9/1 Vine maple, local news, polar bear decline, illegal fishing, warming seas, dam removal, tree ordinance, old-growth logging, whale strike, mahi mahi, week in review

 

Vine Maple [Native Plants Pacific NW]

Vine Maple Acer circinatum
There are nearly 150 species of maples worldwide.  Most are from eastern Asia.  North America is home to about a dozen. It is found from Alaska and British Columbia to northern California, from the east side of the Cascade Mountains to the Pacific coast. Natives used Vine Maple branches for baskets and fish traps.  It was often used for firewood. Circinatum refers to the “rounded,” regularly lobed leaves. (Native Plants Pacific NW)

League chapters, media keep the focus on local news
Commentary: Bringing home the lesson of local news and the police raid on the Marion County Record. Mary Coltrane and Dee Anne Finken write. (Salish Current)

Study directly links greenhouse gas emissions with polar bear decline, UW professor says
Polar bears and their cubs will starve faster in the coming decades as greenhouse gas emissions hasten the decline of Arctic ice, scientists found in a new study. The connection between melting Arctic ice and declining polar bear populations has been generally understood for decades, but a study published Thursday in the journal Science is the first to directly quantify the relationship. Conrad Swanson reports. (Seattle Times)

Illegal fishing 'rampant' in Indian Arm near Metro Vancouver: DFO
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) says bountiful pink salmon in Indian Arm near North Vancouver has led to "rampant" illegal fishing in three rockfish conservation areas (RCAs). The closed areas are meant to help rockfish populations increase, according to Art Demsky, a fisheries officer and DFO detachment commander for Fraser Valley West. (CBC)

A warming climate could cut West Coast black cod harvests in half
A new study from NOAA Fisheries looks at a group of four kinds of ground fish that right now are commonly caught together in deep water off the west coast. They include sablefish (also known as black cod), Dover sole, and two kinds of small red rock fish, shortspine thornyhead; and longspine thornyhead. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Dam removal still on table as settlement talks over Lower Snake River operations continue
Dam removal remains on the table on the Lower Snake River under an agreement announced Thursday, after two years of settlement talks between the federal government and tribes and conservationists. The original stay was set to expire Thursday. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Inside the tumultuous debate behind Seattle's tree ordinance
The debate over more density or more tree canopy got personal as developers clash with the city's Urban Forestry Commission. Eric Scigliano reports. (Crosscut)

Trump-era rule change allowing the logging of old-growth forests violates laws, judge says
A federal judge has found that a Trump-era rule change that allowed for the logging of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest violates several laws. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Hallman on Thursday found that the U.S. Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Forest Management Act and the Endangered Species Act when it amended a protection that had been in place since 1994. (Associated Press)

B.C. Ferries vessel likely hit whale for second time since late July
 When a humpback surfaced in front of the southbound ferry on Tuesday evening, the crew put the engines in reverse but believe the 152-metre-long ferry hit the whale despite their efforts, a company spokesperson said. Carla Wilson reports. (Times Colonist) 

Angler nabs record-breaking fish off Washington coast
Wade La Fontaine caught a 21-pound, 48-inch dolphinfish, also known as dorado or mahi mahi, which shattered the state record, a 16.27-pound dolphinfish caught in 2013. Daniella Segura reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Salish Sea News Week in Review 9/1/23: Food bank Friday, Tokitae, BC giant trees, pink salmon, BC fire costs, Clayoquot Sound logging, flame retardants, tribes climate change, wetland protections, Site C dam error, old-growth logging, polar bear decline.

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Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  255 AM PDT Fri Sep 1 2023   
TODAY  Light wind. Wind waves less than 1 ft. W swell 5 ft at  8 seconds. 
TONIGHT  Light wind. Wind waves less than 1 ft. W swell 5 ft at  8 seconds. 
SAT  SE wind to 10 kt becoming E in the afternoon. Wind waves  1 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 10 seconds. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 7  ft at 9 seconds. 
SUN  SE wind to 10 kt becoming SW in the afternoon. Wind waves  1 ft or less. W swell 8 ft at 12 seconds.

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