12/1 Dolphins, chinook closure, Whale Scout, Salish Sea Studies, clean energy, Gorge spill

Short-beaked common dolphin (Vancouver Sun)

New species of dolphin to B.C. waters shows up alive for the first time
A species of dolphin has been discovered in B.C. waters for the first time — alive. Two small schools of short-beaked common dolphins have been confirmed about 75 kilometres off southwestern Vancouver Island. The only prior record of the species on the west coast of Canada has been three dead animals found over a period of more than 60 years. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Impact of catch-and-release on salmon causes early closure
Fisheries managers are concerned about the impact catch-and-release is having on endangered chinook salmon and have closed salmon fishing two months early in the central Puget Sound. (Associated Press)

Local nonprofit works to spot, and save, orcas
It’s that time of year — the whales are back. Starting in the fall, southern resident killer whales can be spotted in our neck of Puget Sound. Whale watching tours that let customers go out on a boat to see whales up close are popular, but there’s another option. Next time you’re on the beach, keep an eye for a Whale Scout. Whale Scout is a program started by Whitney Neugebauer of Bothell. Whale Scout volunteer naturalists go out to beaches on the Sound to educate people and help them spot whales. Naturalists send alerts to people on social media when they’re going out, and to those who have signed up for text notifications. Emily Hamann reports. (Woodinville Weekly)

Western Establishes New Salish Sea Studies Institute
Western Washington University’s Provost Council in November approved the establishment of the University’s new Salish Sea Studies Institute, an interdisciplinary center for collaboration, education, research and community involvement focused on the health of the Salish Sea and its environs – the body of water encompassing the Strait of Georgia, Puget Sound, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca…. The institute will be led initially by a leadership team of retired Western faculty member and “Father of the Salish Sea,” Bert Webber; Wayne Landis, director of Western‘s Institute for Environmental Toxicology and a professor of Environmental Science; and Brian Burton, Western’s associate vice president for Academic Affairs. (Western Today)

Bill Gates lays out vision for clean energy at Paris climate conference
In the kickoff to the historic summit, Bill Gates unveiled a new role as a global recruiter for billionaires willing to push clean-energy ideas out of the lab and into the marketplace. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

Columbia Basin breaking records for returning fall chinook salmon
This year has seen the second largest count of salmon returning to the Columbia River in 80 years, which regulators attribute to efforts at restoring fish habitat George Plaven reports. (East Oregonian)

Esquimalt crews try to contain spill in Gorge
Esquimalt workers responded to what was described as a petrochemical spill Monday in the Gorge waterway, near the foot of Sioux Place and Kinsmen Gorge Park. The type and volume of the substance involved are not yet known. Workers noticed the spill at 9:30 a.m. Booms and absorbent tiles are being used to help contain the spill, and efforts are being made to find the source. Jeff Bell reports. (Times Colonist)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 310 AM PST TUE DEC 1 2015
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
TODAY
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. W SWELL 10 FT AT 12 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE MORNING...THEN RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING S AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. W SWELL 10 FT AT 10 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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4/2 Rockfish, BC sockeye, oil train, OR coal, BC tanker bill, Salish Sea, sand shrimp, Green Diamond trees

Snow Trains Bring Water to the West
Today (April 1), Governor Inslee made an important announcement that will put a smile on the faces of local environmentalists: many of the coal trains that have been plying our region will be adapted to carry snow from the eastern and central U.S. to the Pacific Northwest.   Coal trains will be turned to snow trains, and as shown below, the first snow trains are rolling. Cliff Mass winks. (Weather Blog)

New study highlights the value of local knowledge in recovering endangered species
A new study highlights the value of local knowledge in recovering endangered species. The collaborative research, co-authored by NOAA Fisheries, the University of Washington, and researchers from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, is specifically designed to incorporate the knowledge of recreational anglers into recovery planning for three rockfish species in Puget Sound—bocaccio, canary rockfish, and yelloweye rockfish, each of which was listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2010. The study explores how recreational anglers' understanding of the ecosystem and fishing practices influence their views of conserving Puget Sound rockfish. Through surveys of 443 recreational boat-based anglers, which included scoping questions related to their knowledge of rockfish biology, fishing practices, perceptions of threats to rockfish, and preferences for rockfish recovery measures, several key findings arose. (Pyys.org)

More bad news for B.C.’s wild sockeye
Nations around the Pacific Ocean may have to cap the number of hatchery salmon they release if sockeye salmon runs are to return to sustainable levels, according to a new study. Record high numbers of pink salmon in the North Pacific coincided with the disastrously small 2009 Fraser River sockeye return, while the unexpectedly large 2010 sockeye return interacted with 40-per-cent fewer pinks, said Brendan Connors, co-author of the article published by the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. The findings have implications for fisheries management and hatchery programs in Russia and Alaska that produce most of the five billion hatchery fish released into the Pacific each year. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

BNSF: State rail regulators wrong in saying company failed to report leaks
BNSF claims that Washington state rail regulators were mostly wrong when they said the company failed to properly report more than a dozen hazardous materials spills. In an email newsletter Monday, March 30, the company said it wants to “set the record straight” regarding claims made by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission staff in a March 19 report. The report outlines 14 releases of hazardous materials between Nov. 1, 2014, and Feb. 24 that the state says were not properly called in to a state hotline within the required half hour of learning about them. In some cases BNSF did call the hotline, but not within 30 minutes, according to the report. In other cases, it states BNSF never called the hotline and only submitted a copy of a federal report required within a month of any hazardous material spill…. But the company stated it had found inaccuracies with “more than 90 percent of the alleged violations.” Samantha Wohlfeil reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Coal export terminal gets water-quality approval from Oregon
Oregon environmental regulators have ruled that proposed coal export terminal on the Columbia River meets state and federal water-quality standards, but the project still faces an adverse ruling from another state agency and questions about its economics in a slumping coal market. The state Department of Environmental Quality issued a water-quality certification Tuesday to the proposed Coyote Island Terminal at Boardman, The East Oregonian reported. The terminal would receive coal arriving by rail from Montana and Wyoming and put it on barges. Downriver, the barges would be offloaded at another terminal, and the coal put on oceangoing vessels, bound for Asia. Shipments to the Boardman terminal could total 8.8 million tons a year. (Associated Press)

B.C. MP's anti-tanker bill not expected to pass
Members of Parliament will vote on a private member's bill on Wednesday afternoon that would keep crude oil tankers off of British Columbia's North Coast. However, Bill C-628, introduced by New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen, likely has next to no chance of passing due to the fact that not a single Conservative MP in B.C. appears to support it. Daybreak North reports. (CBC News)

The Northwest’s Salish Sea comes alive in new book
Perhaps you remember the squabbles a few years ago over the effort to incorporate a new name, “the Salish Sea,” into the cartography of inland waters running from Olympia up to Campbell River, British Columbia. This was an international issue of identity – or lack thereof. As Audrey DeLella Benedict and Joseph K. Gaydos suggest in their new book, “The Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest,” the matter arose when environmentalists, concerned by the impact of oil tankers on the inland waters, found it hard to gain traction with their arguments – it was difficult to assert there could be a problem in a place that doesn’t even exist on a map. A professor of environmental and marine science at Western Washington University, Bert Webber, proposed that the waters of Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Strait of Georgia be given a single moniker to reflect the fact that, despite political boundaries, they are an integrated ecosystem. Barbara Lloyd McMichael reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Sand shrimp may be unavailable due to whales
Herring, sand shrimp, Power Bait, cured roe, nightcrawlers. Eliminate any of those baits and you’ve made a major portion of the western Washington sport fishing public very unhappy. So expect howls of outrage when the word gets around that sand shrimp may be unavailable — or at least hard to find — for anglers anticipating fishing that big run of pinks due this summer in our local rivers. Or steelhead, Dolly Varden, cutthroat, and several other species…. The problem stems from the fact that leases to harvest sand shrimp on public beaches along parts of Saratoga Passage were cancelled last summer by the Washington Department of Natural Resources.... But whales have entered the picture…. Recently, questions have been asked, often by folks in the Langley area, about whether or not commercial shrimp harvest is negatively impacting whale behavior. Wayne Kruse reports. (Everett Herald)

Green Diamond plants its 100 millionth tree, more or less
In the midst of a 40-acre clearcut Wednesday just east of Taylor Towne in Mason County, about 75 people with ties to the state’s timber industry watched Green Diamond Resource Company Chairman Colin Moseley plant what was proudly called the family-owned forestry company’s 100 millionth tree….The Douglas fir seedling that gained so much attention was surrounded by about 16,000 slightly larger Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine trees that were planted in 2011 on the 40-acre parcel, which was harvested in 2010. On all four sides of the reforested area, Green Diamond timber stood in age classes ranging from 15 years old to 80 years old., symbolizing the fact that the company, which began as S.G. Simpson & Company has been around a long, long time — since 1890 to be exact. John Dodge reports. (Olympian)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 301 AM PDT THU APR 2 2015
TODAY
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING SW TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
SW WIND 10 KT...BECOMING SE 15 TO 25 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS. RAIN LIKELY.
--
"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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8/12 Shark cam, sockeye, Red Flag, stormwater, Vic sewer, Phil Anderson, Kinder Morgan, ocean acid, native claims

(PHOTO: Katsufumi Sato/Carl Meyer)

If you like to watch: Strapping a Camera to a Shark Is as Awesome as You’d Expect  
Scientists love to research sharks, probably because they're the badasses of the sea. But despite decades of analysis, some basic behaviors of Earth's most infamous predator remain a mystery. How do sharks move when pursuing prey? Do they avoid other shark species? So a team of biologists from the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology and the University of Tokyo's Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute decided to try an approach that's popular with extreme athletes: strap on a camera and see what happens. Erin Biba reports. (Wired)

Fraser River sockeye salmon fishery to open for business
Hundreds of  fishing boats are expected to crowd the mouth of the Fraser River today for the season's first opening of the waterway to commercial sockeye salmon fishing. [Monday's] three-hour opening for gillnetters, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. PT, follows a recreational fishery Friday and First Nations' food and ceremonial fisheries held on the lower Fraser this weekend. Fishermen and cannery operators have been highly anticipating this year's salmon run, which comes four years after a historic return of 30 million sockeye in 2010. Many hoped the four year maturity cycle would bring a repeat in numbers. (CBC) See also: First Nations worry Mount Polley impact not as benign as claimed  (CBC)

Native Groups, Environmentalists Rally To 'Protect Our Salish Sea'
Flanked by Puget Sound on one side and railroad tracks on the other, dozens of people gathered at Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park on Monday to bring attention to protecting the Salish Sea — the waters of Puget Sound, Georgia Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  The coalition of environmental groups and Native Americans voiced their opposition to the increased traffic in coal- and oil trains, as well as the proposed coal terminals that would be built in Longview and on the Great Lummi Nation’s sacred burial ground. Alison Marcotte reports. (KPLU)

Extraordinary Heat Hits Western Washington, Followed by Thunderstorms!
Climate scientist Cliff Mass writes: “A Red Flag Warning is given when the National Weather Service expects extreme burning conditions. Hot temperatures, dry air, some wind, lightning, instability--we will have all the ingredients in the west. Think that the western side of the mountains can't get the big fires we are seeing east of the Cascades?...”

Ferndale appeal has no impact on cost of new stormwater rules
A stricter state stormwater permit that will cost local governments thousands of dollars - if not millions - is on schedule, after an appeal by Ferndale and other small cities was resolved in the state's favor. Minor changes to the requirements that Bellingham, Lynden, Ferndale and parts of Whatcom County must meet are up for public comment until Oct. 6. The permit will be finalized by the end of the year, according to the Department of Ecology... The permit requires cities and counties with storm systems to take more water samples and file more reports to the state. Eventually, it will require all new development to meet low-impact standards that reduce stormwater runoff. Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Is sewage mail-out plan to Esquimalt residents down the tube?
The Capital Regional District has hit the pause button on plans to mail out a flyer that asks Esquimalt residents to reconsider their rejection of a sewage treatment plant at McLoughlin Point. Esquimalt council refused to approve a CRD proposal for a sewage plant at the site, and the B.C. government declined to overrule the township. So CRD directors voted last month to go directly to Esquimalt voters and offer to cover their share of building costs....In light of the opposition, CRD board chairman Alastair Bryson put a hold on the flyers until the board and sewage committee have confirmed their support for the strategy. The matter is slated to come up for debate Wednesday. Lindsay Kines reports. (Times Colonist)

WDFW director to leave at the end of the year
After nearly six years at the helm, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Director Phil Anderson has informed the state Fish and Wildlife Commission he will resign from his position, effective Dec. 31.

Kinder Morgan’s US$70-billion restructuring could usher in new round of deal-making in energy sector
In a conference call Monday, chairman and CEO Rich Kinder said the newly streamlined company — the largest energy infrastructure company in North America — could grow further through purchases in the natural gas and crude oil pipeline and processing sector. The new structure will have lower borrowing costs and can use its single stock as currency to buy competitors. Claudia Cattaneo reports. (Financial Post)

Calls for global network of buoys to monitor ocean acidification
Does the nation need a national strategy on rising levels of acidity in the oceans?  And can that strategy protect tens of thousands of jobs in the American fishing industry? U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell, (D) Washington and Mark Begich, (D) Alaska, are calling for such a strategy based on data from an expanding network of buoys that will monitor ocean chemistry and acidity levels. Glenn Farley reports. (KING) See also: How Ocean Chemistry Threatens The NW Oyster Industry  (EarthFix)

University of Victoria puts First Nations land claim mapping in the spotlight Native communities across Canada are mapping their lands, a step that is vital in land claim negotiations since many First Nations are running into problems of territorial overlap. But at the University of Victoria researchers have developed sophisticated mapping technologies to try to help clearly show land and resource boundaries as well as shared lands. Kim Pemberton reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 232 AM PDT TUE AUG 12 2014
TODAY
SW WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
SW WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

--
"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.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

5/5 CO2, LNG, Erich Hoyt, #SSEC14, birds, GiveBIG, Tesoro blast, derailment, sea star wasting, Vic sewer, steelhead

J26: first report 5/1 of Jpod off CA coast (M.Beattie)

Carbon dioxide in atmosphere at record level
For the first time in human history and likely for the first time in at least 800,000 years, the average level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in Earth's atmosphere topped 400 parts per million for an entire month. Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas considered to be most responsible for global warming, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Earth System Research Lab. (USA Today) See also: China’s coal solution has carbon downside across globe  Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

When it comes to LNG, Clark is out to deliver – but at what cost?
When the Council of Canadian Academies examined the impact of shale-gas development on the environment, researchers found a disturbing shortage of data on issues of deep concern to British Columbians. The gas industry, which Premier Christy Clark is selling this week in a trade mission to Asia, is booming in B.C. There are currently 13 liquefied natural gas plants proposed and if they go ahead, up to 6,000 new wells could be drilled to supply them. But what will the development of all those wells, pipelines and processing plants mean in terms of environmental impact? We don’t know. Mark Hume reports. (Globe and Mail) See also: British Columbia, Petronas strike deal on natural gas project  Brent Jang reports. (Globe and Mail)

Erich Hoyt will talk about orcas and more
Erich Hoyt, who has been enjoying adventures with killer whales and other sea creatures since the early 1970s, will share his understanding of the underwater world during a series of presentations from British Columbia to Northern California. The tour begins [May 3] on Saturna Island in British Columbia. For the full schedule, visit The Whale Trail website. (http://orcatour2014.org) Erich has a rare talent. He is both an engaging writer as well as an experienced scientific researcher. His first book, “Orca: A Whale Called Killer,” is essential reading for orca supporters. His understanding of the oceans has led him into the field of conservation, seeking greater protections for marine habitats throughout the world. Chris Dunagan (Kitsap Sun)  See also: Whale Trail tour to make two stops on Peninsula

New blog: #SSEC14 Day 3: Now What?
“Like all good things, the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference http://www.wwu.edu/salishseaconference/ came to an end on Friday, and it no doubt left those who experienced the entire three days of speeches, presentations and festivities exhilarated and as exhausted as conference organizers. Even for those who came for a day, the proceedings proved edifying and sometimes entertaining...”

If you like to listen: They Can Fly a Thousand Miles Without Food Or Rest, Remember Every Single Flower They Visit, But Can They Survive Looming and Present Risks?
If you stop to think about it, birds are our most direct connection to nature. Their songs delight us, their journeys capture our imagination. Birds are the wildlife we interact with the most. But that bond is breaking. Each year more and more of them succumb to a host of threats: pesticides, the loss of habitat, climate change, and the biggest urban threat of all, cats. Martha Baskin reports. (Green Acre Radio)

24 hours to GiveBIG in fast-growing charity campaign
The Seattle Foundation’s big 24-hour rush of philanthropy, the online GiveBIG campaign, shows what a difference a day can make. Tuesday’s single-day drive is the fourth in what has become an enormous focus for charitable fundraising in the Puget Sound region. Sign on to seattlefoundation.org starting at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, choose from a list of 1,600 nonprofit agencies, and donate to one or more. Last year’s drive raised $11.1 million from 30,000 donors. (Seattle Times editorial)

Feds Urge Tighter Refinery Regulations After Fatal Tesoro Blast
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is calling for 60 improvements in the design, operation and regulation of the Tesoro oil refinery in Anacortes and of refineries nationwide. Four years after an explosion and fireball engulfed and killed seven workers, the federal agency finished its long-delayed inquiry into the blast at a sparsely attended meeting at Anacortes High School on Thursday night. The explosion was the worst industrial accident Washington state has seen in the past 50 years. John Ryan reports. (KUOW) See also: Chemical Safety Board releases final report on deadly refinery explosion in Anacortes  Mark Stayton reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Coal train derails in Maryland, hours after Virginia oil train accident
A train carrying 8,000 tons of coal derailed in Bowie, Md., early Thursday, hours after a train bearing Bakken crude oil from North Dakota left the rails and exploded in Lynchburg, Va.. The 63-car-long coal train was carrying coal from a mine in Pennsylvania to a destination in southern Marland. Three locomotives and 10 cars left the tracks, but none turned over. “The incident marked the third major mid-Atlantic incident for the railroad since Wednesday, when a train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in Lynchburg, Va. and a massive retaining wall collapsed onto tracks in Baltimore,” reported The Baltimore Sun. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

West Coast starfish being killed by pathogens, scientists suggest
Scientists are making some headway in figuring out what is killing millions of sea stars in the waters off the Pacific coast, from British Columbia to Mexico. While a definitive answer eludes them, researchers suggest a pathogen — either bacterial or viral — is responsible for the death toll. "We don't have an absolute answer yet," said Lesanna Lahner, a veterinarian at the Seattle Aquarium, after presenting the latest information at the Salish Sea Ecosystem conference in Seattle last week.  "We've narrowed in on it possibly being a pathogen, some sort of infectious source, bacterial or viral." (CBC)

Seaterra chooses company to build McLoughlin Point sewage plant
It doesn’t have approval to build on the site, but Seaterra has selected its preferred company to build a new sewage treatment plant at McLoughlin Point. Harbour Resource Partners has been picked to design, build and partially finance the planned treatment plant as well as the Victoria Harbour crossing and the marine outfall. Seaterra commission chairwoman Brenda Eaton said HRP’s proposal is within the planned budget, which is significant given that it represents about a third of the $783-million sewage treatment project budget. Bill Cleverley reports. (Times Colonist)

Angling community frustrated by deal on steelhead
Representatives of the recreational fishing community expressed frustration at an agreement that ends a lawsuit over the state’s plans to release about 900,000 steelhead smolts in Puget Sound-area rivers. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife reached an agreement on April 25 with the Wild Fish Conservancy that stops litigation against the department over its Puget Sound hatchery programs for 21/2 years and permits the release of hatchery steelhead this spring into the Skykomish River. Jeffery Mayor reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON MAY 5 2014
TODAY
SW WIND 10 KT...BECOMING NW. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. SW SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 14 SECONDS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
--
"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.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

5/2 Orca Tour, pipelines, green govs, species at risk, #SSEC14, derelict vessels, Chuck Fowler, dead whale

Iceberg, White Russian Orca Bull. (Evgeniya Lazareva, Far East Russia Orca Project)

Orca Tour 2014 with Erich Hoyt begins May 3 on Saturna Island, BC.

Pipelines dominate at Seattle conservation conference
It’s hard to predict how bitumen from the Alberta oil fields will behave in the event of a spill, making it difficult to understand the risks, says a U.S. government emergency response official. Gary Shigenaka, a marine biologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s emergency response division, said the U.S. organization has many questions about the pipelines proposed through British Columbia and the product that would flow through them... Canada’s pipeline plans are a hot topic among scientists and conservation groups at the conference in Seattle. Those pipelines include Enbridge’s Northern Gateway and Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain proposal, as well as the Keystone XL line into the United States. Dene Moore reports. (Globe and Mail) See also: Kinder Morgan pipeline application says oil spills can have both negative and positive effects Peter O’Neil (Vancouver Sun)

A green line of governors: Can Inslee, Kitzhaber stop energy exports?
Coal, oil and gas proposals are flooding into states headed by governors who want to fight global warming. Floyd McKay reports. (Crosscut)

Canada, U.S. urged to unite efforts, focus on species at risk in Salish Sea
The number of species at risk has doubled over the past decade in the Salish Sea, generating calls for a special international body to co-ordinate research and conservation issues in the 17,000-square-kilometre area that includes the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound. Joe Gaydos, a wildlife veterinarian with the SeaDoc Society based in the San Juan Islands, said the latest scientific snapshot of species at risk in the Salish Sea should be a wake-up call to Canada and the U. S. to better co-ordinate their efforts. SeaDoc is a program of the University of California Davis Wildlife Health Center. He noted as an example that the International Joint Commission already oversees trans-boundary waterways such as the Skagit River, Columbia River, and the Great Lakes. "It's time to set something up," Gaydos asserted in an interview. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun)

New blog: #SSEC14 Day 2: What Will It Take to ‘Save’ the Salish Sea?
“Shared responsibility,” “science informing policy,” “an educated public,” “citizen science”.... Clearly there isn’t going to be one silver bullet that will take us into a future where the Salish Sea is restored and protected. One reason to have a conference like the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference is to identify what’s working, what’s not, and where gaps in strategy and tactics are.

State offering help to fix derelict vessel problem
The state is now offering to take derelict boats from owners who can’t afford to dispose of them legally. The Department of Natural Resources said Thursday that it’s accepting applications for the vessel turn-in program which the Legislature approved last year. The state won’t pay owners for boats, but disposal costs would be free for those who qualify. The idea is to allow Washington residents a way to dispose of potentially dangerous boats so they don’t pollute waters or cause public safety hazards. Boats must be 45 feet or less in length and be in bad condition, among other factors. (Associated Press)

Maritime historian Chuck Fowler wins prestigious state award  
Olympia resident and noted maritime historian Chuck Fowler has been awarded the 2014 Robert Gray Medal by the Washington State Historical Society Board of Trustees. A lifelong volunteer, Fowler has served on the board of the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle. He is a former trustee of the state historical society and board president of the State Capital Historical Association and Museum in Olympia. He has co-authored three pictorial maritime history books in his "on Puget Sound" series, including "Tall Ships" in 2007, "Tugboats" in 2009 and "Patrol and Rescue Boats" in 2011. A fourth local maritime history book, "Maritime Olympia and South Puget Sound," is in the works. John Dodge reports. (Olympian)

Dead blue whale 'might explode' in Newfoundland town
The residents of a town on Canada's Newfoundland island fear a blue whale carcass that washed up on its boardwalk last week could explode at any time. The 25m (81ft) whale on Trout River's rocky beach is one of several believed to have died in heavy ice weeks ago. Town Clerk Emily Butler says the body is bloated with methane gas caused by decomposition and will soon reek, regardless of whether it explodes. Local and federal authorities disagree which are responsible for its disposal. (BBC News)

Here’s your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 420 AM PDT FRI MAY 2 2014
TODAY
SW WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 11 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN AND DRIZZLE.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING SW TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. SW SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF
 SHOWERS.
SAT
S WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING SE 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS...BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT IN THE AFTERNOON. W SWELL 5 FT AT 13 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 7 FT AT 13 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN.
SAT NIGHT
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
SUN
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING E 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 3 FT IN THE
 AFTERNOON. W SWELL 8 FT AT 12 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.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

5/1 Pteropods, #SSEC14, pollution penalties, oil protest, tanker fire, tug terminal, BC LNG, BC fish farms

Pteropod at risk (Steve Ringman/Seattle Times)

New Study: Acidifying Ocean Destroying Sea Butterflies
Tiny, delicate marine snails called pteropods are a key part of the marine food web. New research indicates they are dissolving to a greater extent than previously thought because of ocean acidification. Scientists know that greenhouse gas emissions are contributing to the dropping pH in the world’s oceans. They also knew that as the oceans become more corrosive they eat away at marine species’ shells before they have a chance to form. But new research reveals the unprecedented scale of destruction of some of the ocean’s tiniest shell-makers. Ashley Ahearn reports. (EarthFix) Read also: Vital part of food web dissolving  Craig Welch reports. (Seattle Times)

New blog: #SSEC14 Day 1: Will Science Inform Policy and Politics?
#SSEC14 is the Twitter hashtag for the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference that kicked off on Wednesday in Seattle at the Washington State Convention Center. The three-day conference brings together scientists, academics, tribes, NGOs, and government from both sides of the WA/BC border this year around the theme of how the Salish Sea is “Our Shared Responsibility...”

U.S., Canadian, tribal leaders discuss Salish Sea's environmental, economic concerns
...The environment doesn't stop at the border and neither does the economy. A healthy economy depends on a healthy environment and we must work across the border with our Canadian and tribal/First Nations partners to ensure both. This week in Seattle, Western Washington University is the proud lead organizer of the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference bringing together about 1,200 of the top marine science professionals, First Nations and tribal leaders, industry executives and policymakers who make decisions about resource management on our shared waters. Elliot Smith reports. (Bellingham Herald)

WA firms settle CWA violations with EPA as part of Puget Sound initiative
As part of ongoing federal and state efforts to restore Puget Sound, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing enforcement actions against three Seattle-area companies for discharging industrial stormwater to area waterways in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA)... In addition to the companies committing to manage stormwater more diligently at their facilities in the future, they agreed to pay a combined total of $163,500 in penalties.... (T)he three facilities settling with EPA (are): Steeler, Inc. (Penalty: $40,000)... MacMillan-iper, Inc. (Penalty: $37,500)... Saint-Gobain Container, Inc. (Penalty: $86,000) (WaterWorld)

Activists rally for stricter regulations of crude oil transported via rail
Washington State is experiencing a boom when it comes to transporting crude oil by rail, but environmental activists are out to stop it in its tracks. They fear disasters that have happened around the U.S. and Canada could easily happen in the state... The Northwest Clean Air Agency held a public hearing Wednesday morning. The agency is currently considering renewing the Shell Anacortes refinery draft air operating permit... It does not issue permits for the transportation of crude oil by rail. Still, activists from around Western Washington showed up at a public hearing to voice their concerns about the environmental impacts and disasters shipping crude oil by train could bring. (KIRO) See also: Shell Refinery air permit hearing draws full house, heated talk  Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Tankers carrying oil derail, catch fire in Va.
Multiple CSX train cars carrying crude oil derailed and caught fire Wednesday along the James River, with three tankers ending up in the water and leaking some of their contents, becoming the most recent crash involving oil trains that has safety experts pushing for better oversight. Alan Suderman and Michael Felberbaum report. (Associated Press)

Saltchuk ends deal to move Foss shipyard to Everett site
Seattle-based maritime conglomerate Saltchuk has dropped plans to buy Kimberly-Clark’s 66-acre former mill site on Everett’s waterfront as a new location for its 250-employee Foss Maritime shipyard... While inspecting the site, Saltchuk found problems with soil stability and seismic and environmental conditions at the property, said company spokeswoman Emily Reiter. Coral Garnick reports. (Seattle Times)

Squamish LNG plant could have jump on larger northern B.C. proposals
It is nowhere as big as the liquefied natural gas projects touted for northwest B.C., but a proposed plant near Squamish has as good a chance as any to be the first to be built in the province. Woodfibre LNG’s size helps. With an annual output of 1.2 million tonnes, it is about one-tenth the size of the proposed $10-billion-plus northern projects, which significantly cuts down on its capital costs. It also has a private owner, Indonesian billionaire Sukanto Tanoto, whose holding company, Raja Garuda Mas International (also known as Royal Golden Eagle), owns Pacific Oil and Gas Ltd., of which Woodfibre LNG is a subsidiary. Gordon Hoekstra reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Farms in B.C. netted $4.1 million in compensation for diseased fish
The federal government quietly paid $4.1 million in compensation to two Norway-headquartered aquaculture companies operating in B.C. that had to destroy fish hit by a deadly virus in 2012. The payments came from a program that has paid out $94 million since 2011 — mostly to East Coast fish farmers — to cover losses from exposure to disease. The payments of $2.8 million to Cermaq Canada and $1.3 million to Grieg Seafoods are outlined in federal documents about the culls after fish farm exposure to infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus, also known as IHNv. Peter O'Neil reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT THU MAY 1 2014
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
E WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
S WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING SW AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG AFTER
 MIDNIGHT.
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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.

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1/21 Seahawk, Orion, quakes, BC LNG, China pollution, oil train spills, sea star survey

PHOTO: Mark Schiffler/BirdNote

What Is a Seahawk?
The first Seattle Seahawk to storm the field during home games isn’t the head coach or the quarterback -- it isn’t even human. It’s Taima, a captive-bred Augur Hawk that has accompanied the team before every home game since 2007. She is a beautiful representative of a species from the aridlands of East Africa, hardly a hawk of the sea. So, what is a “Seahawk”? Adam Sedgley ponders.

If you like to watch: The Unknown Sea: A Voyage on the Salish
By Deep Green Wilderness, a sailboat-based education program that introduces students to the biological and cultural diversity of the Salish Sea through voyages on our historic ship Orion and documentary filmmaking.

How Smaller, Off-Coast Quakes Could Badly Shake BC
A new scientific study indicates that southwestern B.C. faces some little-understood threats from earthquakes -- not just from the Big One, but from weaker quakes occurring within 100 kilometres of Vancouver. The implications for construction safety codes could be important, especially for the seismic retrofit program that's been strengthening B.C. schools. The report, published today in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, finds that the geology of the Georgia Basin tends to slow down waves from nearby crustal earthquakes, causing longer, more intense shaking. The basin underlies the Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca, as well as Puget Sound, and much of Greater Vancouver is built on it. Crawford Kilian reports. Also see: Earthquakes amplified in silty Vancouver basin: study

B.C. First Nations warns Premier Clark to consult aboriginals on LNG development
A British Columbia First Nation says the provincial government is dragging its feet when it comes to consulting with aboriginal people about proposed liquefied natural gas developments, including revenue sharing.

China’s exports include pollution to Western U.S.
Filthy emissions from China’s export industries are carried across the Pacific Ocean and contribute to air pollution in the Western United States, according to a paper published Monday by a prominent U.S. science journal. The research is the first to quantify how air pollution in the United States is affected by China’s production of goods for export and by global consumer demand for those goods, the authors say. It was written by nine scholars based in three nations and was published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which last year published a paper by other researchers that found a drop in life spans in Northern China because of air pollution. The latest paper explores the environmental consequences of interconnected economies. Edward Wong reports.

More oil spilled from trains in 2013 than in previous 4 decades, federal data show
More crude oil was spilled in U.S. rail incidents last year than was spilled in the nearly four decades since the federal government began collecting data on such spills, an analysis of the data shows. Including major derailments in Alabama and North Dakota, more than 1.15 million gallons of crude oil was spilled from rail cars in 2013, according to data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. By comparison, from 1975 to 2012, U.S. railroads spilled a combined 800,000 gallons of crude oil. The spike underscores new concerns about the safety of such shipments as rail has become the preferred mode for oil producers amid a North American energy boom. The federal data does not include incidents in Canada where oil spilled from trains. Curtis Tate reports.

Feiro Marine Life Center of Port Angeles seeks help for Sunday sea star survey
The Feiro Marine Life Center is seeking volunteers to help monitor a disease affecting sea stars on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The sea star wasting disease survey is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, with volunteers meeting at the Freshwater Bay boat ramp for training. Volunteers will be told how to identify different sea stars and given instruction on conducting the survey, which is expected to take two or three hours, before spreading out to the east and west to look for infected sea stars. Arwyn Rice reports.

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST TUE JAN 21 2014
TODAY
E WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 20 KT EARLY THIS MORNING THEN 5 TO 15 KT THIS AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4
 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT OR THIS AFTERNOON. W SWELL 9 FT AT 16 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 15 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 9 FT AT 14 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT. A CHANCE
 OF RAIN OR DRIZZLE.
--
"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

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7/19 Salish Sea health, safe shellfish, sewage, orca funding, 'Blackfish,' gray whale

Blackfish (Suzanne Allee/Magnolia Pictures)

A report featuring key environmental indicators for the Salish Sea shows mixed trends, with some indicators showing improvements, others declining, and others remaining steady. The Health of the Salish Sea Ecosystem Report, issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Canada, features indicators in four key areas: Air, water, animal species, and human well-being..... As a whole, the 2013 report showed positive trends in reducing pollution in the aquatic food web, but showed continuing declines across aquatic habitat and species based indicators. More specifically, the report shows improved air quality, improved freshwater water quality and reductions in persistent toxic chemicals in the aquatic food web. The indicators representing populations of wild species, including marine species at risk and Chinook salmon abundance, need more attention. Two habitat indicators sensitive to climate change, summer stream flow and marine water quality, are also showing declining trends. News release: Health of the Salish Sea Report shows mixed trends for key environmental indicators in Puget Sound and Northwest Straits  

Detecting pathogens in shellfish that are harmful to humans is currently laborious and time-consuming work, but a new robotic sensing unit could vastly improve the system, resulting in fewer people getting sick. Officials from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration introduced the Environmental Sample Processor on Thursday, July 18, at Taylor Shellfish Farms. The unit uses molecular probes to detect micro-organisms by their DNA, and it can be done nearly in real time, giving scientists a better chance to see an algal bloom (also known as a red tide bloom) as it is happening. Dave Gallagher reports. New machine could help predict red tide blooms in NW waters  See also: New robot helping keep Puget Sound seafood safe to eat

Red dye will be injected into treated wastewater on Monday and Tuesday at Joint Base Lewis McChord’s wastewater plant then monitored in a state health department study. The Washington State Department of Health, along with federal, tribal, state, and local agencies, are doing the study in the Puget Sound waters off Solo Point in Pierce County to see where shellfish are safe to harvest. The test will be on Monday and Tuesday. Red dye will likely be visible in the waters near the treatment plant. Tracking will include gauging the wastewater’s movement and dilution. Rita Robison reports. Puget Sound to turn red near Joint Base Lewis McChord on Monday and Tuesday  

Ronald Stansberry's septic business took illegal dumping to a new low. Stansberry, 62, last month admitted in court to unloading more than 6,000 gallons of human waste surreptitiously on a stranger's property south of Stanwood. Now the owner of Camano Septic is on the hook to pay restitution, pony up another $643 in legal penalties, and obtain proper permits before returning to any sewage-pumping work. If he doesn't comply, he could face nearly a year in jail. Noah Haglund reports. Septic firm fined for dumping waste

If whales could smile, they’d be happy to hear the news: New federal funding has been approved to help protect the Orcas that make Puget Sound their home. The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed that more federal dollars have been approved under the Endangered Species Act to help protect the Southern Resident Orcas that live in our area annually from May to September. Sgt. Russ Mullins, with the department, said the federal grant will allow a two-pronged approach to help the whales. One will be through enforcement and educating boaters in operating their boats around whales. More money will also add more enforcement officers, to allow them to spend more time on the water. John White reports. Feds earmark money to protect Orcas

A group of at least five killer whales prowled Kitsap Peninsula waters on Thursday, drawing crowds as they passed a ferry, leaped out of the water near Keyport and cruised around Poulsbo's docks... Orca Network Director Howard Garrett said the whales are believed to represent three generations of one family. National Marine Fisheries Service biologist Brad Hanson said the family is part of a larger group of 19 transient killer whales that were seen Saturday near Seattle and then off Whidbey Island.  Killer whales visit Puget Sound

Unapologetically designed both to inform and affect, Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s delicately lacerating documentary, “Blackfish,” uses the tragic tale of a single whale and his human victims as the backbone of a hypercritical investigation into the marine-park giant SeaWorld Entertainment. Denied on-camera interviews with park executives, who have strenuously taken issue with the film’s contentions in a lengthy news release, Ms. Cowperthwaite tells the distressing story of Tilikum, a 12,000-pound bull orca implicated in the deaths of three people. Through the rueful voices of former trainers and whale experts, a narrative driven by disillusion and regret unfolds as the trainers point to a gap between SeaWorld’s public image and behind-the-scenes reality. Jeannette Catsoulis reports. Do Six-Ton Captives Dream of Freedom? ‘Blackfish,’ a Documentary, Looks Critically at SeaWorld  

A gray whale was spotted Wednesday morning in Burley Lagoon, a backwater of Puget Sound that is about as far from the ocean as a whale can get. John Calambokidis, a whale expert with Cascadia Research, said the marine mammal is believed to be the same one that has been in the south Sound for the past four or five days. It was spotted Tuesday in Budd Inlet near Olympia. On Wednesday morning it showed up only a few feet from the shore in Burley Lagoon, a small body of water in northern Pierce County between Purdy and Wauna. Gray whale spotted in backwater of south Puget

Please do not avert your eyes because you see the words Olympia or Legislature. Yes, the double-overtime session was exhausting and exasperating, but lawmakers did talk about more than taxes and budgets. Important, if incremental, progress was made on various environmental fronts. Lance Dickie writes. Legislative budget battle didn’t block environmental progress

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI JUL 19 2013
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT...RISING TO 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS...BUILDING TO 1 TO 3 FT. NW SWELL 2 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT. NW SWELL 3 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
SAT
W WIND TO 10 KT...RISING TO 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS...BUILDING TO 1 TO 3 FT. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
SUN
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING NW 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 7 SECONDS.

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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

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6/11 Salish Sea trail, toxic fish rules, Whatcom water, state budget, BC pipe, LNG, Scotch broom, bag ban

A new nonprofit group is making strides to establish a coastal trail along the inland marine waters of Washington and British Columbia. The Bellingham-based Salish Sea Foundation also wants those waters designated as an international marine sanctuary. Doug Tolchin, an organizer of the foundation, said the effort is in its early stages, but the goal is firm. Gail Fiege reports. Foundation proposes Salish Sea trail on inland waters  

Gov. Jay Inslee is wading into the controversy on state water-pollution regulations that InvestigateWest first reported earlier this spring. In a letter to the state Ecology Department (embedded below), Inslee announced his intention to organize an informal group of advisers from local governments, Indian tribes and businesses. Environmental groups, notably, are not mentioned. The process is to kick off this month, and Inslee told Ecology Director Maia Bellon that by late this year he will “provide you with guidance” that will allow new rules to be proposed in early 2014....It remains to be seen whether Indian tribes will agree to participate. Tribal interests and nearly all environmental groups – with the exception of Portland-based Northwest Environmental Advocates – have been boycotting the two-year Ecology “stakeholder process” set in motion by last summer’s decision. Robert McClure reports. Story update: Inslee gets involved in water-quality rule changes

In a ruling that could have significant impacts on land development in rural Whatcom County, a state board has ordered county officials to develop more restrictive regulations to protect water supplies in streams and under the ground. The Growth Management Hearings Board found that the county's existing regulations are leaving wide areas of rural Whatcom County without adequate measures to protect the quality and quantity of water supplies. That threatens the rural character of these areas, and that character is supposed to be protected under the terms of the Washington Growth Management Act. John Stark reports. State board tells Whatcom County to impose restrictions on water use   See also the blog by Jean Melious: Hearings Board to Whatcom County: You -- Yes, You -- Have the Responsibility to Take Care of Your Own Water Resources  

Washington state's political leaders resigned themselves Monday to another special session, as budget negotiators continued searching for a way to bridge the wide gap between their positions. With just one day before the end of a 30-day overtime session, House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan said the House and Senate proposals remained far apart. He recalled that Gov. Jay Inslee had said at the end of the regular session more than a month ago that both sides were "light years apart." Mike Baker reports. State lawmakers resigned to 2nd special session

With its own pipeline project soon to face regulatory scrutiny, Kinder Morgan Canada Inc. says a lengthy list of conditions set out by the National Energy Board for the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline could burden other projects with unnecessary costs, red tape and labour shortages. In April, the NEB laid out a list of 199 conditions specific to Enbridge’s Northern Gateway project, should the heavy oil pipeline from Alberta across British Columbia to the Pacific coast be approved. Although the NEB says the conditions are specific to Northern Gateway, Kinder Morgan doesn’t appear convinced the requirements won’t be applied to the pipeline industry more broadly. Kelly Cryderman reports. Energy Board’s Northern Gateway terms could hurt other projects, Kinder Morgan warns

Malaysian national oil company Petronas says it expects to spend up to $16 billion to build a liquefied natural gas export facility and related infrastructure in Western Canada. Arif Mahmood, Petronas vice-president of corporate planning, says the company will invest between $9 billion and $11 billion to construct two LNG liquefaction plants near British Columbia's west coast. Another $5 billion will be invested in a 750 kilometre-long pipeline, to be built by TransCanada Corp., to supply gas to the two plants, he said Tuesday in an email to The Associated Press. Petronas expects to invest up to $16 billion in LNG export facility in B.C.  

The City of Nanaimo has found a use for Scotch broom. The noxious weed will be shredded and burned as hog fuel to power the Harmac pulp mill near Nanaimo. This year for the first time, the city helped members of the public control the noxious weed by putting collection bins at three locations in May. Enough broom was collected to more than fill a five-ton truck. It was shredded Thursday at a ceremonial “burning of the broom” event at the fire-training yard on Labieux Road. Darrell Belaart reports. Shredded Scotch broom to help fuel Harmac pulp mill  

Lewis Brantley, caretaker at Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge, has catalogued five months’ worth of debris that has washed up on the beaches of the 380-acre island between Port Townsend and Sequim. Brantley lived on the island as caretaker from Oct. 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013, returning to Port Townsend every week or two for supplies. The island is closed to public access because of the wildlife’s sensitivity to disturbance, particularly during breeding season. One of his responsibilities was to remove debris along the shoreline. Protection Island caretaker conducts study of beach garbage

City councilmembers were divided Monday evening over what to do with a proposed ordinance to charge a fee for plastic bags at some large Anacortes stores. Despite the lively debate, councilmembers took no action at the meeting. The ordinance, proposed by councilwoman Erica Pickett, would charge a 5-cent fee to customers for every plastic carry-out shopping bag, but only at stores of 40,000 square feet and larger. Only two grocery stores in town fit that bill. Mark Stayton reports. Anacortes considers bag control

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT TUE JUN 11 2013
TODAY
SW WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY.
TONIGHT
SW WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING S AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY.

--
"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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10/15 Sea wall, Salish Sea Institute, Cowichan salmon, Gulf Is Park, Japanese Gulch, Fort Worden plan, jellyfish, Edward Curtis

PHOTO: Laurie MacBride

Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: “If I hadn’t seen it at close hand, I’d find it hard to believe that a huge and powerful animal like this mother grizzly bear could live on…wait for it…grass! For three consecutive days this summer we watched, from the safety of our kayaks, as she ripped through the thick shoreline grass, at times pulling whole clumps to her mouth with her long and deadly front claws....”  Hangin’ Out with Momma Griz  

Seattle voters will be asked in the Nov. 6 general election to approve a $290 million bond measure to replace the waterfront seawall, built between 1915 and 1936 and badly eroded over the years by marine borers and tides. The 30-year bond measure would cost $59 per year for the owner of a median-valued, $360,000 home. The measure requires 60 percent approval to pass. Lynn Thompson reports. Seattle voters face hefty bill for crumbling seawall  

Angus Matthews, executive director of the Sidney aquarium, is embarking on an ambitious project that would see a new, not-for-profit society establish three field stations in the Gulf Islands to provide outdoor education. The Salish Sea Institute would work with First Nations, businesses and Parks Canada to improve knowledge of the unique ecosystem in the area that stretches from the Mount Baker watershed through the Strait of Georgia, Haro Strait, Saanich Inlet, Juan de Fuca Strait and Puget Sound, Matthews said.  Judith Lavoie reports. Salish Sea of riches inspires 'bridge' of knowledge  And with a slightly different angle by Lavoie: Changes wash over the Salish sea  

Salmon are slowly making their way up the Cowichan River to spawning grounds after a pulse of water was released from the upstream weir by Catalyst Paper last week. But frustration with lack of provincial government action is growing among Cowichan Tribes, local politicians, Cowichan Watershed Board members and conservation groups.  A river nearly ran dry: Anger grows over lack of action on B.C. water levels

The Arctic Challenger oil well blowout response vessel has passed its final inspections and is expected to be ready for duty in 2013 in the oil field that Shell Oil Co. is developing in the Chukchi Sea, north of the Bering Straits. Superior Energy Services of Houston built the Arctic Challenger during the spring, summer and fall at the Port of Bellingham's shipping terminal on Cornwall Avenue, a project that involved mounting a complex oil well containment system on a barge. Shell had hoped the Arctic Challenger would be ready for service during the 2012 drilling season, but delays in construction and clearance by the U.S. Coast Guard and the American Bureau of Shipping forced a delay. John Stark reports. Bellingham-built Arctic Challenger cleared for duty in northern seas

A picturesque pebble and sand beach, flanked by arbutus trees and evergreens, with remnants of an old fish-oil plant, is one of four new parcels of land added to the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve on Friday. The additions — Roesland Extension and Shingle Bay on North Pender Island, Maple Bay on Prevost Island and the Saturna Island Extension — expanded the fragmented park by more than 100 hectares, costing Parks Canada $6.3 million. Judith Lavoie reports.  Four parcels added to Gulf Islands park reserve

Mukilteo voters will decide on the Nov. 6 ballot whether to pay 20 cents per $1,000 of assessed value -- $60 per year for the owner of a $300,000 home -- for five years. The money would go toward buying 98 acres on the west side of Japanese Gulch currently owned by Metropolitan Creditors Trust, a bankrupt Spokane mortgage company. The city currently owns 25 acres, but Boeing and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad own most of the large ravine, which straddles the border between Everett and the north end of Mukilteo near the Boeing plant. The gulch takes its name from Japanese immigrants who lived there in the early 20th century. Bill Sheets reports. Tax levy would help Mukilteo buy Japanese Gulch  

A draft of the Fort Worden Lifelong Learning Center Public Development Authority’s business plan has been submitted to Gov. Chris Gregoire’s office for final vetting. The referral of the plan Friday is in preparation for the submission of the final draft to the state Parks and Recreation Commission on Oct. 25 in time for the commission’s Dec. 6 meeting, when it could be approved. Charlie Bermant reports. Fort Worden public development plan draft sent to Gov. Gregoire

Sometimes, it can be hard to tell the difference between what is real and what is only a myth. In the Northwest, we have some incredible natural wonders that sound almost too bizarre to be real. Aequorea victoria, a common jellyfish in the Puget Sound waters, can really make a statement when agitated. This amazing jellyfish combines two different proteins within its body to create bioluminescence and glow in the dark. Scientists have been able to extract one of these proteins and apply it to modern medicine to help researchers track proteins in living cells.  Nature filled with unique animals

Some of the North American Indian photos in Timothy Egan's epic biography of pioneering photographer Edward Curtis you'll recognize immediately, their haunting poignancy and stark authenticity unforgettable. You'll know the one of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe, maybe Curtis' most famous. You've undoubtedly seen the proud profile of the aged Geronimo, whose deep-lined face speaks volumes. And while the title, The Piegan Dandy, 1900, might not be familiar, the picture of the coiffed young warrior is. But chances are you never knew the name or the remarkable story of the charismatic visionary behind the camera. Curtis, you see, was to North American Indians what Matthew Brady was to the Civil War —though, unlike Brady, he's been largely forgotten. Don Oldenburg reviews Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher 'Shadow Catcher' illuminates man behind Native American portraits  

Now, your thank-goodness-for-tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 PM PDT SUN OCT 14 2012
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT
MON
S WIND 15 KT RISING TO 25 TO 35 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. COMBINED SEAS 10 TO 13 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 14 SECONDS. RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
MON NIGHT
S WIND 25 TO 35 KT...BECOMING W 15 TO 25 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. COMBINED SEAS 9 TO 12 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 13 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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.  

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told