7/20 Ravens, Victoria sewage, harassed killler whales, US boaters in BC waters, Nooksack R dam removal

Ravens [Tony Angell]

Tony Angell on the Raven
Tony Angell reflects: "It's a cloudless summer day as I listen to ravens behind me in the woods. There's an endless repertoire of croaks, krawks, barks, yelps, and yodels. Other ravens across the bay respond in kind, and I imagine that this is a day of poetry and perhaps a few jokes shared between clans of these birds." (BirdNote)

$775M Greater Victoria sewage treatment plant nears completion
After decades of debate and nearly four years of construction, the Capital Region is on the home stretch towards completing its new tertiary sewage treatment plant. There’s still a lot of work to be done before it’s finished but the construction is now far enough along that trials have begun taking place, using potable water, to see how it runs. Currently, when you flush your toilet in the CRD (Capital Regional District), your waste passes through a six-millimetre screen before the raw sewage is flushed out into the ocean's currents, one kilometre off of our shoreline. As of Dec. 31 of this year, that is all going to change. Brandon Strain reports. (CTV News)

Boaters harass killer whales off Fox Island
A pod of orcas was harassed by up to 30 boaters Tuesday evening as the killer whales swam through the Tacoma Narrows and past Fox Island, according to numerous observers who witnessed the floating spectacle. One person on a jet ski drove circles around the six whales, according to witnesses. Angry residents took to social media to complain about the flotilla of harassers. Federal regulations established by NOAA Fisheries say boaters must stay 400 yards beyond an orca’s path. Boaters must maintain a speed of seven knots or less within half a mile of orcas. Washington state law requires vessels to stay 300 yards on either side of resident orcas. Craig Sailor reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

COVID-19: U.S. vessels in BC waters against border rules, say boaters
A group of retired B.C. boaters have tracked what they believe are American pleasure craft into Canadian waters that are violating restrictions put in place because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The vessels — estimated to be as many as 100 in the past month — are stopping at marinas, sometimes for days, says George Creek, one of the retired boaters and a member of the Council of B.C. Yacht Clubs. Much of the vessel traffic is coming from Washington state, particularly concerning because the state has a high rate of virus infection, said Creek. The group of boaters has tracked the movement of the American vessels through the Marine Traffic website that provides vessels’ locations using an automatic vessel identification system. Some vessels don’t have this identification system, but reports have also been compiled from marinas and marine parks, said Creek. Gordon Hoekstra reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Nooksack River dam finally coming down, freeing miles for fish habitat
With a bang, Washington state’s dam-busting binge continued last week, as the city of Bellingham blew up its 25-foot-tall dam here. The $17 million project will open 16 miles of habitat for fish including spring chinook important to southern resident killer whales, and is expected to be completed by September. Removal of the Middle Fork diversion dam on the Nooksack follows detonation of the Condit on the White Salmon in 2011, the blow-up of Elwha Dam in 2012 and deconstruction of Glines Canyon Dam, completed in 2014, both on the Olympic Peninsula’s Elwha River. lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  243 AM PDT Mon Jul 20 2020   
TODAY  Light wind becoming NW 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 2 ft or less. W swell 6 ft at 9 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 after  midnight. W swell 6 ft at 8 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

Follow on Twitter. 

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told