3/24 Surf grass, WA natural gas, mining, David Suzuki, Oly wetlands, BC best bird, reefnetting, Frank Chopp, first 100 days

 

Surf grass [Sound Water Stewards]

Surf grass Phyllospadix
Surf grass likes high energy areas where it is bonded to the rocks by tiny root hairs. The roots and rhizomes may be covered by sand that has washed over it, but beneath that, their attachment will be to rock. Three species of Phyllospadix can be found in low intertidal and subtidal zones on Pacific Northwest beaches. (Sound Water Stewards)

Today's top story in Salish Current: Local counties face climate vulnerabilities

Judge overturns Washington natural gas measure approved by voters
Opponents argued Initiative 2066 was unconstitutional because it dealt with multiple unrelated subjects. Supporters say they’ll appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court. Jerry Cornfield reports. (Washington State Standard)

Can the rush for clean energy overcome a legacy of pollution?
The technologies needed to usher the world into a new energy paradigm require minerals: Copper. Lithium. Cobalt. Nickel. Manganese. Graphite. Mining these materials is an inherently dirty and extractive process. It comes at a steep cost, disproportionately paid by communities that have dealt with legacies of contamination. Isabella Breda reports. (Seattle Times)

‘Absolute self-destruction’: David Suzuki has bad news about the environment
In 1962, a young Canadian geneticist started reading “Silent Spring,” Rachel Carson’s damning treatise about the dangers of using pesticides to control insects...Six decades later, Suzuki stands at the precipice of an ecological catastrophe clanging alarm bells as Carson once did. Elliott Almond reports. (Seattle Times)

Could wetlands be in the way of proposed 39-home project in NE Olympia? Officials to find out
Tacoma-based housing developer Pacific Lifestyle Homes has plans to build 39 market-rate homes on a 7-acre property in northeast Olympia known as Springwood Gardens. But nearby residents are speaking out against the proposed neighborhood expansion with concerns about increased traffic, as well as wetland and natural habitat loss. Ty Vinson reports. (The Olympian)

Best Bird in B.C. contest returns for a second year
Wildlife Rescue hopes a songbird sing-off competition will help educate people about B.C.'s birds. Bridget Stringer-Holden reports. (CBC)

Behind Origins’ latest season, ‘The Last Reefnetters’
Filmmaker Samuel Wolfe shares what sparked his curiosity about the centuries-old fishing technique and who still practices it on the Salish Sea today. Paris Jackson reports.(CascadePBS)

Frank Chopp, former WA House speaker and tireless advocate, dies at 71
Frank Chopp, the longest-serving House speaker in Washington state history and a fierce advocate for working families and low-income housing, has died. He was 71. Jim Brunner reports. (Seattle Times)

The First 100 Days

• USDA halts millions of dollars worth of deliveries to food banks (Politico)
  
• Homeland Security revokes temporary status for 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (Associated Press)
  
• I.R.S. Prepares to Help Find Immigrants Targeted for Deportation (NY Times)
  
• Columbia University’s Concessions to Trump Seen as a Watershed (NY Times)
  
• Under Trump, the news industry faces challenges from all directions (Associated Press)
  
• How Trump uses disinformation in his trade war with Canada (CBC)
  
• With New Decree, Trump Threatens Lawyers and Law Firms (NY Times)
  
• DEI purge: Pentagon scrambles to remove then restore content (Associated Press)
  
• Showdown at the Institute of Peace (NY Times)
  
• ‘Chaos and Confusion’ at the N.I.H., the Crown Jewel of American Science (NY Times)
  

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Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  333 AM PDT Mon Mar 24 2025    
TODAY  S wind 5 to 10 kt, backing to SE late this morning,  rising to 10 to 15 kt this afternoon. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave  Detail: SE 2 ft at 6 seconds, W 5 ft at 11 seconds and W 2 ft at  19 seconds. Rain.  
TONIGHT  SE wind 5 to 10 kt. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave Detail: SE  2 ft at 3 seconds, W 5 ft at 11 seconds and W 3 ft at 17 seconds.  Rain.

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