8/1 Black Sabbath, Canoe Journey, North Slope drilling, saving bumblebees, whale rescue, First Nations LNG, Columbia R talk, democracy watch, week in review

Black Sabbath was an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969, they distinguished themselves through occult themes with horror-inspired lyrics and down-tuned guitars. (Wikipedia)

Today's top story in Salish Current: Local organizations unionize, await new contract 

Elwha welcome canoes for final stop in journey
With white caps on the sea, canoes battled strong currents to reach Elwha Beach on Thursday for the final landing of the 2025 Canoe Journey Paddle to Elwha. Emily Hanson reports. (Peninsula Daily News) 

Trump administration seeks to revoke limits on oil drilling in parts of Alaska’s North Slope
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced on Thursday that it will revoke three documents intended to form the basis for limits on oil drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. Those documents, and the limits themselves, were issued in the last year of President Joe Biden’s administration. James Brooks reports. (Washington State Standard) 

Keeping the Northwest’s buzz alive: saving the western bumblebee
One of the Northwest’s most common animals has all but disappeared from much of the region....Washington has 28 native species of bumblebees, with eight of them, including the western bumblebee, in some degree of peril, conservation-wise. John Ryan reports. (KUOW) 

Juvenile humpback whale ‘stronger and energetic’ after recent rescue 
Biologists are tracking the recovery of a juvenile humpback whale rescued from a life-threatening entanglement in the Salish Sea, even as Canadian officials have received reports of more entangled humpbacks in British Columbia. Jeff Rice reports. (Puget Sound Institute) 

LNG Project Comes with Financial Risks for First Nations: Report
Drawbacks for the Prince Rupert initiative outweigh benefits for environment and investor, says Yellowhead Institute. Sonal Gupta reports. (National Observer) 

Columbia at a Crossroads: fish wars, dam removal and climate change
Seattle Times Environment Reporter Lynda Mapes and her colleagues share the story of their four-month journey along the great river of the West, the Columbia. In-person talk, Aug. 12, 5:30 p.m., Seattle Public Library. Register for free. 

Democracy Watch

• Smithsonian removes Trump from impeachment exhibit in American history museum (Washington Post) 
• Judge extends TPS for 60,000 from Central America and Nepal (AP) 
• In reversal, Defense Department will continue providing crucial satellite weather data (NPR) 
• Trump’s big proposed cuts to health and education spending rebuffed by US Senate panel (Washington State Standard) 
• USDA proposes closing regional Forest Service offices in Portland, moving work to Colorado, Utah (Washington State Standard) 

Salish Sea News Week in Review 8/1/25: World Wide Web day, missing birds, clearcutting and floods, greenhouse gas rollback, drinking PFAS, fossil fuel subsidies, WA voter pessimism, OR wind, Helion fusion. 

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Here's your weekend tug weather—West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  203 AM PDT Fri Aug 1 2025   TODAY  W wind 5 to 10 kt, rising to 10 to 15 kt late. Seas  around 3 ft this morning, then around 2 ft or less. Wave Detail:  W 2 ft at 6 seconds. Areas of dense fog. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 15 kt, easing to 5 to 10 kt after  midnight. Seas around 2 ft or less. Wave Detail: W 2 ft at  6 seconds. Areas of dense fog in the evening, then widespread  dense fog after midnight.  
SAT  W wind 5 to 10 kt. Seas around 2 ft or less. Wave Detail:  W 2 ft at 6 seconds. Patchy fog.  
SAT NIGHT  W wind 10 to 15 kt, easing to 5 to 10 kt after  midnight. Seas around 3 ft. Wave Detail: W 3 ft at 6 seconds.  
SUN  W wind 5 to 10 kt. Seas around 3 ft. Wave Detail: W 3 ft  at 6 seconds. Patchy dense fog in the afternoon.

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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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