4/11 Hellebore, climate policy defense, bat disease, oil spill, salmon returns, Candian travel, gray whales, first 100 days, week in review

Hellebore

Hellebore
The Eurasian genus Helleborus consists of approximately 20 species of herbaceous or evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae. Many hellebore species are poisonous. Wikipedia

Today's top story in Salish Current: New quiet zones in Fairhaven silence train horn sounds

West Coast governors: We will defend our climate policies against Trump attack
An executive order signed by President Trump on Tuesday directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to look for state and local laws that address climate change or environmental justice and to “take all appropriate action” to stop enforcement of any that are illegal...Trump’s order singles out policies such as the cap-and-trade systems for limiting carbon emissions that states including Washington and California have adopted. John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

A deadly disease is killing millions of bats. Now Trump funding cuts threaten a promising Canadian treatment
At a crucial point in their research, biologists are scrambling to find new support for their study into a treatment for white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that has devastated insect-eating bats across North America. Ainslie Cruickshank reports. (The Narwhal)

Coast Guard, WA Ecology Department investigate spill in Seattle’s Salmon Bay
Pollution responders with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Washington State Department of Ecology are investigating a diesel spill that occurred in Lake Washington Ship Canal’s Salmon Bay on Thursday morning. Amanda Zhou reports. (Seattle Times)

Ocean conditions mixed for salmon, leading to average salmon returns
For a long time, scientists have studied what salmon eat. They also know where salmon go and know a lot more about their survival in the ocean. However, that could change if scientists no longer have funding for research on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessels. Courtney Platt reports. (NW Public Broadcasting)

Canadian travel to the U.S. has plummeted. One reason why: fear
The number of Canadian trips to the U.S. by land has dropped by almost a third. Sophia Harris reports. (CBC)

From Washington to Baja California: the quest to touch a gray whale
Gray whales pass through Washington waters every year as they complete a 10,000 mile migration along the West Coast. They’re also the target species for a possible renewed hunt by the Makah Tribe. And there’s an annual trip many Whidbey Island whale watchers make, a kind of pilgrimage, to San Ignacio Lagoon, in Baja California. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Trump nominee for public lands withdraws after criticism of Jan. 6 surfaces
President Donald Trump’s nominee to oversee an agency that manages a quarter-billion acres of public land has withdrawn her nomination following revelations that she criticized the Republican president in 2021 for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Matthew Brown and Matthew Daly report. (Associated Press)

The First 100 Days

• Trump administration extends deadline for schools to meet anti-DEI order or lose funds (News From The States)
  
• Pressuring migrants to ‘self-deport,’ White House moves to cancel Social Security numbers  (NY Times)
  
• RFK Jr. says HHS will determine cause of autism by September (Associated Press)
  
• U.S. Military Removes Commander of Greenland Base (NY Times)
  

Salish Sea News Week in Review 4/11/25: Aloha Louie Louie, Trump's logging, clean energy freeze, crab larvae, watching oil and gas, 'clean' coal, new orca, no enviro justice, Tacoma wastewater, state climate policy.

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Here's your weekend tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  321 AM PDT Fri Apr 11 2025    
TODAY  W wind 10 to 15 kt. Seas 4 to 6 ft. Wave Detail: W 6 ft  at 11 seconds.  
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 15 kt. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave Detail: NW  2 ft at 4 seconds and W 5 ft at 10 seconds.  
SAT  W wind 10 to 15 kt. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave Detail: W 5 ft at  10 seconds.  
SAT NIGHT  W wind 10 to 15 kt, easing to around 5 kt after  midnight. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave Detail: NW 2 ft at 4 seconds and W  5 ft at 11 seconds.  
SUN  NE wind around 5 kt. Seas 3 to 4 ft. Wave Detail: W 3 ft  at 10 seconds.

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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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