1/3 Dolphins, Skagit dams relicensing, ghost gear, road salt, white pelicans, Nooksack pollution, BC wildfires, week in review

Acrobatics, dolphin style [Laurie MacBride]

Dance of the Dolphins
We saw no whales on our boat trip this past summer, but some of their smaller cousins put on a surprise performance for us on one very memorable morning. We were anchored in Tenedos Bay, a popular spot in Desolation Sound—a place we would never have expected to see whales or dolphins. So you can imagine our excitement as we spotted a pod of about 20 Pacific White-sided dolphins entering the bay and heading our way. To our delight, they cruised directly over to the part of the bay where we were moored. Laurie MacBride writes with photos. (Eye on Environment)


Today's top story in Salish Current: Clyde Ford to speak on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. / Annual event to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of inclusion with music, inspiration

Extension granted on process to relicense Skagit River dams
The yearslong process to relicense the three Skagit River dams has gotten longer after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission agreed to a five-month extension. Seattle City Light’s license to operate the dams, which provide 20% of Seattle’s electricity, expires in April. The utility is asking that its license be renew for another 30 to 50 years. Emma Fletcher-Frazer reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Sea You Never: The Tragic Tale of Derelict Fishing Gear
Derelict crab pots are a consistent killer among crab populations. This abandoned gear leads to ghostfishing and the disappearance of the crabs. Peyton Perdue reports. (The Planet Magazine)

Road salt kills fertilized coho salmon eggs, say UBC researchers
The UBC data suggests salting roads at current levels in November or December is likely dangerous to coho and chum salmon. Tiffany Crawford reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Changes in Pacific Northwest white pelican populations puzzle scientists
White pelicans are distinctive. Their 9-foot white wings are black tipped, and can create a bit of a mirage when they fly, seemingly appearing and disappearing as they go. Their populations have increased considerably over the past few decades, and more recently, some pelicans have been spotted staying along the coast and in the Columbia River Basin for longer than expected. Allison Frost reports. (OPB)

Portage Pollution Creates Unsavory Shellfish
Fecal coliform bacterial pollutants entering the Nooksack River Watershed, leaves the Lummi Nation with uncertain access to their shellfish harvesting sites. Amanda Ferrell reports. (The Planet Magazine)

Canadian forests primed for more severe wildfire days, new research warns
Canadian forests are increasingly primed for severe, uncontrollable wildfires, a study published Thursday said, underlining what the authors described as a pressing need to proactively mitigate the "increased threat posed by climate change." The study by Canadian researchers, published in the peer-reviewed journal Science, looked at Canadian fire severity from 1981 to 2020. Jordan Omstead reports. (Canadian Press)

Salish Sea News Week in Review 1/3/25: Tolkien Day, bird flu, toxic fertilizer, Hakai farewell, orca babies, stay away zone, Skagit dams, salt kills.

Have you read the Salish Current? 
Independent, fact based news for Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties. Community supported, free from ads. Read the latest weekly newsletter here.

Here's your weekend tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  245 AM PST Fri Jan 3 2025    
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON    
TODAY  E wind 20 to 25 kt, becoming SE 15 to 20 kt late. Seas  6 to 9 ft, subsiding to 5 to 7 ft this afternoon. Wave Detail: E  5 ft at 5 seconds and W 6 ft at 14 seconds. Rain.  
TONIGHT  SE wind 10 to 15 kt. Seas 4 to 6 ft. Wave Detail: SE  3 ft at 6 seconds and W 6 ft at 16 seconds. Rain.  
SAT  SE wind 10 to 15 kt. Seas 4 to 6 ft. Wave Detail: SE 3 ft  at 5 seconds and W 6 ft at 14 seconds. Rain.  
SAT NIGHT  SE wind 15 to 20 kt, becoming SW 10 to 15 kt after  midnight. Seas 4 to 6 ft. Wave Detail: SE 4 ft at 4 seconds and W  5 ft at 13 seconds. Rain.  
SUN  SW wind 10 to 15 kt, easing to around 5 kt in the  afternoon. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave Detail: SW 2 ft at 7 seconds and  W 5 ft at 12 seconds. A chance of rain.

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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 msato(at)salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.



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1/2 Baby orcas, Kitsap forest, orca distance, Allen Cr habitat, invasive species, Burley Lagoon, avian flu teen

Editor's note: Thank you very much for your donation to the Salish Current fundraiser which ended on Dec. 31. We met and exceeded our goal with a total of $113,705 donated to take the Current into 2025. Mahalo. Mike Sato.

Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono
The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness
Hau'oli Makahiki Hou
Happy New Year

Today's top story in Salish Current: Social justice eludes many, impacts the whole community

Newborn southern resident orca calf confirmed, another feared dead
Excitement over a newborn southern resident orca calf that was spotted with the population's J pod earlier this week has been muted by news that another calf has died. The newly observed calf has been designated J62. Researchers say they don't yet know much about it. The deceased J61 calf was first seen travelling with J pod on Dec. 20 in Puget Sound. The newborn female orca was later determined by a team of researchers and scientists to be the offspring of mother J35, also known as Tahlequah, which gained global attention in 2018 when she carried the body of her newborn for 17 days. Karin Larsen reports. (CBC)  See also: Famous orca mom carries another dead calf around Puget Sound John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

Conservation effort in North Kitsap continues with $6.3 million purchase of forest
Over 450 acres of forest land has been acquired by Great Peninsula Conservancy, completing a major piece of the historic Kitsap Forest & Bay preservation effort near the North Kitsap community of Port Gamble. Melissa Conner reports. (Kitsap Sun)

New law requires boaters to stay 1,000 yards away from Southern Resident orcas
Starting January 1, boaters in Washington waters must stay 1,000 yards away from SRKW at all times, which is approximately a half-nautical mile. There are currently just over 70 Southern Resident orcas, consisting of three pods: J, K, and L. The new law creates a uniform policy for everyone on the water, commercial, recreational and even kayakers and paddleboarders. Denise Whitaker reports. (KOMO)

Tulalip Tribes aim to boost salmon habitat at Allen Creek
Last month, the Tulalip Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Tulalip Tribes, acquired 33 acres surrounding a stretch of Allen Creek outside Marysville, just east of the Kellogg Marsh Grange Hall. An additional 4 acres of farm land were dedicated as a conservation easement. The tribes’ Cultural and Natural Resources Department plans to rebraid creek channels, replant native vegetation and remove culverts — all in the name of restoring coho habitat. Eliza Aronson reports. (Everett Herald)

Climate change is helping invasive species take root in Washington
Non-native plants are crowding out native ones in the Pacific Northwest and posing new challenges for the organizations that manage them. Cassie Diamond reports. (CascadePBS) 

It would be Pierce County’s largest geoduck farm. Locals fought it. Now the state decides
Burley Lagoon, a body of saltwater that connects under the Purdy Bay Bridge to Henderson Bay, has been a site for shellfish cultivation since the 1930s, beginning with a farm operated by Tyee Oyster Company. It’s now managed by Taylor Shellfish Farms, a giant in Washington state’s shellfish industry. The fifth-generation family-owned company began managing the approximately 300-acre Burley Lagoon farm on a lease from Western Oyster Company in 2012, The News Tribune reported. Since that change in management, residents who live near the lagoon have voiced concerns about Taylor Shellfish’s proposal in 2014 to convert part of the farm to raise the large clams (pronounced “gooeyducks”). The company currently raises Manila clams and Pacific oysters there. Julia Park report. (Tacoma News Tribune)

B.C. teen with avian flu off oxygen, no longer infectious, Canadian health officials tell medical journal
A letter sent to the editor of The New England Journal of Medicine signed by Canadian health officials says the British Columbia teenager who tested positive for avian flu has been taken off supplemental oxygen and is no longer infectious. (Canadian Press)

Have you read the Salish Current? 
Independent, fact based news for Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties. Community supported, free from ads. Read the latest weekly newsletter here.

Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  229 AM PST Thu Jan 2 2025    
TODAY  E wind 15 to 20 kt. Seas 5 to 7 ft. Wave Detail: E 4 ft  at 5 seconds and W 6 ft at 13 seconds. Rain until late afternoon,  then a chance of rain late.
TONIGHT  E wind 15 to 20 kt. Seas 5 to 7 ft. Wave Detail: E  4 ft at 5 seconds, W 7 ft at 14 seconds and W 2 ft at 19 seconds.  A chance of rain 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 msato(at)salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.



Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate



Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told