9/8 L122, fin whale, VanAquarium, Malinak swims, fish ladder, sea stars, bad soil, religion

L91 with calf L122 (Monika Weiland/Orca Watcher)

Baby boom continues for Puget Sound orcas
Puget Sound’s orcas have added another baby girl to their ranks, bringing to five the number of whales born this year to the Sound’s three resident pods. The calf was spotted Monday, swimming with L-Pod and her mother, L91, a 20-year-old orca. The pod is one of three in Puget Sound’s endangered Southern Resident Community, according to the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA), which spotted the calf. The baby — named L122 — is the fifth calf born since Dec. 30… (Seattle Times)

Rarely-seen fin whale spotted in nearby waters
A rare sighting of the world’s second-largest whale in north Puget Sound makes marine experts hopeful for a recolonization on the West Coast. A fin whale was spotted and photographed Thursday morning south of Minor Island, near Whidbey Island, about 50 kilometres east of Victoria. The sighting was made by naturalists aboard the Chilkat Express, part of a Seattle-area whale-watching fleet. It appeared to be a young fin whale, healthy but on the thin side, according to Jonathan Stern, a marine biology professor at San Francisco State University. Adrian Chamberlain reports. (Times Colonist)

Vancouver Aquarium wants to mix conservation with commercial aquaculture
For decades, the Vancouver Aquarium has trumpeted its conservation programs. Now, it is hoping to make some cash at the same time. In an experimental program that is certain to stir controversy, the aquarium is raising rock fish and wolf eels in hopes of kickstarting a commercial aquaculture program, selling the crop to commercial markets while reducing pressure on wild stocks. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Seattle man becomes only 8th person to swim across Strait of Juan de Fuca without a wetsuit
A Seattle man became the eighth person to complete a swim across the Strait of Juan de Fuca without a wetsuit on Sunday.  Andrew Malinak, a 28-year-old civil engineer from Seattle, wore only a neon pink bathing suit and a bright orange swim cap and took just under 7 hours to swim 12 miles across the 54 degree waters of the Strait in his second attempt to conquer the waterway.  Arwyn Rice reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Capitol Lake dam fish ladder to be repaired beginning Tuesday
Repair work that will begin on the Capitol Lake dam fish ladder early Tuesday morning (Sept. 8) will require the temporary closure of the sidewalk next to the dam. The state’s Enterprise Services Department will lower the lake by about 2 feet during the repairs. The work will be done by Rognlin’s Inc. of Aberdeen. The fish ladder was damaged earlier this year. While the cause of the damage is unknown, officials say it was likely caused by logs or other debris passing through the ladder. (Olympian)

Point Defiance loses half its sea stars to a wasting aquatic disease
The disease responsible for the largest die-off of sea stars ever recorded has popped back up along the West Coast. Last year, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium lost more than half of its 369 sea stars. Now, they number fewer than 100…. An exact total of how many sea stars have shown signs of wasting at Point Defiance was not immediately available. Stacia Glenn reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

No legal teeth in 2008 state law on gas emissions, analysis says
A 2008 state law seeking big cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions is toothless and does not require the Legislature or other officials to meet its targets, according to a legal analysis by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office. But aides to Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee say that won’t stop him from using his executive authority to set a statewide cap on carbon emissions through the Department of Ecology. Citing the governor’s authority under the state Clean Air Act — a separate law — the aides rejected calls by state Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, to suspend the Ecology Department’s work. Jim Brunner reports. (Seattle Times)

Toxic soil transport across Duwamish draws critics
Duwamish River activists are concerned about a Waste Management proposal to transport toxic soil across the river…. Waste Management is working to secure permits to transport soil dredged from the Port of Bellingham. It's contaminated after years of industrial waste and headed for a landfill. It will be barged through the Duwamish to the Waste Management site, and then loaded onto trains. Alison Morrow reports. (KING)

Live In A Beautiful Region? You're Less Likely To Be Religious
A new study says beautiful places like King County have so many people who claim to be nones -- having no religion -- because the natural world provides a "spiritual resource." Ross Reynolds speaks with Todd Ferguson, co-author with Jeffrey Tamborello, about their finding that counties with high levels of natural amenities also have low rates of religious adherence. Posey Gruener and Ross Reynolds report. (KUOW)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT TUE SEP 8 2015
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN.
TONIGHT
W WIND TO 10 KT IN THE EVENING...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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7/31 Warm waters, Shell drill, BC pipe, coal port, fuel cap, salmon plight, tribe fight, BC ferries, tangled whales

(San Juan Journal)

Storm drain mural highlights art and environmental issues
The sea creature glides over the pavement, its red and pink tentacles splayed out and reaching, one of its eight arms curling over the curb. An octopus on the run in Friday Harbor? Close, but not quite. Its a new painting of an octopus in the ocean, painted on a storm drain outside of the Whale Museum to remind passerby’s that the water running through there flows out into the ocean. Anna Smith reports. (San Juan Journal)

Salmon Losing, Jellyfish Winning
When Lewis and Clark were exploring the Pacific Northwest, they talked about salmon running so thick you could cross the river on their backs. You don’t see salmon like that around Puget Sound anymore. What you do see are jellyfish. Joshua McNichols reports. (KUOW)  See also: ‘The Blob’ may warm Puget Sound’s waters, hurt marine life  Scientists say they are concerned about the continued ecological effects of the unusually warm and dry conditions in the Puget Sound region this summer. Paige Cornwell and Sandi Doughton report. (Seattle Times)

Shell icebreaker slips by; authorities force protesters from Portland bridge
After law-enforcement officials removed three of 13 roped Greenpeace activists from a bridge, a Shell icebreaker early Thursday evening was able to begin its journey down the Willamette River en route to the Chukchi Sea. The MSV Fennica passed under the bridge shortly before 6 p.m., capping a tumultuous day of protest here by activists opposed to Shell’s efforts to explore for oil off Alaska’s North Slope. Hal Bernton and Evan Bush report. (Seattle Times)

 Kinder Morgan pipeline opponents furious about ‘chaotic’ review process
The National Energy Board is facing a fresh round of resistance to its embattled review of the proposed Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Three separate parties – British Columbia’s Opposition New Democrats, the City of Burnaby and the Sierra Club – all issued renewed challenges to the process on Thursday…. The strongly-worded letter from B.C.’s opposition party details four major concerns with the NEB process, including that it lacks the public’s confidence, doesn’t consider climate change, hasn’t required Kinder Morgan to disclose its emergency response plans and failed to ensure First Nations were on board. Laura Kane reports. (Canadian Press)

Montana scrambles, but Corps not close to coal port decision
A U.S. senator and representative from Montana hurriedly circulated petitions in their respective chambers to ask the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers not to kill the proposed coal terminal at Cherry Point. The 16 U.S. senators who signed their letter, including Montana Republican Steve Daines, were appealing to the Corps to not halt Gateway Pacific Terminal as requested in January by Lummi Nation until after a thorough environmental review is completed, with the release of a draft environmental impact statement. Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Inslee says cap would hit largest carbon sources, including gas distributors
Not wanting to swallow a “poison pill” provision in the Legislature’s transportation package helped keep Gov. Jay Inslee from creating a clean-fuel standard targeting the tailpipes that are Washington’s biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions. But Inslee told The News Tribune editorial board Wednesday that the regulations he is now pursuing would cover distributors of vehicle fuel. “Basically what this is about is breaking the monopoly and the stranglehold on Washingtonians of the oil and gas industry,” the Democratic governor said. Jordan Schrader reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

As salmon vanish in the dry Pacific Northwest, so does Native heritage
As a drought tightens its grip on the Pacific Northwest, burning away mountain snow and warming rivers, state officials and Native American tribes are becoming increasingly worried that one of the region’s most precious resources — wild salmon — might disappear. Native Americans, who for centuries have relied on salmon for food and ceremonial rituals, say the area’s five species of salmon have been declining for years, but the current threat is worse than anything they have seen. Darrly Fears reports. (Washington Post)

Lummi, S’Klallam Nations In Court Over 30-year-long Dispute Over Fishing Territory
The Lummi and S’Klallams were among the Indigenous Peoples who fished a vast inland sea off northwest Washington, bounded by Haro Strait to the west, Rosario Strait to the east, Georgia Strait to the north, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound to the south. In the middle are the San Juan Islands, which the Lummi believe is their place of origin. To the south is the Olympic Peninsula, the place of origin of the Elwha, Jamestown and Port Gamble S’Klallam peoples…. Both sides are in U.S. District Court, in their third decade of legal battles to determine who has the treaty right to fish those waters. District and appellate court decisions have seesawed in favor of the S’Klallams and the Lummi Nation. Richard Walker reports. (Indian Country Today)

Willapa Bay plan cuts Chinook production by one-third
The production of hatchery Chinook in Willapa Bay will decrease by more than one-third as a result of a policy adopted recently by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. The policy, adopted in June, also is likely to decrease the number of fish commercial fishermen can catch if the commission’s action survives a legal challenge. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials have said that they needed to adopt the new policy to avoid having the Chinook listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. (Longview Daily News)

The secret scientific life of B.C.’s ferries
B.C. Ferries passengers may not know they’re also aboard a mobile ocean observatory. Three vessels that cross the Strait of Georgia have been outfitted with instruments for collecting ocean and atmospheric information, through a partnership with Ocean Networks Canada. Scientists are using the data to monitor the strait’s habitat health, which has implications for everything from micro-organisms to larger species such as salmon and orcas. Amy Smart reports. (Times Colonist) See also: Some Google Street View Cars Now Track Pollution Levels  Sam Sanders reports. (NPR)

If you like to watch: Storm on the Deschutes
DERT's Board member and historian Helen Wheatley put this video together after a early fall storm on the Deschutes a few years ago. Its the sentiments of sediment. See here.

Whale entanglements increasing off B.C. coast
Fisheries and Oceans Canada says four whales entangled in fishing gear have been rescued off the B.C. coast in the past five weeks. Entanglement can be a death sentence for whales if netting prevents them from breathing and feeding. But in some cases, whales can go on for months or even years dragging along the gear before someone spots them and calls for help. (CBC)

Illuminating the Plight of Endangered Species, at the Empire State Building
Travis Threlkel was standing on the roof of a building on Fifth Avenue and 27th Street looking uptown at his canvas. It’s hard to miss: It’s the Empire State Building, and on Saturday evening he and his collaborator, the filmmaker and photographer Louie Psihoyos, will project digital light images of endangered species onto the building in an art event meant to draw attention to the creatures’ plight and possibly provide footage for a coming documentary.… On Saturday, using 40 stacked, 20,000-lumen projectors on the roof of a building on West 31st Street, Mr. Threlkel and Mr. Psihoyos, director of the Oscar-winning documentary “The Cove,” will be illuminating the night from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. with a looping reel showing what Mr. Psihoyos calls a “Noah’s ark” of animals. A snow leopard, a golden lion tamarin and manta rays, along with snakes, birds and various mammals and sea creatures will be projected onto a space 375 feet tall and 186 feet wide covering 33 floors of the southern face of the Empire State Building — and beyond, thanks to cellphones and Internet connections. Tom Roston reports. (NYTimes)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI JUL 31 2015
TODAY
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING SW TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 15 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
SAT
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING W 15 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT...BECOMING 1 TO 3 FT IN THE AFTERNOON. W SWELL 5 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT OR LESS AFTER MIDNIGHT. W
 SWELL 5 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
SUN
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING W 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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4/15 Spilled oil, Navy tow, Shell drill, oil tax, toxic fish, Saanich bylaw, Bainbridge SMP, Kply, climate, protected puffins, orca noise, Deschutes cleanup, kelp study, Dick Goin, tsunami

English Bay oil (Vancouver Aquarium/CBC)

Vancouver oil spill was small but 'nasty' and spread quickly
The oil spill in Vancouver's English Bay last week was relatively small, but the highly toxic bunker fuel spread quickly, and will keep washing up on beaches, said city manager Penny Ballem in an update to council. Ballem said it's still not clear exactly how much Bunker C fuel oil spilled from the grain ship Marathassa on April 8, despite estimates from the coast guard that approximately 2,700 litres were released. But Ballem said the fuel is highly toxic and very viscose or thick, so it forms globs that are carried to distant beaches, including some 12 kilometres away from the spill site at New Brighton Park in East Vancouver. Lisa Johnson reports. (CBC) See also: Vancouver oil spill stops recreational shellfish and groundfish fishing  Lisa Johnson reports. (CBC) See also: B.C. minister says Coast Guard took more than a day to take control of Vancouver fuel spill  Sunny Dhillon and Justine Hunter report. (Globe and Mail)

Navy cargo ship towed into Port Angeles Harbor after losing power in Strait
A Navy Military Sealift Command cargo ship was towed into Port Angeles on Saturday after it lost power overnight in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The 685-foot Cape Intrepid was undergoing sea trials after a long period docked in Tacoma when it lost power about 2:30 a.m. Saturday north of Clallam Bay in Canadian waters, according to the Coast Guard. Clallam Bay is 50 miles west of Port Angeles. Coast Guard Lt. Ben Weber said the Cape Intrepid drifted about two miles before the emergency tug Jeffrey Foss reached it approximately two hours later. (Peninsula Daily News)

Coast Guard creates ‘First Amendment zone’ in Puget Sound for anti-Shell protests
he U.S. Coast Guard, with help from activist groups, has identified an informal  “First Amendment Zone,” just north of Terminal 5, where protesters can take to the water against Shell Oil’s Arctic drilling fleet when it arrives at the Port of Seattle. “I didn’t choose this area:  I gave them a chart and asked them where they wanted to be,” Capt. Joe Raymond, captain of the port, said Tuesday. Raymond initiated a meeting on Monday with organizers of a “sea of kayaks” protest. He described the zone as “an excellent place” for protesters wishing a high-visibility presence while not interfering with ferries, tugs and other marine traffic in the harbor. Still, a key player in the anti-Shell protests — Greenpeace — says no accord was reached at the meeting on where sea-borne protests can take place. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com) See also: Headed to Seattle, controversial Arctic drill rig will stop in Port Angeles on Friday  Chris McDaniel reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

House OKs bill to increase tax on oil shipped through state
The state House on Tuesday passed its version of a bill to impose new safety regulations on the increasing amount of oil that is shipped through Washington by rail, boat and pipeline. A modified version of a bill that cleared the Senate in March passed the House with a 58-40 bipartisan vote. The Senate version extended a barrel tax to fund oil cleanups. In that version, the barrel tax is applied to all oil that enters Washington by train but exempts oil that travels by pipelines. Derrick Nunnally reports. (Associated Press) See also: Rules on oil train, pipeline safety not moving fast enough, lawmakers say  Curtis Tate reports. (McClatchy)

Reducing toxics in fish involves politics, maybe more than science
When it comes to eliminating toxic pollution from our waterways and the foods we eat, almost everyone agrees that the best idea is to track down the chemicals, find out how they are getting into the environment and then make decisions about how to handle the situation. It’s all common sense until politics comes into play. Chris Dunagan reports. (Watching Our Water Ways)

Lobby group opposes Saanich environmental protection bylaw
About a dozen Saanich residents have created a lobby group against an environmental protection bylaw they say might reduce property values for no reason. The Environmental Development Permit Area bylaw intends to protect sensitive natural areas by requiring homeowners to obtain permits for everything from disturbing soil to building a deck. The goal is to protect areas of high biodiversity, as well as require restoration to damaged and degraded ecosystems during development. But Saanich Citizens for a Responsible EDPA, as the newly formed lobby group is called, says the process for identifying land was flawed. Areas with little ecological value are protected, while others might not have been flagged, they say. Amy Smart reports. (Times Colonist)

Hearings board rejects challenge to Bainbridge SMP
A growth management hearings board has ruled in favor of the city of Bainbridge Island in a challenge over the city's controversial Shoreline Management Master Program. A group of shoreline property owners had filed a challenge to the city's updated plan in October, and claimed it violated state law, conflicted with Bainbridge's development regulations and also ran afoul of the city's and the park district's comprehensive plans. In the April 6 decision, the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board said the group did not prove its case. (Bainbridge Review)

State Department of Ecology: Cleanup of former plywood mill site in Port Angeles could be finished by September 2016
Cleanup of the former KPly mill site on the Port Angeles Harbor could be finished as soon as September 2016, although pollutants could linger there another three decades. Those contaminants, however, will be capped, excavated and trucked off, consumed by bacteria or ventilated away by any future user of the 19 acres at 439 Marine Drive in Port Angeles, about two dozen people at a community meeting were told Wednesday. James Casey reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Cliff Mass Explains How Climate Change Will Impact Northwest Weather In the Next Century
Cliff Mass is one of the region’s clearest communicators about the weather. We talked this week about the impacts of climate change in the next century. He has indicated in the past that we are relatively lucky when it comes to climate change. But there will be changes, in the future. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KPLU)

Warm ‘blob’ off our coast may explain weird weather
A gargantuan blob of warm water that’s been parked off the West Coast for 18 months is part of a larger pattern that helps explain California’s drought, Washington’s snow-starved ski resorts and record blizzards in New England, according to new analyses by Seattle scientists. The researchers aren’t convinced global warming is to blame, which puts them at odds with other experts who suspect Arctic melting upset the “polar vortex” and contributed to the misery on the East Coast the past two winters. Sandi Doughton reports. (Seattle Times)

New Ferry Ready To Serve San Juans Beginning June 14
The brand new, 144-car ferry Samish is set to officially take its place amid Washington state’s world-class ferry system. The new ferry will begin service on the Anacortes/San Juan Islands route Sunday, June 14, just in time for the start of the summer sailing season. On Friday, April 10,  2015 Washington State Ferries accepted the Samish from builder/contractor Vigor Industrial following two months of sea trials and crew training. (San Juan Islander)

State protection changes for puffins, sea lions
Tufted puffins will soon get more protection on the state endangered species list, while Steller sea lions will be removed from the list. The state Fish and Wildlife Commission approved the changes last week. Tufted puffins are native seabirds once considered common along parts of the coast, according to a Fish and Wildlife news release. In recent decades, the population has significantly declined. Now that the bird is listed, Fish and Wildlife will develop a plan to help the species recover. Steller sea lions are being removed from the list because the population has rebounded in recent years. Some protection will be maintained at the state level and under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, but the sea lions will no longer be listed as threatened. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Orcas Are Shouting Over Boat Noise – And It Might Be Making Them Hungry
Picture yourself at a noisy bar. You realize that you have been shouting at your date all night in order to be heard. Well, orcas in Puget Sound are in kind of the same situation. Marla Holt, a research biologist with NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center, has found that loud boat noise forces endangered orcas to raise the volume of their calls. But the question, Holt says, is "so what? What are the biological consequences of them doing this?” To answer that question, Holt and her NOAA colleague, Dawn Noren, a research fishery biologist, studied captive bottlenose dolphins. Ashley Ahearn reports. (KUOW)

Input sought on draft plan to clean up Deschutes watershed
Thurston County's growing population has contributed to a decline in Deschutes River water quality. The Department of Ecology has released a draft water cleanup plan for the river, and is hosting public meetings to gather comment over the next six weeks. The draft plan looks at the daily load of pollution that enters the river above Tumwater Falls and on streams flowing to Budd Inlet. A second phase later will look at water quality in Capitol Lake and Budd Inlet. The report found a number of factors contributing to a decrease in water quality, including warmer water temperatures, high bacteria and sediment levels, and low levels of dissolved oxygen. (Olympian)

Our lives and livelihoods depend on saving the Salish Sea
Over the past 200 years, humans have drastically altered the Salish Sea to a degree previously associated only with the geological creation of ecosystems. As a result, we have diminished the ecosystem’s ability to provide for us. Audrey DeLella Benedict and Joseph K. Gaydos authors, “The Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest.” (Seattle Times)

Hood Canal kelp studied for future of ocean life
Researchers are planning to grow 3 acres of sugar kelp north of the Hood Canal Bridge in an effort to save shellfish, and thereby larger ocean life. "Sugar kelp is a native species. It grows naturally here in Puget Sound," said Puget Sound Restoration Fund Executive Director Betsy Peabody. PSRF received a $1.5 million grant from the Paul Allen Family Foundation to conduct the research in partnership with NOAA and the Washington State Department of Resources. (KING)

Dick Goin, defender of Elwha River salmon, dies at age of 83
Dick Goin, who gave voice to the Elwha River's salmon, has died. Services are pending for Goin (pronounced GOH-in), 83, who died of natural causes Sunday night at his Port Angeles home surrounded by family members, said Marie, his wife of 64 years, on Tuesday. The Goins received the Clallam County Community Service Award in 2007 and the Eleanor Stopps Environmental Leadership Award from the Port Townsend Marine Science Center in September 2011. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Fast walking could spare thousands from NW tsunami, study says
A new analysis shows more than 100,000 people are at risk from a tsunami on the Northwest coast — but the outlook isn’t uniformly grim. In many communities, residents should be able to make it to high ground in time simply by walking at a brisk pace. Tsunami surges are expected to slam into some parts of the coast within 15 to 30 minutes of an earthquake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone, the offshore fault where two tectonic plates collide. Published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the analysis takes the most comprehensive look yet at the threat along the 700-mile-long coast of Washington, Oregon and Northern California — and finds surprising variability. Sandi Doughton reports. (Seattle Times)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 230 AM PDT WED APR 15 2015
TODAY
SW WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
S WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 7 FT AT 12 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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3/19 Jeff Co shores, B'ham cleanup, Capitol Lake, BC oil, sinking barge, BNSF, marine safety

(PHOTO: Kalla Walton/CBC)

If you like to watch: Northern lights dance across B.C.
Social media lights up with photos of stunning auroras as geomagnetic storm hits. (CBC)

State board dismisses challenges to Jefferson County Shoreline Management Program; one petitioner may appeal
The state Growth Management Hearings Board has dismissed 19 challenges to the newly enacted Jefferson County Shoreline Management Program. The decision, issued Monday, said “the board concludes that petitioners failed to provide clear and convincing evidence demonstrating the challenged action.” The challenges the plan enacted in February were made by three petitioners: Hood Canal Sand and Gravel — which may appeal, a spokesman said — the Olympic Stewardship Foundation and the Jefferson County chapter of the Citizens Alliance for Property Rights. Charlie Bermant reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Interim cleanup plan for Bellingham waterfront site up for public comment
A $14 million cleanup plan for part of a contaminated Fairhaven waterfront site is ready for review. The plan calls for the removal of contaminated sediment, soil and creosote-soaked pilings from the shipyard at 201 Harris Ave. The Port of Bellingham property has been used for shipbuilding and maintenance since the early 1900s. The contamination is from past activities, and is not due to the current tenant, according to the state Department of Ecology. Sampling and investigations have found gasoline, diesel, oil, arsenic, metals, polychlorinated biphenols (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and more in the soils, sediment and groundwater. Their concentrations exceed standards set by the state’s cleanup law. These contaminants are typical of historic shipyard operations throughout the Puget Sound, according to Ecology. Samantha Wohlfeil reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Lake, estuary camps are finally talking
There’s a new wrinkle in the years-long debate over the future of Capitol Lake. Representatives of the pro-lake and pro-estuary camps have conducted two face-to-face meeting already this year with another one scheduled next week. The Capitol Lake Improvement & Protection Association and the Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team are seeking common ground while agreeing to disagree on whether or not to remove the Fifth Avenue Dam that keeps the Deschutes River from flowing unfettered into Budd Inlet. The two citizen-based, nonprofits can’t determine the fate of the lake alone. But political leaders and state agencies welcome the talks after years of impasse. John Dodge reports. (Olympian)

Vancouver-based upstart refinery eyes profits in Alberta-to-Asia exports
A fledgling B.C. bitumen refinery project makes economic sense even in a world of low oil prices, says a consultant to Pacific Future Energy. The Vancouver-based upstart, which wants to refine Alberta oil and ship it to Asia, expects the cost of bitumen supplies from the oil sands will be sharply lower than the revenue from exporting refined petroleum products, said Ron Loborec, Canadian energy leader at Deloitte & Touche LLP…. Prices for benchmark Western Canadian Select heavy oil are lower than those for West Texas intermediate light crude, so that provides a further cushion for the planned B.C. refinery to have cheaper costs for supplies, Mr. Loborec said. Brent Jang reports. (Globe and Mail)

Investigation underway into barge sinking off Vancouver Island
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating after a barge sank in the Strait of Georgia near Vancouver Island. Spokesman Dave Paddon said the barge, named Lasqueti Daughters, took on water and began sinking while 16 people were aboard on Saturday. A rescue operation ensued. None of the passengers were hurt. The barge was salvaged and towed to Campbell River. (Canadian Press)

BNSF seeks closure of Valley View Road near Custer
BNSF Railway requested permission to permanently close the crossing at Valley View Road, a half mile south of Portal Way. In response, Whatcom County officials asked for a hearing before the state Utilities and Transportation Commission because county officials aren’t prepared to assess the impact the closure would have on county traffic. County officials believed the closure would be required later to make room for trains headed to a proposed coal terminal at Cherry Point, according to a March 10 letter to the commission requesting the hearing…. BNSF said in its request for the road closure that the siding extension is needed so that trains to the oil refineries don’t block the main line, and so passenger trains can get through Custer without delays. BNSF estimated it would begin expansion of the siding in late spring. Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)

First Nations hold marine safety talk
Delegates from more than 50 First Nations on and around Vancouver Island will gather in Sooke next week to discuss marine safety and potential disasters. “The environment comes first with potential risks in our territories,” said T’Sou-ke Chief Gordon Planes. The First Nation, already known as a leader in environmental management thanks to its solar program, is hosting the summit. Sarah Petrescu reports. (Times Colonist)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 230 AM PDT THU MAR 19 2015
TODAY
SE WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS. RAIN.
TONIGHT AND FRI
SE WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 7 OR 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS. RAIN.

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

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12/12 Elwha, storm, Rhapsody necropsy, lake vs. estuary, bad oyster, BC pipe, vessel demolition

(Edmonds Beacon)

An artist’s voice for salmon

The illusion of light illuminating the waters of the Puget Sound has been captured by a local artist who created a fabric installation to alter the space of Edmonds’ shorelines and bring awareness to the plight of salmon. “I’ve lived in Edmonds my whole life,” artist Marni Muir said, “and am deeply committed to the Edmonds way of life”…. Muir, 64, temporarily displayed the 5-yard untitled “altered space fabric piece” along the Edmonds waterfront, and draped it over a section of Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks and the tall, billowing grasses of the Edmonds Marsh. She said current waterfront developments have created blocked pathways for salmon, making it impossible for them to complete their spawning cycle. Laura Daniali reports. (Edmonds Beacon)

If you like to watch: Elwha River at flood stage 12/9 and 12/10
John Gussman treats us to a short clip of some of the flooding on the river this week.

BC Hydro power outages affect thousands after wind storm  (CBC) Storm is over, but thousands still without power  (KING)

Orca necropsy shows fetus died first: report
A 19-year-old orca whose body was found last week off Courtenay had a near full-term fetus disintegrating in her uterus, says a preliminary necropsy report from the Center for Whale Research. It appears the fetus died some time before the mother, said Kenneth Balcomb, executive director and principal investigator at the centre in Friday Harbor, Washington. The mother’s death was probably caused by difficulties trying to expel the fetus, he said…..During the necropsy, Balcomb observed that the whale’s blubber layer was relatively thin and dry of oil, indicating that J-32 existed on an inadequate diet for an extended period. He noted that her spleen was enlarged and there was an enlarged lymph node adjacent to the uterus, which suggests something had been wrong for a while. Louise Dickson reports. (Times Colonist)

Lake-estuary impasse will be tough to break
Capitol Lake sits at the center of a years-long debate over a complex public policy issue in Olympia: Should it remain a lake, or be restored as an estuary? A new report says collaboration among key players is the best way to find a solution for managing the 260-acre man-made reservoir. However, collaboration will be difficult at best with the estuary camp wanting the Fifth Avenue Dam removed and the lake supporters wanting it to stay, the report went on to say. The two groups’ dueling science and financial cost estimates for the lake-estuary options are other barriers to collaboration. Andy Hobbs reports. (Olympian)

Raw oysters sicken 12, prompt shellfish harvest closure and recall
Washington state health officials have ordered an emergency harvest closure and a multistate recall of all shellfish from a portion of Mason County’s Hammersley Inlet after at least a dozen people who ate raw oysters became ill. Norovirus is suspected in the illnesses reported last month; laboratory tests confirmed the infection in two people, health officials said. The recall announced Thursday includes nearly 4,000 dozen oysters and nearly 3,000 pounds of Manila clams from the area processed from Nov. 10 to Dec. 5. The shellfish was sent to a dozen states including Oregon, Nevada, Florida, Minnesota, Illinois, California, New York, Maine, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia. JoNel Aleccia reports. (Seattle Times)

Pipeline expansion proposal in B.C. has Washington groups worried, too
Kinder Morgan’s plans to boost the export of Alberta tar sands oil to Asia through its British Columbia pipeline picked up more opposition south of the border Tuesday when Seattle-based Sightline Institute released research critical of the company’s safety and environmental record. The report adds to aggressive efforts by the U.S.-based nonprofit Forest Ethics and environmental groups in the San Juan Islands to stop Kinder Morgan from expanding its Trans Mountain pipeline in southern British Columbia. Floyd McKay reports. (Crosscut)

San Juan tops in state demolition 'turn-in' program; five dismantled in two days time
Tearing apart a boat that’s past its prime is nothing new for Michael Durland. In fact, it’s more akin to business as usual at Orcas Island’s Deer Harbor Boatworks, where, over the course of two days, Nov. 13-14, Durland and crew demolished five boats whose owners had surrendered various vessels they could no longer maintain or dispose of themselves to the grindstone of the state-funded voluntary turn-in program coordinated by San Juan County’s derelict vessel removal program. Scott Rasmussen reports. (San Juan Journal)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 301 AM PST FRI DEC 12 2014
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM PST THIS MORNING
TODAY
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 20 KT IN THE MORNING. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 10
 FT AT 14 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY.
TONIGHT
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 9 FT AT 15 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
SAT
S WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING SE 10 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 9 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
E WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 14 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 6 FT AT 13 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
SUN
E WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 16 SECONDS.
--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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10/13 Oil trains, oil cost, quakes, Samish watershed, Cadboro sewage, e-warfare, dam snafu, Hood Canal bridge, breeding ban

BP Cherry Point will allow only newer-model train cars at its crude oil terminal
BP Cherry Point has announced its rail terminal will no longer accept or unload any Bakken region crude oil from pre-2011 standard tank cars. By the first week in October, the facility had stopped using older DOT-111 cars for crude, BP spokesman Bill Kidd said. Samantha Wohlfeil reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Oil price at $85 costing provinces and economy billions
The sudden new reality of oil at $85 US a barrel is a jarring wake-up for the three oil-rich provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador. Oil prices touched new lows Friday, down almost $1 to $84.90 a barrel. That's the lowest price seen since April 2013. The price for the main North American oil benchmark, known as West Texas Intermediate, is now down more than 20 per cent from recent highs — which means oil has met the technical definition of a price correction. Peter Evans reports. (CBC)

Pacific Northwest rocked by two earthquakes
A pair of strong late night earthquakes hit the Pacific Northwest Thanksgiving Weekend. The first quake registered a magnitude of 3.5 and was centred about 15 kilometres to the northeast of Olympia, Washington, roughly 60 kilometres below the surface. The shaking began at around 11:25 p.m. The second earthquake, centred due west of Nanaimo about 180 kilometres off shore was far more powerful, registering a magnitude of four. It came about four hours after the first quake at about 3 a.m. Matt Robinson reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Officials tour Samish watershed, note progress and next steps
Skagit County’s rich soils, expansive pastures and marine shorelines support a variety of agricultural industries, from dairies, beef and shellfish to berries, potatoes and corn. In the Samish Watershed, shellfish harvest in the bay hinges on clean water in the river, which has been contaminated for years by upstream livestock manure and sewage from failing septic systems, particularly during heavy rain. Although a soggy spring resulted in high measurements of fecal coliform in Samish Bay this year, county officials and community members say that does not indicate failure on behalf of the Clean Samish Initiative. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Cadboro Bay Beach closed after sewage overflows in rain
The Capital Regional District issued the advisory and erected warning signs after discharges lasting about 30 minutes at a pair of outfalls. About 2,600 cubic metres of sewage was spilled. The public is advised to avoid contact with the water. (Times Colonist)

Navy to face public next week on proposed West End electronic warfare program; deadline extended for public comment
The deadline has been extended to Oct. 31 for public comment on the U.S. Navy's environmental assessment for an electronic warfare training proposal. The development comes as the U.S. Forest Service considers issuing a special-use permit for the Navy to use its roads during the exercises. Michael J. Foster reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

If you like to listen: Legos Wash Ashore The Cornish Coast After 17 Years In The Atlantic
Marcie Sillman speaks with retired oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer, publisher of the newsletter Beachcombers' Alert!, about the afterlife of nearly 5 million maritime-themed Lego pieces. (KUOW)

Cause of Capitol Lake dam malfunction identified and fixed
A degraded electrical connection on the Capitol Lake dam in Olympia is the reason the barrier malfunctioned a week ago, causing an accidental draw down of the man-made waterway. Department of Enterprise Services spokesman Jim Erskine said Friday the electrical connection had been fixed and "the dam is fully operational. No further repairs are needed.’’ Brad Shannon reports. (Olympian)

Climate change forcing fish stocks north: study
A study has produced the strongest evidence yet that climate change is forcing hundreds of valuable fish species toward the poles. The paper, published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science on Friday, concludes that Canadian and Arctic waters may end up with more species and greater abundance. But fisheries in the tropics, where people depend more heavily on seafood, may become hollowed out. (Canadian Press)

Hood Canal bridge may be death trap for steelhead
While 16,000 cars a day travel swiftly across the Hood Canal bridge, young steelhead trout swimming in the waters below seem to encounter a deadly barrier when they arrive at the floating structure. New research suggests that in some years more than a third of the migrating steelhead never make it past the bridge and into the more expansive waters of Admiralty Inlet. Chris Dunagan reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Vancouver Park Board defends breeding ban at city aquarium
The Vancouver Park Board acted reasonably and within its authority when it banned the breeding of captive cetaceans at the city aquarium, it says in court documents. In its response to a lawsuit filed by the aquarium in B.C. Supreme Court, the board says it made a reasonable decision with a valid municipal purpose. It calls the aquarium’s suit premature, because the resolution and clauses that were passed have not been finalized. Sunny Dhillon reports. (Globe and Mail)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 250 AM PDT MON OCT 13 2014
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
E WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING S 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS...BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT IN THE
 AFTERNOON. W SWELL 8 FT AT 13 SECONDS. RAIN LIKELY IN THE MORNING... THEN RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
SW WIND 10 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT OR LESS AFTER MIDNIGHT. W SWELL 9 FT AT
 12 SECONDS. RAIN.
--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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10/6 Seabird food, coal dust, Capitol Lake, First Nation land, cove beaches, stormwater, marine mammals

(PHOTO: Laurie MacBride)

The Shape Shifters
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "Maybe my imagination was running rampant that day, but when I stepped out of my kayak onto a beautiful little pocket beach, I saw what seemed like a trio of quirky faces at the head of the bay. When I looked back a bit later, they’d morphed into a large prehistoric fish looking out to sea – and by the time I left, I saw something else entirely. But of course, that’s the shape shifting nature of the sandstone rock that dominates our shorelines here in BC’s Gulf Islands…."

Stealing Fish To Study Seabirds
Seabird populations in Puget Sound have declined since the 1970s and scientists believe pollution is partially to blame. But how do you prove that? Study what the seabirds are eating. A new paper published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin found that seabirds in Puget Sound are eating fish that are two to four times more contaminated than fish on Washington’s outer coast. Ashley Ahearn reports. (EarthFix)

Coal dust seen as serious environmental threat: poll
The majority of Metro Vancouver residents polled in a new survey see coal dust as a serious environmental threat. The respondents are also concerned that coal dust from a recently approved loading facility at Fraser Surrey Docks will harm regional air quality, according to findings from an Insights West survey. Matthew Robinson reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Dam malfunction causes Capitol Lake to suddenly drain
A computer malfunction at the Capitol Lake dam Friday night caused the lake to unexpectedly empty into Puget Sound. No damage to fisheries was reported, according to Jim Erskine, spokesman for the Department of Enterprise Services, the state landlord agency that oversees the dam and adjacent park. The north lake basin around Heritage Park retained water but water was significantly lower in a southern basin, which is fed by the Deschutes River. By late afternoon, rising tides were pouring salt water back through the dam into the lake. Brad Shannon reports. (Olympian)

Land development deal with B.C. First Nations launches new era
The precedent-setting deal the federal government and local First Nations reached on the Jericho military base and former RCMP headquarters in Vancouver will launch a new phase of land development in the region. But, experts say, unlike development on local reserve lands, cities will have direct control over this new wave of First Nations-involved development through their city zoning laws Aboriginal-law specialists, developers, commercial brokers and city planners say the ability for First Nations to come to agreements – not just with the federal government, but with each other – is unlocking potential for many other sites in the region. Frances Bulba reports. (Globe and Mail)

Port Angeles gains two cove-like beaches as waterfront improvement project continues
Construction of the city's new beaches is complete. But residents won't be able to gaze at Port Angeles Harbor from them until spring. The areas, called pocket beaches, are the first step in creating a new city park between the Valley Creek estuary to the west and the waterfront esplanade. Keith Thorpe reports. (Peninsula Daily)

New era in stormwater management is here
Ready or not, low-impact development is coming to a neighborhood near you. Some midsize local jurisdictions in Western Washington, including Thurston County, Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater, have until Dec. 31, 2016, to change their development rules and regulations to require developers and builders to retain and treat on-site any stormwater their projects generate. John Dodge reports. (Olympian)

B.C.’s bounty of marine mammals saved by ‘shift in attitudes’
Whale research in British Columbia has come a long way from the days when the Department of Fisheries and Oceans mounted a 50-calibre machine gun at Seymour Narrows north of Campbell River with the aim of shooting Killer whales to save more salmon for anglers. That was back in 1960, but attitudes and practices towards marine mammals, especially whales, have changed greatly, said marine mammal scientist John Ford. Dirk Meissner reports. (Canadian Press)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 PM PDT SUN OCT 5 2014
MON
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING W TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 13 SECONDS. AREAS OF DRIZZLE OR
 FOG IN THE MORNING. A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
MON NIGHT
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 13 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT.
--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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9/4 Governors Pt., hatchery plans, radioactivity monitoring, shooting nutria, eelgrass mitigation

Governors Point (Bellingham Herald)

Governors Point on Chuckanut Bay for sale
Governors Point is for sale. The Sahlin family, which has owned most of the peninsula south of Bellingham for the past 50 years, has put the property on the market, as evidenced by a brochure produced by the Land Group of Cushman & Wakefield of San Diego, Inc. “Once in a lifetime opportunity!” the brochure declares, promoting “San Juan Island living, without the ferry” on “125.86 spectacular waterfront acres” between Pleasant Bay and Wildcat Cove. Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Agencies review Puget Sound hatchery plans
How Puget Sound fish hatcheries will operate in the future could be determined by an environmental impact statement now being developed. As part of that process, NOAA Fisheries is holding public workshops this week to discuss the draft environmental impact statement that assesses alternative operations of salmon and steelhead hatcheries around the Sound. The proposed action alternative in the draft would operate hatcheries under two state and tribal resource management plans developed jointly by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and Puget Sound treaty tribes, according to a NOAA news release. The proposed action would maintain hatchery production at current levels. Jeffrey P. Mayor reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

UVic researcher seeks citizen scientists for radioactivity monitoring program
A University of Victoria researcher is assembling a comprehensive coastal radioactivity monitoring program just as the amount of contaminated debris from the 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster is set to peak in B.C. waters. Chemical oceanographer Jay Cullen is recruiting “citizen scientists” to collect seawater samples monthly from 14 locations between Victoria and Haida Gwaii. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Hands up. Don’t shoot: Federal agents report shooting 4 nutria rodents at lake in ongoing kill
Federal wildlife agents have shot and killed four nutria over the past month around Olympia’s Capitol Lake, part of the ongoing effort to eliminate the nuisance rodents. The work, carried out over three evenings and early mornings so far, is not done, according to the state Department of Enterprise Services, which manages the lake area. Brad Shannon reports. (Olympian)

Mitigation efforts help protect eelgrass, a home to sea life
As the Port of Kingston undertakes its long-planned dredging of the boat launch and dock access areas, you may have heard that they are undertaking some mitigation activities to offset the affect removing bottom sediments has on the biology below. One part of that mitigation program is an eelgrass transplanting and growing project. This is a very cool thing. (Kingston Community News)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT THU SEP 4 2014
TODAY
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING E TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 5 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING E 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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8/25 Quake, Polley spill, BNSF track, sockeye, netted orca, Whatcom shellfish, Edward Curtis, Capitol Lake

(USGS)

New quake map shows Northwest at high risk
A new federal earthquake map dials up the shaking hazard just a bit for about one-third of the United States and lowers it for one-tenth. In July, the U.S. Geological Survey updated its national seismic hazard maps for the first time since 2008, taking into account research from the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami off the Japanese coast and the surprise 2011 Virginia temblor. (KING) See also: Would Seattle’s viaduct survive an earthquake today?  (KCPQ) And also: California quake a reminder to expect B.C.'s 'Big One'  (CBC)

Mount Polley spill: Testing finds elevated selenium in fish
Fish from Quesnel Lake and Polley Lake, downstream from the Mount Polley mine spill, have elevated levels of selenium, arsenic and copper among other elements, but there is no threat to human health, according to the B.C.  government. The fish tissue analyzed shows an elevated level of selenium in the livers and gonads that exceed guidelines for human consumption. But the province says the elevated levels are similar to those found in the lakes before the spill. (CBC) See also: Health officials say blue sheen from Mount Polley tailings pond breach likely organic Tiffany Crawford reports. (Vancouver Sun)

BNSF plans to add tracks north, south of Ferndale
To relieve congestion that will come with more trains carrying coal and other cargo, BNSF Railway expects to lay four miles of track along existing rail north of Ferndale, a company official said. The work has not yet received state approval, but Gus Melonas, public affairs director for BNSF, said new track from Ferndale High School north to Custer is scheduled to be added in 2015. The second line will be long enough for two full-length coal or oil trains to move aside and allow higher-priority passenger trains to pass. BNSF also is preparing to lay a second track along its line between Bellingham and Ferndale, covering about four miles from near Wynn Road in Marietta, north almost to Main Street in Ferndale. Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)

'Warm blob' keeps possible record sockeye run away from U.S. waters
In a development that has left local fishermen scratching their heads, it appears an unusually warm section of ocean water is helping send nearly the entire sockeye salmon run into Canadian fishing waters this season. According to data from the Pacific Salmon Commission through Tuesday, Aug. 19, in recent weeks about 99 percent of the sockeye salmon has gone through the Johnstone Strait around the northern part of Vancouver Island into Canadian waters. That's made a big difference in who is catching the fish: Nearly 2.9 million sockeye salmon have been caught in Canadian waters, while the U.S. fishermen had caught around 98,000 through Aug. 19. Dave Gallagher reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Killer whale pod rallies around orca trapped in fisherman's net
A young killer whale is trapped in a fisherman's net. A pod of distressed whales cries out frantically as the youngster struggles to get free. Sightseers aboard a whale-watching boat that arrives to help are stunned at what they see. "It's a very rare thing," said Nicole Mackay, co-owner of Port McNeill-based Mackay Whale Watching. "I never want to see it again." While she was out on on the water with customers near Port Hardy Thursday morning, a fisherman radioed Comox coast guard asking for help because a whale had become entangled in his net. Rhiannon Coppin reports. (CBC)

Most northern Whatcom County beaches safe for shellfish harvesting
Beaches in northern Whatcom County have been reopened to recreational shellfish harvesting after the biotoxin that causes diarrhetic shellfish poisoning has dropped to safe levels. The Whatcom County Health Department has lifted the ban on beaches from Point Whitehorn north to the Canadian border, excluding Point Roberts. Point Roberts and all beaches south of Point Whitehorn remain closed to recreational harvest of molluscan shellfish because biotoxin levels remain unsafe. Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Oregon Approves Subsidies For Oil Transport, Not For Coal
The Oregon Transportation Commission voted Friday to approve nearly $5 million in subsidies for rail and dock infrastructure tied to controversial coal export and oil-by-rail projects. The subsidies were recommended as part of a $42.3 million package of transportation funding through the ConnectOregon program. The program leverages state lottery dollars to pay for transportation projects such as airport runway upgrades, railroad improvements and dock expansions. Tony Schick and Cassandra Profita reports. (EarthFix)

Our History: Recapturing the glory of a people
The American photographer and ethnologist Edward Curtis spent almost 30 years compiling a 20-volume work documenting the vanishing traditional world of the native people of western North America. In Edward S. Curtis Above the Medicine Line, Victoria author and publisher Rodger Touchie delves into the years Curtis spent from 1909 to 1924 studying the tribes of the British Columbia coast, whom he considered among the most fascinating he encountered. (Times Colonist)

Lake reflects our inability to make hard choices
Invasive species flourish where conditions for reproduction are optimal and no predators discourage them from choking out native species. New Zealand Mud Snails have invaded Capitol Lake and closed it while at the same paralyzing a management process that was already grinding to a halt due to political pressure….. The reflection of the Capitol dome—the original purpose for depriving the Deschutes River of its estuary—becomes increasingly more difficult to see. For a state whose leaders frequently proclaim their desire to restore endangered salmon and return Puget Sound to health, the irony of Capitol Lake in its current condition literally under the noses of those who have power to remedy the situation offers a pungent counterpoint. John Rosenberg writes. (Olympian)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON AUG 25 2014
TODAY
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING NW TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 7 SECONDS. AREAS OF DENSE FOG IN THE MORNING.
TONIGHT
W WIND TO 10 KT IN THE EVENING...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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7/10 Pollution rules, SJ clearcut, Hood Canal easement, warm water salmon, poop video, Vic sewer, young greens, Capitol Lake

(Investigate West)

Washingtonians Could Safely Eat More Fish Under New Water Pollution Rules
Washington’s pollution standards would be made much tougher — making water clean enough that people can safely eat a daily serving of fish — under a plan laid out by Gov. Jay Inslee. The governor announced Wednesday that he wants Washington to use the same fish-consumption standards that guide water pollution rules in Oregon.... In the new plan the governor called on the State Department of Ecology to limit zinc, PCBs, pthalates, plasticizers and other chemicals commonly found in household goods, building materials and runoff from paved surfaces. Inslee said expanding the use of permeable pavement and rain gardens, while boosting research on eco-friendly roofing and green chemistry, will help stymy pollutants before they get into waterways. Tribal members and environmental groups said the new plan was a step in the right direction, but they cautioned that the new plan allows for a slight increase in cancer risk for fish consumers. Ashley Ahearn reports. (EarthFix)

State fines SJ Island westside property owner $79K for waterfront clearcut
The cost of the waterfront clearcut at the former Mar Vista Resort just got quite a bit steeper. The state Department of Ecology announced July 9 that it has leveled $79,000 in fines against owners of the westside waterfront property, Orca Dreams, an incorporated entity formed by Dave Honeywell, for violating state water-quality rules and for cutting down about 80 trees without proper permits. San Juan County authorities previously fined Honeywell and the contractor that clearcut a 1.25-acre area of the shoreline a total of $3,000 for violating local land-use rules. (San Juan Journal)

Project manager: New state, Navy conservation easement for areas of Hood Canal won't halt pit-to-pier
A conservation easement between the state Department of Natural Resources and the Navy that prohibits industrial development along areas of Hood Canal won't stop a gravel-moving facility nicknamed the “pit-to-pier,” the project manager said. The agreement signed earlier this week suggests that the proposed construction of the project would not be allowed. Charlie Bermant reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Salmon can adapt to warmer environment, study says
With climate change heating up British Columbia’s rivers, there are growing concerns about the vulnerability of cold-water species such as salmon. But a new study shows salmon may have the ability to adapt to a warming world because Chinook that lay larger eggs produce offspring that have greater heat tolerance. Mark Hume reports. (Globe and Mail)

Enviro agency spent $27,000 in tax dollars on anti-dog poop music video
Critics are outraged after learning that a government agency tasked with cleaning up Washington’s Puget Sound spent $27,000 on an anti-dog poop rap video.... The Freedom Foundation, a government watchdog based in Olympia, criticized the Puget Sound Partnership, saying that the hip hop video is just the latest piece of evidence that the group spends tax dollars recklessly. Dustin Hurst reports. (Watchdog.Washington)

Costs laid out for Colwood sewage plant
Colwood Mayor Carol Hamilton has put forward a motion calling on the CRD to support those municipalities and First Nations wanting to develop their own approaches to sewage treatment. It will probably cost Colwood $1 million to develop its sewage treatment plant to the shovel-ready stage, says Michael Baxter, the municipality’s director of engineering. The municipality is using a $25-million sewage treatment plant being built in Sechelt as a potential model for the Colwood Resource Recovery Centre. Bill Cleverley reports. (Times Colonist)

Meet 4 young leaders changing Northwest environmentalism
Call them the advance guard in our evolving clean energy revolution. One plays Captain Kilowatt on his home turf in Idaho. Another heads Washington's largest community energy efficiency program. A third skirted a career in nuclear energy to become an energy efficiency advisor at Washington's largest utility. The fourth uses affordable, clean energy to tackle joblessness and environmental and social justice issues. Martha Baskin reports. (Crosscut)

Lake, estuary debate is as hot as the summer sun
As the summer heats up in South Sound, so does the years-long debate over whether or not to keep Capitol Lake or remove the Fifth Avenue Dam to allow the Deschutes River to flow freely. The Thurston Chamber of Commerce, firmly in the pro-lake camp, heard on Wednesday a lake-friendly report from retired Evergreen State College marine sciences professor David Milne, who recently analyzed a voluminous technical report and computer model used by the state Department of Ecology to look at pollution loading in the Deschutes River, Capitol Lake and Budd Inlet. The Ecology team of three professional engineers concluded that the Capitol Lake dam has a negative effect on Budd Inlet water quality, specifically reducing dissolved oxygen levels critical to marine life in lower Budd Inlet. Milne comes to a far different conclusion about the lake and the dam. He said the two working in concert intercept and trap 50 percent to 90 percent of the nitrogen entering the lake from upstream on Deschutes River. John Dodge reports. (Olympian)

Skagit oil train protest continues
They were nurses, teachers, waitresses, artists and students. Two were younger than 10 years old, and others were in their 70s. A year has passed since a fiery explosion claimed the lives of 47 people in Quebec, but their story is far from forgotten. The tragic train derailment sparked a growing awareness of the booming oil-by-rail industry, and with it concern in communities across the nation, including Skagit County. About 80 people convened at Skagit Station on Monday and walked across the BNSF Railway tracks that divide downtown. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

What's up on the beach? More than you might think
You may be surprised to learn that there are two kinds of marine fish, Pacific sand lance and surf smelt, that use the upper portions of sand and gravel beaches to spawn and incubate their eggs. Smelt and sand lance are part of a small group of species of schooling fish in the area more commonly known as "forage fish" for the important role they play as food for larger fish, seabirds and marine mammals. As of today, forage fish spawning activity has been documented along 10 miles of local beaches, comprising just four percent of the total length of shoreline in San Juan County and 10 percent of non-bedrock shores. (San Juan Journal)


Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 PM PDT WED JUL 9 2014
THU
LIGHT WIND BECOMING E TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
THU NIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

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