Common Snowberry (Native Plants PNW]
Common Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus
Common Snowberry is found from southeast Alaska to southern California;
all across the northern United States and the Canadian provinces.
Snowberries are high in saponins, which are poorly absorbed by the
body. Although they are largely considered poisonous, (given names like
‘corpse berry’ or ‘snake’s berry’), some tribes ate them fresh or dried
them for later consumption. (Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest)
Today's top story in Salish Current: Unseen and overlooked Anacortes / Seeing the forests through the plantations
New calf born in pod of endangered southern resident orca whales, researchers say
The Center for Whale Research (CWR) said the orca calf was spotted
swimming with J pod in Puget Sound Friday, Dec. 20, and say it is most
likely the child of the orca known as J35. CWR said it has not yet had
an official encounter with the calf to confirm its lineage. Jeff
Lawrence reports. (CHEK)
Logging would be allowed in millions of acres of national forest in Washington, Oregon and California,
including older trees currently off-limits to cutting, under proposed
amendments to the Northwest Forest Plan...The Biden administration has
embarked on an update of the plan to address changes, including a loss
of nearly 7% of protected old-growth forest within the plan area because
of wildfire. The loss has eliminated gains of old growth achieved
during the first 25 years of the plan. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)
Taylor brand oysters distributed in 3 provinces recalled over possible norovirus contamination
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall due to possible
norovirus contamination of certain oysters distributed in British
Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. The agency says the recall covers certain
Fanny Bay, Sunseeker and Cloudy Bay oysters under the Taylor Shellfish
Canada brand. The recall says most of the affected oysters were
harvested and processed in early December, although some may have been
harvested as early as Nov. 27. (Canadian Press)
Skagit County hearing examiner considers battery energy storage facility
A Skagit County hearing examiner considered Friday whether to grant a
special-use permit for a battery energy storage facility in the Bayview
Ridge area west of Burlington. The facility would be on about 22 acres
along McFarland Road. The property is near a Puget Sound Energy
substation and is zoned heavy industrial. The facility would be able to
store up to 200 megawatt hours of energy for about four hours,
increasing the power capacity and grid resiliency of the area, according
to Skagit County. Racquel Muncy reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)
Activists sue to release images of dead orcas entangled by fishing boats
Activists sued the federal government Thursday to release images of dead
orca whales, sea lions and other marine mammals entangled by commercial
fishing boats off the U.S. West Coast. The complaints were filed after
the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration failed to
fulfill multiple Freedom of Information Act requests filed by Oceana, a
Washington-based conservation group, as part of its campaign to raise
public awareness about the harmful effects of trawl fishing in federally
managed waters. (Associated Press)
Skagit County vessel turn-in event brings in 49 boats
Forty-nine vessels were kept from possibly becoming abandoned or
derelict during a state Department of Natural Resources’ Vessel Turn in
Program event held in Skagit County. The event, which ran July 22
through November, allowed vessel owners to responsibly dispose of their
unwanted boats for free. (Skagit Valley Herald)
Stopgap Columbia River Treaty leaves U.S. with more electricity, trickier flood management
A stopgap update to the 60-year-old Columbia River Treaty between the
U.S. and Canada upends flood control and hydropower across the river
basin. The U.S. Department of State announced the temporary agreement
late last month. It shifts flood risk management mostly to the U.S.,
which could make it trickier to manage floods on the Lower Columbia. But
it also lets the U.S. keep an estimated $100 million in hydropower
previously sent north. The new regime will have downstream impacts on
hydropower generation, flood-control costs and ecosystems in ways that
river managers say are not entirely clear yet. Henry Brannan reports. (The Columbian)
Holly
Reader Forest Shomer comments regarding Washington state efforts to
label holly a noxious weed: "The eight holly growers could and should
set a positive example, by helping develop and then cultivating a
sterile hybrid form of the species. I don’t think many would object to a
sterile holly, but as long as it is only available as an aggressive
invader of our parks and forests—it is non grata to those of us who
labor to keep heritage lands intact for the future (and present."
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Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-
219 AM PST Mon Dec 23 2024
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
TODAY
SE wind 5 to 10 kt, becoming E 20 to 25 kt. Seas 9 to
13 ft, building to 11 to 15 ft this afternoon. Wave Detail: E
3 ft at 5 seconds and W 14 ft at 19 seconds. Rain late.
TONIGHT
E wind 20 to 25 kt, veering to S after midnight. Gusts
up to 40 kt. Seas 10 to 14 ft, subsiding to 7 to 10 ft after
midnight. Wave Detail: E 7 ft at 6 seconds and W 12 ft at
18 seconds. Rain.
