12/10 Lichen, UNDRIP, Big Bar rocks, Whidbey stormwater, Shachi, orca tale, Tacoma climate, Bellingaham waterfront, seabird health, Colstrip deal

Christmas tree lichen [Flickr]

Christmas tree lichen Sphaerophorus globosus
A medium-sized tufted scrum lichen found on trucks and branches of conifers in open or somewhat shaded forests at low to middle elevations. The name Sphaerophorus globosus derives from Greek and Latin and means 'spherical ball-bearer,' referring to the fruiting bodies. (Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast)

Billion dollar boom: UNDRIP opens the door to First Nations partnerships
The benefits to First Nations that participate in the expanding energy sector in B.C. will be measured in billions of dollars. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — adopted unanimously by the B.C. legislature — throws open the door to “economic reconciliation” on an unprecedented scale.The implementation of UNDRIP will reduce uncertainty for business, said Fort Nelson First Nation Chief Sharleen Gale. A consent-based model means that business leaders will need to form partnerships with First Nations and incorporate that into their business model, she said. “When companies come to First Nations on Day 1, it promotes certainty that projects will be built on time, that they align with our values and that there won’t be litigation,” said Gale, chairwoman of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition. “We don’t want to be in the courts, we want to take equity stakes and participate in the economy in our territories.” Nowhere is that more apparent than in the emerging LNG export industry. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Pressure on to move rocks the size of ‘houses and cars’ at Big Bar
The team trying to clear the landslide at Big Bar on the Fraser River is consulting dozens of experts, including private industry and the military, in an effort to remove boulders the size of “houses and cars.” The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Canadian Armed Forces have been involved in the planning process along with industry experts in the use of explosives. “We had a number of recommendations for removing the slide including a single, military-style explosive, but there was no guarantee that an uncontrolled blast would solve the problem,” said federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan. “It could create more flow-related problems, so we are keeping that as a tool in the tool box, but it’s not the best way forward right now.” The federal government issued a call for advice from the private sector on demolition and rock blasting services, along with excavating, rock crushing and dredging, in an official request for information. More than 30 companies responded and contracts for those services went to tender Friday. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Chemicals contaminate Whidbey Island storm-water runoff from Naval Air Station
For decades, cows on the Christensen farm sauntered across the pasture to quench their thirst at a creek that carries storm-water runoff from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. In October 2018, the Navy disclosed the water contained trace amounts of toxic chemicals from firefighting foam used on the base during aviation accidents and training. Brian Christensen feared harm to the cattle. So he fenced off the shoreline and installed a metal trough to hold water piped in from another area. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

Grandmother orcas help their grand-whales survive
In the Salish Sea off Seattle and Vancouver lives an orca with a tall, hooked dorsal fin. Her formal name is J19, but she is better known as Shachi. And Shachi is a boss. As the leader of J Pod, one of three related orca family groups that make up the area’s southern resident killer whale population, Shachi’s presence is critical to the success of the pod’s younger members. Matriarchs lead their pods to rich hunting grounds, help other whales hunt and have been spotted sharing fish with young novices. But there’s something even more special about Shachi: At 40 years of age, she is not just a matriarch, but a grandmother. Jason Bittel reports. (Washington Post) See also: Two baby orcas were a glimmer of hope. But B.C.’s Salish Sea no longer home sweet home for endangered killer whales  Wanyee Li reports. (Star Vancouver)

Looking an orca in the eye: 'The closest thing to alien contact I may ever know'
Dean Burke tell a big black fish story: "It was a clear and cold winter day. Alone on my paddle board, I had what seemed like the entire Salish Sea to myself. I was far enough from land that I could not hear any of the shoreline sounds, and of course it was early, when the world is just a little quieter. It was the kind of calm where you could hear the beating wings of sea birds. When in the distance, I heard a familiar sound: the blast and whoosh of air and water — the sound of a mammal breathing, the sound of a very large mammal breathing...." (kUOW)

Upon urging from youth activists, Tacoma City Council to vote on climate emergency
The Tacoma City Council will vote Tuesday evening on a resolution declaring a climate emergency. The legislation comes in response to demands from youth activists who have been walking out of school on Fridays to call for more urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.  The resolution does not achieve one of their key demands, of halting all new and current fossil fuel expansion projects. But 21-year-old Erin Rasmussen, an organizer with Sunrise Tacoma, says it's an important step in the right direction and will set a foundation for accountability from city leaders. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

More Bellingham waterfront work begins to improve system that ‘was not sustainable’
The waterfront will see an uptick in activity for the next several weeks with a major dredging project. Dredging of the Squalicum Waterway near Bellingham Cold Storage is expected to start this week. It’ll take approximately 45 days to remove about 381,000 tons of material from the channel. The sediment will then be put on barges and taken to Puget Sound open water disposal sites, said Mike Hogan, spokesman for the Port of Bellingham. Dave Gallagher reports. (Bellingham Herald) See also: Port’s planned demolition of waterfront warehouse will pave way for other projects  Dave Gallagher reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Keeping watch on seabird health
Scientists are still trying to understand what caused the deaths of thousands of rhinoceros auklets in the Salish Sea in 2016. Some studies point to disease as a central factor in that incident and potentially other large seabird die-offs along the coast. That is prompting a deeper look at what makes these birds sick, and how local populations are faring. We followed a group of researchers as they gave a health checkup to a breeding colony of rhinoceros auklets on Protection Island. Eric Wagner reports. (Salish Sea Currents)

NorthWestern Energy seeks to buy more of Colstrip coal plant
NorthWestern Energy said Tuesday it will seek regulatory permission to acquire Puget Sound Energy's 25% share of Unit 4 of the Colstrip Power Plant for $1. The agreement would include purchasing additional interest in the Colstrip Transmission System for an estimated cost of between $2.5 and $3.75 million. NorthWestern says it will seek preapproval from the Montana Public Service Commission early next year to acquire 185 megawatts of coal-fired power generation capacity. It will also seek approval to sell 90 megawatts of that production to Puget Sound Energy for five years. (Associated Press)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  246 AM PST Tue Dec 10 2019   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON   
TODAY  SE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 4 ft  at 15 seconds building to 7 ft at 14 seconds in the afternoon.  Patchy fog in the morning. Rain in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  SE 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 10 ft at 13 seconds. A chance of rain in the evening then a  slight chance of showers after midnight.



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