4/9 Lilac, orca calf, PSE LNG, burnt sewage, chemical plant pollution, ship-breaking, best bird, loggerhead turtle, wolf protection, PCB standards, "Sounders"

Lilac

Lilac Syringa
Syringa is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly cultivated in temperate areas elsewhere. (Wikipedia)

Today's top story in Salish Current: Pasture or power? Solar talk on San Juan Island

Trapped B.C. orca calf's skin whitening, no sign of emaciation: Fisheries Department
The skin of a young killer whale trapped in a Vancouver Island lagoon is turning white due to the low salinity of the water, but the Fisheries Department says the calf is active and isn't showing signs of emaciation. (Canadian Press)

Puget Sound Energy facility has violated air permit over a dozen times
The 2-year old liquified natural gas plant on the Tacoma Tideflats has been issued more than a dozen violations of the facility’s air permit by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. Isabella Breda reports. (Seattle Times)

Bellingham receives notice its wastewater plant violated air quality standards
Bellingham's wastewater treatment plant was notified on March 27 by the Northwest Clean Air Agency that its burnt sewage violated emission limits and standards. (Bellingham Herald)

Environmental Protection Agency Limits Pollution From Chemical Plants
The new regulation is aimed at reducing the risk of cancer for people who live close to plants emitting toxic chemicals. Lisa Friedman reports. (NY Times)

Vancouver Island ship-breaking site hit with stop-pollution order
he company taking apart derelict vessels in Union Bay, B.C., has been hit with a pollution abatement order from the province. Deep Water Recovery is illegally allowing toxic effluent to run off into Baynes Sound and the marine environment off Vancouver Island's east coast, B.C.'s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy has found. Madeline Dunnett reports. (The Discourse/CBC)

Watch: B.C.’s best bird crowned
Linda Bakker, co-executive director of the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C., breaks down how the Anna’s hummingbird beat 32 birds in a bracket to decide B.C.'s best bird. (CBC)

Rare sea turtle discovered dead on North Island
Another loggerhead sea turtle has surfaced on Vancouver Island, hundreds of kilometres north of its natural range in the open Pacific Ocean. The turtle was found dead on Friday by hikers at Nels Bight near Cape Scott on the North Island.It was the second loggerhead turtle discovered on the Island in three months, after a 38-kilogram female was found alive but severely hypothermic in “cold shock” floating in bull kelp off Metchosin on Feb. 4. Darren Kloster reports. (Times Colonist)

Environmental groups challenge decision not to federally protect wolves across the West
Conservation groups are taking the federal government to court over environmental protections for gray wolves across the West. Earlier this year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concluded western gray wolves did not warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act. If those protections had been granted, they would have applied to wolves in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington, where those states have the highest concentrations of wolves. Wolves in remaining portions of those states are federally listed as endangered. April Ehrlich reports. (OPB)

Comment: Feds deny Washington’s request for stricter PCB standards
Regarding yesterday's story, local biologist  Don Norman writes: "The article reminded me of a similar issue when I worked on the Superfund Issue back in the late 1990s.  When the research showed that great blue herons were being impacted, likely by chemical exposure in the Hylebos compared to other nearby colonies, there was a petition to EPA about protection of higher trophic level species from such exposure. It was denied.  The reason was that there were such huge contaminated areas on the east coast.  Those east coast areas would never achieve any cleanup with those lower limits.  As an aside, I am reviewing great blue heron colonies this spring and summer to determine how populations are doing in the Salish Sea, as monitoring of this Priority Species has been, apparently, dropped by WDFW.  If you have any knowledge of any heron colonies, I would love to hear from you at pugetsoundbird@gmail.com ."

Welcome the Whales Parade and Festival
Orca Network and the Langley Chamber of Commerce will host the annual event on April 13-14 featuring a full schedule of activities for all ages. The event celebrates the return of the "Sounders," a group of about 20 gray whales who divert from their northern migration along the Washington coast each spring to spend a few weeks feeding on the ghost shrimp that occur along Whidbey shorelines. Information.

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Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  318 AM PDT Tue Apr 9 2024    
TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 2 to 6 ft at 11 seconds building to  6 to 7 ft at 11 seconds in the afternoon.  
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming NW to 10 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 3 to 8 ft at 11 seconds  becoming 5 to 6 ft at 15 seconds after midnight.

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. It is included as a daily feature in the Salish Current newsletter. Click here to subscribe. Questions? Email mikesato772 (@) gmail.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.



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