5/7 Black bear, Snake R dams, Site C docs, ESA suit, illegal crab traps, beaver relo, green crabs, week in review

Black bear [WDFW]

Black bear Ursus americanus
American black bears are the most common and widely distributed bears in North America. Despite their name, black bears may be a variety of colors, including black, brown, blond, cinnamon, and rust. Black or brown, with a light brown snout, is the most common coloration. On average, black bears in the Western U.S. weigh 100-300 pounds, with males larger than females. They stand approximately 2.5-3 feet at the shoulder when standing on all fours, and about 5 feet when standing upright. When on all fours, the black bear's rump is higher than its shoulders. Black bears are common throughout Washington except for the non-forested areas of the Columbia basin. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife)

Feud breaks out among GOP lawmakers over Snake River dams
Some Republican members of Congress from the Northwest are accusing an Idaho lawmaker of conducting secret negotiations with the Democratic governor of Oregon over a controversial proposal to breach four dams on the Snake River to save endangered salmon runs. Nicholas Geranios reports. (Associated  Press)

BC Hydro, province ordered to release secret Site C dam docs to West Moberly First Nations
Reports and internal records, which will be released as part of a landmark Treaty Rights case brought by the nation, will shed light on the escalating costs of the project, now billed at $16 billion. Sarah Cox reports. (The Narwhal)

Fisheries group sues over salmon management
While its standing in the federal District Court case involving the historic 1974 Boldt decision remains in question, Fish Northwest has filed another lawsuit. The regional nonprofit, spearheaded by the owner of an Anacortes fishing charter company, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on April 28. The lawsuit accuses various federal agencies and agency leaders, along with the state Department of Fish & Wildlife, of violating the Endangered Species Act through its fisheries management in the state. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Free divers stumble upon illegal crab traps off Vancouver beach
DFO has recovered more than 250 illegal crab traps in English Bay near Kitsilano. Jon Hernandez reports. (CBC)

Scientists Are Relocating Nuisance Beavers to Help Salmon
On a bright day in a suburban Seattle backyard, a very confused beaver peers out of a wire trap. His crime? Flooding a creek behind a home and causing property damage, an increasingly common occurrence in the region. Confused, the rodent squints and watches as Molly Alves, a biologist with the Tulalip Tribe, slowly wades up to him, picks him up—trap and all—and loads him into the back of her white pickup. Alves is now set to perform an environmental switcheroo: She's going to take the beaver out of the urban environment of western Washington and move him eastward to remote headwaters in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. She's hoping that there, the beaver will create dams that turn the wild landscape back into a maze of wetlands that benefit wildlife from mosquitoes to brown bears, and to fish — including endangered salmon. Lindsay VanSomeren reports. (Smithsonian Magazine)

If you like to watch: Invasive European green crab in Canadian waters
The European green crab is one of the 10 most unwanted species in the world. Here's how to identify and report it. (DFO)

Salish Sea News Week in Review 5/7/21: Tuba Day, deadly air, climate pollution cuts, Metro Vancouver population, higher climate 'normals,' BD old growth logging, Snake salmon. plastics, Shell refinery sale, seabed mining, Snake dam feud, Site C dam docs

Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  248 AM PDT Fri May 7 2021   
TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt rising to 15 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 ft or less building to 2 to 3 ft in the  afternoon. W swell 8 ft at 10 seconds. Showers likely in the  morning. 
TONIGHT  W wind 15 to 20 kt easing to 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 7 ft at 10 seconds. 
SAT  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at  9 seconds. A chance of showers. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 9 seconds. 
SUN  Light wind becoming W to 10 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 8 seconds.

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