County on how forests respond to increasing amounts of salt water, what happens to eelgrass as temperatures rise and about how the lab hopes to work with local businesses and organizations. Jesse Major reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Going 'Zero Carbon' Is All The Rage. But Will It Slow Climate Change?
Despite the growing push to reach “zero carbon,” there are big questions around whether these goals are possible and how much they would actually slow climate change. Here’s an attempt to answer some of them. Nathan Rott reports. (NPR)

Generator failure that killed millions of Chinook salmon was preventable, state finds
A generator failure at a Pierce County hatchery that led to the death of millions of Chinook salmon fry was caused by a loose or cracked connection with the battery, according to a state report released Monday. The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife investigation, which was conducted by outside contractors, found the poor connection could have been detected and repaired “under normal conditions” if Minter Creek Hatchery staff routinely tested and inspected the generator. (KING)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  255 AM PDT Tue Jun 18 2019   
TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 5 ft at 11 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 7 ft  at 10 seconds.



--
"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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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6/17 Cap't Sparrow, Lolita, BC pipe, anchovies, plastic shame, dead whales, Wyckoff cleanup, Meadowdale Beach, Manning mining, Prince of Whales, green crab

Captain Sparrow [Laurie MacBride]

That’s “Captain” to You, Matey!
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "On a recent boating trip we had a memorable encounter with Captain Sparrow, when we pulled into a marina for an overnight stay. This wasn’t the fictional Hollywood pirate, but his rakish charm, clowning antics, colourful plumage and confident swagger certainly spoke of that (in)famous character. Our true-life Captain was a loud, energetic bird – a House sparrow, I believe (hopefully a reader will correct me if I’m wrong)...."

Remembering Lolita, an orca taken nearly 49 years ago and still in captivity at the Miami Seaquarium
Lyla Snover can still hear the cries from the day the captors came for the southern resident orca whales at Penn Cove, in August 1970, separating families as they took their pick for aquariums all over the world. “It was agony, sadness, screaming, they felt the same way you would feel if someone kidnapped your children, and put them in a pen and you didn’t know where they were,” Snover said at a commemoration of the capture, at which more than 100 people gathered Friday evening at a Coupeville city park overlooking the cove. Of all the southern residents taken during a series of captures beginning in the 1960s and ending in 1976, in which more than a third of the orcas that frequent Puget Sound were taken, all are dead today but one: Lolita, still performing in captivity at the Miami Seaquarium. The Lummi Nation has for two years campaigned to retire her and bring her home. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times) See also: Lummi Nation launches new campaign to save dwindling orca population  (KCPQ)

Federal cabinet to decide again on Trans Mountain pipeline expansion this week
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet will decide Tuesday whether to greenlight the Trans Mountain expansion project, amid political and legal uncertainty for the pipeline the government bought last year for $4.5 billion. The Liberal government was forced to put the project through a new consultation process after the Federal Court of Appeal quashed past cabinet approvals for the long-delayed project and halted construction last summer. The court said the government didn't do adequate consultation work with Indigenous peoples before it first approved TMX in November 2016. The court also said the National Energy Board (NEB) did not do enough to study the effects of this project on the marine environment in B.C.'s Lower Mainland. John Paul Tasker reports. (CBC) See also: No economic case for Trans Mountain expansion: ex-BC MP David Anderson  Laura Kane reports. (Canadian Press)

Booming anchovy population helps salmon, orcas
Swarms of anchovy can be seen swimming through the South Sound. The population is booming, even impressing experts, who’ve studied the Salish Sea for years....Anchovies thrive in warmer water and feed off plankton. They make a good meal for salmon, which helps the southern resident orca population. Shelby Miller reports. (KIRO)

Store’s Bid to Shame Customers Over Plastic Bags Backfires
A Canadian store’s attempt to help the environment and gently shame its customers into avoiding plastic bags by printing embarrassing messages on them has not gone quite as planned. Far from spurring customers to bring their own reusables, the plastic bags — variously emblazoned with “Dr. Toews’ Wart Ointment Wholesale,” “Into the Weird Adult Video Emporium” or “The Colon Care Co-op” — have become somewhat of a surprise hit. “Some of the customers want to collect them because they love the idea of it,” David Lee Kwen, the owner of the store, Vancouver’s East West Market, told The Guardian newspaper. Anna Schaverien reports. (NY Times)

Puget Sound waterfront owners asked to house dead whales
A couple is housing a 40-foot dead gray whale on their waterfront property as a sort of final resting place for the mammal. Numerous of gray whale carcasses have washed up this year that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries has run out of places to take them. Now they’re asking waterfront landowners to volunteer their properties for the decomposition of gray whales up to 40 feet long. (KOMO)

EPA to use injected cement to hold contamination in place at Bainbridge cleanup site
Hundreds of thousands of gallons of oily contamination in the ground at the Wyckoff Superfund site on Eagle Harbor’s south shore will be locked in a concrete tomb. The federal Environmental Protection Agency, which manages the cleanup of the old Wyckoff creosote treatment plant at Bainbridge Island’s Pritchard Park, announced this week it would move ahead with treating the site by injecting a cement slurry into the soil there to treat 267,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and groundwater. In the treatment, a large-diameter auger drills into the ground, along the way injecting the slurry in a column from the surface down deep into the soil, said Helen Bottcher, the EPA’s site manager. After about a month, the treated areas will become a solid, concrete monolith that prevents remaining contaminants from leaching out into groundwater. Roughly 650,000 gallons of oily contamination remain in the ground at the site — evidence of the old treatment plant that once operated there — the vast majority of which will be treated with the slurry, according to the EPA. Nathan Pilling reports. (Kitsap Sun) See also: EPA tweaks cleanup plan for Wyckoff site in Eagle Harbor  The current treatment system costs $750,000 a year to use but hasn't stopped all contaminants from reaching the harbor. (Daily Journal of Commerce-paywall)

Infusion of federal money propels Meadowdale Beach project
With a boost of federal money, a once-in-a-generation project is close to breaking ground, according to Snohomish County Parks. With about half the funds for construction secured, the county hopes to start work on a $16 million estuary restoration project along the shore of Meadowdale Beach Park..... The project got an infusion of federal dollars earlier this month, when a $3.5 million grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The federal grant money added to roughly $1.5 million the project had already attracted from various fish and estuary recovery funds, plus another $2.3 million from the county budget. That still leaves the county searching for more than $8 million to fully fund the work. Lizz Giordano reports. (Everett Herald)

Mine exploration on edge of Manning Park opposed by environmentalists
Environmental groups on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border are calling on the B.C. government to deny an application by Imperial Metals to explore for minerals in an area on the edge of Manning Park. The mining company behind the Mount Polley mine disaster has applied for a five-year permit to drill for mining deposits in an area known as the “donut hole” between Manning and Skagit Valley Provincial Parks, according to a document submitted to the B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines & Petroleum Resources. The company is proposing to drill one or two two-kilometre deep “mother holes,” with either settling ponds or a water-recycling machine to deal with drill cuttings, along with access roads, air strips and boat ramps. The area is believed to contain gold and copper. In 2014, a tailings dam at the company’s Mount Polley mine broke, sending 24 million cubic metres of mining waste into waterways, including Quesnel Lake, the migratory pathway for more than one million sockeye salmon. Glenda Luymes reports. (Vancouver Sun)

A big fish tale: Calgary men catch 800-pound sturgeon
Three men from Calgary caught a fish that was thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis big. Like, really, astonishingly, very big.  Terry Jacobson, Tom Kirk and Alex Kirk were on the Fraser River near Chilliwack, B.C., guided by Steve Kaye from Sturgeon Hunter, when they hooked a fish that seems like something out of the Paleolithic Age.... The official measurement? Jacobson says it was 11 feet (3.3 metres) in length and five feet (1.5 metres) in girth. Kaye, he says, estimated the weight at a whopping 800 pounds (360 kilograms). (CBC)

B.C.’s Prince of Whales basks in attention from mistake in Trump tweet
All bow before the Prince of Whales. Or maybe toss him a salmon. Donald Trump inadvertently turned a global spotlight on a Victoria-based tourism business Thursday when he mistakenly included its name in a tweet meant to refer to Prince Charles. “I meet and talk to ‘foreign governments’ every day,” the president wrote. “I just met with the Queen of England (U.K.), the Prince of Whales … ” Er, that should be Prince of Wales. The Prince of Whales is a whale-watching outfit. (Times Colonist)

New facts and findings about the European green crab invasion
Chris Dunagan in Watching Our Water Ways recounts recent developments in the ongoing story of the European green crab invasion:
    -The somewhat mysterious finding of a partially eaten green crab on the Bellingham waterfront,
    -A “story map” that spells out much of what we know about European green crabs in Puget Sound, including maps, photos and videos.
    -Information about Harper Estuary in South Kitsap and other areas where groups of citizen scientists are on the lookout for green crabs, and
    -Reports of a new breed of European green crab in Maine that attacks people and may prove to be more destructive than the green crabs that have lived in the area for a very long time.



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  252 AM PDT Mon Jun 17 2019   
TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 4 ft  at 12 seconds. A chance of drizzle in the morning. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  4 ft at 12 seconds. A slight chance of showers after midnight.



--
"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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6/14 Fish book, drought, fire danger, Kalama methanol, buffers, BC mining, tampon plastic

Fishes of the Salish Sea
One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish — oh, what Dr. Seuss might’ve done with the encyclopedic new book Fishes of the Salish Sea, a three-volume, illustrated guide and history of the 260 species swimming in the waters off Washington and B.C. (One fish is a jawless hagfish, one fish is a bit-of-a-nag fish …). This definitive compendium from University of Washington Press took decades of scholarship by UW-affiliated biologists Theodore W. Pietsch and James Wilder Orr. But it’s not all strictly ichthyology. The book is a work of art, thanks to gorgeous full-color illustrations by “America’s leading fish artist” Joe Tomelleri (whose skill confirms that fishy superlative). Brangien Davis writes. (Crosscut)

B.C. drought fears surge as rivers dry up across the province
Extreme hot dry weather has left streams and rivers across the province running low and that's creating drought conditions more commonly seen in late July. On June 12, temperature records for many places in B.C. were broken — with highs not seen in some spots in a century. Provincial drought monitors say this kind of weather is leaving many waterways at record-low flows, fuelling fears over everything from fire risks to salmon survival. David Campbell who heads the River Forecast Centre for the province says seeing drought ratings this high in June raises obvious concerns for July and August. Yvette Brend reports. (CBC) And: Wildfire danger unusually high for Western Washington  Steve Kiggins reports. (KQCP)

Port Of Kalama: Methanol Refinery Can’t Export For Fuel
Port of Kalama commissioners unanimously passed a lease amendment with a controversial methanol facility Wednesday night that prohibits the company from exporting its product for fuel. The commissioners voted 3-0 to approve new contract language with NW Innovation Works, or NWIW. Port officials said the changes ensure the methanol from southwest Washington will only go toward making plastics and other materials. At Wednesday’s meeting, port spokesperson Liz Newman told commissioners the amendment “affirms what has always been the intent of this project.” She said the port was doing its due diligence in response to concerns raised about the use of the methanol earlier this year. Molly Solomon reports. (OPB)

Streamside buffers could help efforts to save Washington orcas
The Puget Soundkeeper Alliance announced their efforts to teach people about the importance of streamside buffers and their impact on salmon, and ultimately, orcas. Emily Gilbert reports. (KING)

Eight U.S. senators ratchet up pressure on B.C. over mining's effects on American rivers
Eight U.S. senators ratcheted up pressure on British Columbia Premier John Horgan as worries persist over the province’s mining practices and their impacts on rivers that flow into the United States. In a bipartisan letter to Horgan, senators from Washington, Alaska, Idaho and Montana wrote that they “remain concerned about the lack of oversight of Canadian mining projects near multiple transboundary rivers that originate in B.C. and flow into our four U.S. states,” documented U.S. steps to protect these watersheds and asked for B.C. to “allocate similar attention, engagement and resources” to the issue. Evan Bush reports. (Seattle Times)

Environmentalists push for plastic tampon applicators to be included in federal plastics ban
Environmental advocates would like to see plastic tampon applicators added to the list of items that could be banned in Canada by 2021. Earlier this week, the prime minister announced the Liberal government intends to ban single-use plastics, such as plastic shopping bags and straws, within two years. The full list of banned items has not yet been created. Jude Haydock of Terrace, B.C., said she's found dozens of plastic tampon applicators in a settling pond in her hometown that have ended up there because people are flushing them down the toilet. Courtney Dickson reports. (CBC)


Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  257 AM PDT Fri Jun 14 2019   
TODAY  E wind to 10 kt becoming NW 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft. W swell  4 ft at 10 seconds. Patchy drizzle in the morning. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt easing to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft subsiding to 1 ft or less. W swell 2 ft at 8  seconds. 
SAT  Light wind becoming NW 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves less than 1 ft becoming 1 to 3 ft. W swell 3 ft at 8 seconds. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 3 ft at 13 seconds. 
SUN  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 4 ft  at 13 seconds.



--
"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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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6/13 Woodland skipper, False Cr whales, Navy protest, Fed forest rules, pinto abalone, Salish Sea Expeditions, BC forests, plastic bag messages, tree canopy

Woodland skipper

Woodland skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides
The woodland skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in North America from British Columbia south to southern California, east to Montana, Colorado and Arizona. First-stage caterpillars hibernate, complete their feeding the next spring, diapause in the summer as fully-grown caterpillars, then pupate and emerge as adults in the fall. (Wikipedia/Butterflies and Moths of North America)

Killer whale sightings in Vancouver's False Creek thrill onlookers
If you were near False Creek [Wednesday] afternoon you may have been treated to an uncommon sight — killer whales making a rare appearance in Vancouver's waterways. The whales, identified by the Vancouver Aquarium as transient or Bigg's killer whales, could be spotted near the Cambie Street Bridge and Stamp's Landing. (CBC)

Citing possible harm to orcas, Seattle Mayor Durkan protests U.S. Navy training exercises 
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan filed a letter of protest Wednesday on behalf of the city of Seattle, slamming proposed testing and training by the U.S. Navy that could harm endangered southern resident killer whales and other marine mammals in Puget Sound. Durkan filed the letter as a public comment on the Navy’s draft environmental-impact statement (EIS) on its testing program. Lynda Makes reports. (Seattle Times)

Trump Administration Seeking To Overhaul Forest Management Rules
Federal land managers on Wednesday will propose sweeping rule changes to a landmark environmental law that would allow them to fast-track certain forest management projects, including logging and prescribed burning. The U.S. Forest Service, under Chief Vicki Christiansen, is proposing revisions to the National Environmental Policy Act that could limit environmental review and public input on projects ranging from forest health and wildfire mitigation to infrastructure upgrades to commercial logging on federal land. Kirk Siegler reports. (NPR)

Why it wasn't enough to just leave the pinto abalone alone
Two decades ago, Washington made it illegal to harvest the giant sea snail. Earlier this month, the state added it to the endangered species list. Hannah Weinberger reports. (Crosscut)

Salish Sea Expeditions to join Northwest Maritime Center
Bainbridge-based educational nonprofit Salish Sea Expeditions and Northwest Maritime Center recently announced their intention to merge into a single organization, effective July 1. “At the heart of this was a desire to reduce overhead and improve program quality and sustainability,” said SSE board president Trina Wellman. “We were in between executive directors — a natural time to reconsider how to best deliver our programs.” For 22 years, SSE has provided inquiry-based science/sailing programs to roughly 700 students a year onboard the 61-foot sailing vessel, S/V Carlyn. Luciano Marano reports. (Bainbridge Review)

First Nations push for conservation plan to protect 40,000 sq. km of northern B.C.
First Nations in northern British Columbia are calling on the provincial government to endorse an ambitious proposal for a 40,000-square kilometre conservation area to protect major watersheds and sensitive species. The proposal would cover the ancestral areas of three Kaska Dena First Nations and would be larger than Vancouver Island, taking up a massive section of north-central B.C. Premier John Horgan's government hasn't said whether it supports or opposes the idea after seven months of phone calls, letters and meetings with officials from various ministries, say the project's proponents. Laura Kane reports. (Canadian Press)

Vancouver grocer offers plastic bags with embarrassing slogans to discourage their use
Independent food stores are known for using minimal packaging,encouraging recycling and generally promoting greener living. But a grocer in Vancouver has gone a step further in the battle against single-use plastics, by providing bags with embarrassing slogans to discourage their use. East West Market, a gourmet specialist which sells only local food, hopes to encourage people to bring their own reusable bags. Customers who fail to do so will be charged five cents for a bag printed with messages such as “Into the Weird Adult Video Emporium” and “Wart Ointment Wholesale.” (Daily Telegraph)

Local nonprofit encourages less carbon pollution, more trees for cities and towns
Carbon credits that protect forests have been around for more than 20 years. Companies that want or need to reduce their carbon footprint can purchase offsets, and that money is invested to preserve or plant trees. Trees inhale carbon dioxide, so they help offset climate-warming pollution produced when we burn fossil fuels. But the forests that have generally benefited from carbon credits are in rural areas and in faraway countries that offer the largest stands of trees. Enter City Forest Credits, a new nonprofit in Seattle that specializes in helping preserve urban canopy. It identifies and verifies projects in cities and towns where investments in trees can be counted as carbon credits. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  252 AM PDT Thu Jun 13 2019   
TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 4 ft at 10 seconds. Patchy fog in  the morning. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming SW to 10 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft subsiding to 1 ft or less. W swell  4 ft at 10 seconds. A slight chance of drizzle.



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