10/2 Land & Water fund, BC pipe, BC Conservancy, water regs, wetland farm, Snake flotilla, stink beach

Kelp greenling (Joe Tomelleri)

“Fishes of the Salish Sea: A compilation and distributional analysis”
(The new report) published online Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, includes a full taxonomic list as well as an analysis of geographic distribution and relative local abundance, along with common and scientific names and key references to learn more about each species. Some of the fishes are depicted in hand-drawn images by artist Joe Tomelleri, so accurate and life-like that they are easily mistaken for photographs. Michelle Ma reports. (UW Today)

Congress lets Land and Water Conservation Fund expire; it has protected Washington places low and high
The U.S. House of Representatives has put it all together this year, finding ways to hurt nature conservation as well as the country’s export industries. It allowed the U.S. Export-Import Bank to expire last summer, leaving hundreds of large and small businesses without export guarantees.  And this week, it has failed to reauthorize the 50-year-old Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has used a small chunk of federal oil leasing revenues to support land conservation projects. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

Kinder Morgan pipeline suggestion from Rachel Notley 'completely inappropriate'
Elected officials in British Columbia say they were caught off-guard by a suggestion from Alberta Premier Rachel Notley to shift the Trans Mountain Pipeline terminal to Delta, B.C., instead of Burnaby. ​Notley made the comment at a Bloomberg Live conference in New York on Wednesday. She said Kinder Morgan, the company building the expanded pipeline, may need to move the proposed terminal to win support for the project…. Vicki Huntington, the independent MLA for Delta South, also rejected Notley's suggestion. "I'm sure the Premier of Alberta doesn't understand that the Fraser River delta is probably the most critical habitat in Canada," said Huntington. (CBC)

Land Conservancy transfers properties for $1.5 million
A major transfer of ecologically significant properties from The Land Conservancy — announced in July — has now become official. Twenty-six properties around B.C., including nine on Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island, have been transferred to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, said Nature Conservancy spokesman Tom Swann. Included on the list are Kindwood in the Highlands, Lohbrunner Woods in Langford and the Clare Winnett Copeland property at Shawnigan Lake. The Land Conservancy, which at one point had 51 properties, now has fewer than 10. The organization went into creditor protection in 2013 as it dealt with debt and an array of mortgages. Jeff Bell reports. (Times Colonist)

Gov. Inslee sounds off on federal water regulation
Gov. Jay Inslee said Thursday he doesn’t want the federal government writing clean water rules for the state and will offer his own regulatory approach to “improve human health” in the near future. “We would lose control of our pollution control system,” he said. “I am very concerned about that because frankly I don’t think it would be the right thing for the state to lose control of our own fundamental destiny.” But Inslee didn’t elaborate on what he might offer in the way of tougher standards for the discharge of pollutants into the state’s waterways. Jerry Cornfield reports. (Everett Herald)

Lynden wetlands cleared for blueberry farm to be restored
The Environmental Protection Agency has settled with the owner of a Lynden blueberry farm who will need to restore wetlands that were cleared on the property. Suellyn Rader Blymyer, on behalf of herself, her late husband Lyle Rader’s estate, and their company Uptrail Group LLC, will pay $210,000 in civil penalties for clearing and grading wetland on their property off Halverstick Road. Samantha Wohlfeil reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Free the Snake: A 150-Boat Flotilla Takes to the River on Oct. 3 to Advocate Against Dams
"People are coming from California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and the San Juan Islands," said Sam Mace, the Inland Northwest Director for Save Our Wild Salmon. "It'll be the biggest gathering of various salmon and orca experts and constituencies that care about the Snake River in more than a decade." For more than a decade, environmental advocates have pushed to get the four lower Snake River dams removed, which would help salmon more easily navigate the river to get to their original spawning grounds. This year, only 45 sockeye salmon survived the 900-mile journey from the ocean to Redfish Lake, due to elevated water temperatures in the river. A news release on the event, called Free the Snake Flotilla, partially blames the dams for the hotter temperatures. When water just sits still instead of moving in a current, it heats up significantly faster.  Jessica Murri reports. (Boise Weekly)

Northern coal project gets B.C. government approval
A Chinese-owned mine in northeastern British Columbia has passed another hurdle toward opening its controversial coal project. British Columbia’s government has granted an environmental assessment certificate to HD Mining International Ltd. for the Murray River Coal project, near Tumbler Ridge. (Canadian Press)

Neighbors plagued by stinky beach have few options
Waterfront living is hard to fully enjoy when a sunny day is marred by a stench that smells nothing like the sea…. Complaints to the King County Wastewater Treatment Division over the past few weeks led to an investigation that just concluded. County experts have determined the odor is not coming from the sewer system. The odor is coming from rotting sea lettuce, a type of seaweed that commonly washes on shore. This year's unusually warm weather is believed to be contributing to much more sea lettuce than usual and the odor when it rots in the hot sun. Mark Miller reports. (KOMO)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 425 AM PDT FRI OCT 2 2015
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING SE AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 8 FT AT
 10 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
SAT
SE WIND TO 10 KT...RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS...BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
E WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
SUN
E WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING SE TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT. W SWELL 3 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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

7/27 Salmon stress, Shell drill, oil port, divestment, disaster class, spill kits, boat racetrack, Bowker Cr, Squaxin park, Western Flyer

The rains came... (Nick Procaylo/Vancouver Sun)

Stillaguamish River, threatened fish species weather silt, slides and drought
....The Stillaguamish is home to three species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act: Chinook salmon, steelhead trout and bull trout. In recent years, however, the river suffered two blows that have threatened the survival of those species. First came the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. In addition to killing 43 people and cutting off Darrington from the rest of the county, the slide dumped tons of sediment into the river, turning the north fork opaque gray…. Then came the second blow: record low winter snowpack combined with high temperatures and drought caused record low water levels this summer just as the salmon started to return. Chris Winters reports. (Everett Herald) See also: Snowpack drought has salmon dying in overheated rivers   Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

Kayactivists Paddle In Protest As Shell Prepares For Arctic Drill
Portland's Swan Island basin was still and remarkably quiet Saturday as a flotilla of kayakers dipped their paddles in and out of the water, pulling themselves north toward the Vigorous, the largest dry dock in America. Then, with a cry, a drumbeat began. One hundred paddles smacked the water, and people yelled, "Shell no!" It was a moment of spontaneous drama in an otherwise meticulously planned floating protest of Shell's imminent plan to drill exploratory wells for oil in the Chukchi Sea in the Arctic, and the Obama administration's decision to issue Shell the environmental permits to proceed. (KUOW)

Judge Rules In Favor Of Vancouver Port On Oil Terminal Lease
Clark County Judge David Gregerson ruled Friday that port leaders in Vancouver, Washington didn’t violate state laws in 2013 when they negotiated a lease for an oil terminal. The lease between Tesoro-Savage companies and the port remains in place. If built, the terminal project could ship 360,000 barrels of oil daily from the port to refineries along the West Coast. Conrad Wilson reports. (EarthFix)

Victoria seeks powers to divest from fossil fuels
Victoria council wants local governments to be able to divest themselves of investments in fossil fuels. After hearing from several speakers Thursday, councillors passed a resolution calling for several actions relating to socially responsible investments, including…. Bill Cleverley reports. (Times Colonist)

Crude Oil Spill Disaster Classes Offered As Communities See Increased Oil Train Use
A year ago Friday, an oil train from North Dakota derailed under Seattle’s busy Magnolia Bridge during the height of the morning commute. No one was hurt and nothing burned in that accident but the scare has prompted changes to the emergency response to a similar accident should one occur. The reason? As many as two thousand black oil tanker cars now roll through Seattle each week, carrying crude from North Dakota’s Bakken region…. “Everybody that makes up the city - believe  it or not - is going to have a role to play," said John Malool, who teaches occupational safety at Rutgers University in New Jersey Malool  also is the fire chief in his hometown of Ridgefield Park, outside New York City. He’ll be teaching classes next week in Seattle and  Everett on how communities can prepare for oil train accidents. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KPLU)

Free oil spill kits can help curb Puget Sound boating pollution
In an effort to curb pollution from recreational boats, a partnership of agencies will be giving away oil spill kits in Western Washington. The free kits will be handed out by U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotillas during free vessel examinations. During the last 10 years, more than 19,000 gallons of pollution has been spilled into Puget Sound. Of that, 75 percent came from recreational boaters and commercial fishing vessels, according to a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard. (The Olympian)

EPA settlement imposes $14,000 fine, wetlands restoration order on sprint boat racetrack in Port Angeles; track will stay
An agreement has been reached between Extreme Sports Park co-owner Dan Morrison and the federal Environmental Protection Agency that will keep Morrison’s sprint boat racetrack intact. But Morrison’s A2Z Enterprises will have to pay a $14,000 fine and restore 1.3 acres of wetlands that were filled when the track was built, the EPA announced Friday. A final restoration plan has not been released, EPA spokeswoman Brianna Stoutenburgh said. (Peninsula Daily News)

Bowker Creek restoration a textbook example of environmental healing
A revitalized Bowker Creek will be an added touch to the new Oak Bay High School, set to open in September. The creek is a prominent feature at the south end of the school grounds, where it cuts a swath, then flows a few more kilometres to the ocean near Willows Beach. Work began this month on a restoration along 120 metres of the creek, where much of the growth was invasive and not conducive to a healthy environment. Jeff Bell reports. (Times Colonist)

State to sell former island park to Squaxin Island tribe
Washington State Parks will sell a former state park to the Squaxin Island Tribe, which forced the park’s closure more than two decades ago. The Kitsap Sun reported that the parks commission on Thursday unanimously approved the sale of the former Squaxin Island State Park in Mason County to the tribe for $45,000. (Associated Press)

Boat associated with John Steinbeck getting $2 million renovation in Port Townsend
The Western Flyer is about to be uncloaked.  Three months after the beginning of a $2 million renovation to transform the battered hulk of a boat once used by author John Steinbeck into a floating science center, those working on the project are lifting the shroud of secrecy and allowing the public to look but not touch.  Charlie Bermant reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON JUL 27 2015
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW 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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

5/22 Shell train, Derek Corrigan, BC Ferries, clean water, grease, anti-drill barge, halibut, wetlands bank

Plankton (Christian Sardet/CNRS/Tara Expeditions)

Census Reveals Universe Of Marine Microbes At Bottom Of The Food Chain
What’s at the bottom of the bottom of the food chain? Well, think small … smaller than you can see. Microbes in the ocean! There are (and scientists have done the math) trillions of microorganisms in the ocean: plankton, bacteria, krill (they’re maybe bigger than “micro,” but not by much), viruses, protists and archaea (they’re like bacteria, but they aren’t bacteria). Christopher Joyce reports. (NPR)

Judge grants county’s motion to dismiss Shell lawsuit; EIS to continue as planned
A lawsuit filed by Shell over Skagit County’s plans to conduct an environmental impact statement on Shell’s proposed unloading oil facility in Anacortes was dismissed Thursday by a Skagit County Superior Court judge. The EIS for the Shell Puget Sound Refinery unloading facility will go forward as planned after Judge Michael E. Rickert granted the county’s motion to dismiss Shell’s request for judicial review. Rickert said the lawsuit Shell brought against the county in March is premature because the scope of the EIS has not been determined. Shannen Kuest reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan ready to end career with pipeline arrest
If push comes to shove, Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan is prepared to end his political career getting arrested over the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion. Those were Corrigan's words to a packed audience at Wednesday night's BROKE meeting at Forest Grove Elementary. He says he would be 'very proud' to go out standing his ground. Jennifer Moreau reports. (Burnaby Now)

BC Ferries cancels cuts to major routes between Vancouver Island and mainland
BC Ferries is dropping plans to cut sailings on its major routes — including Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, Tsawwassen to Duke Point, and Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay — and says it will look elsewhere to find savings. The provincial ferry corporation announced two years ago it was looking at saving $4.9 million by reducing service between Vancouver Island and the mainland, as part of a multi-year proposal to save $19 million across the ferry system. Sailings were axed on 16 minor routes in April 2014, and BC Ferries said it would announce service level reductions on the major routes by 2016. But on Thursday the ferry corporation announced it had a second look, and decided the cuts don't make economic sense. (CBC)

Obama Set to Strengthen Federal Role in Clean Water Regulation
The Obama administration is expected in the coming days to announce a major clean water regulation that would restore the federal government’s authority to limit pollution in the nation’s rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands. Environmentalists have praised the new rule, calling it an important step that would lead to significantly cleaner natural bodies of water and healthier drinking water. But it has attracted fierce opposition from several business interests, including farmers, property developers, fertilizer and pesticide makers, oil and gas producers and a national association of golf course owners. Opponents contend that the rule would stifle economic growth and intrude on property owners’ rights. Coral Davenport reports. (NY Times)

Arctic-Drilling Protesters To Move Barge After Damaging Popular Dive Site
Protesters of Arctic drilling have run afoul of the ocean environment in their own small way. In addition to assembling a flotilla of kayaks on Seattle's Elliott Bay last weekend, the activists brought in a construction barge. It's a solar-powered platform for protests against Shell Oil's plans to drill in the Arctic Ocean. But the protesters anchored their solar barge over one of Seattle's most popular sites for scuba diving. Divers complained this week on Facebook about the protest barge's anchors.  They said anchor lines were snagging pilings and other old debris that's turned into habitat over the years. John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

How to get people to stop pouring grease down the drain is Metro Vancouver's $2 million question.
Many people wouldn’t think twice — say, on a Sunday, post-brunch — about cleaning a little one’s sticky fingers with a wet wipe, flushing it, and then washing a greasy frying pan with soap and water. Stop doing that, says Metro Vancouver. Cooking grease and wet wipes in the sewer system cost Metro Vancouver and its municipalities about $2.25 million a year, said Jeff Gogol, an environmental regulatory planner with Metro Vancouver’s liquid waste services division. (Vancouver Sun)

Shellfish harvesting ban lifted for most Whatcom beaches
The state Department of Health has reopened most beaches in Whatcom County to recreational shellfish harvesting after the biotoxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning dropped to safe levels. The ban had affected beaches from Sandy Point north to the border, including Point Roberts, but is now lifted. It was the second biotoxin related closure in less than a month. Portage Bay remains closed to the harvest of varnish clams. (Bellingham Herald)

How B.C. halibut became more expensive than Angus beef tenderloin
Supply and demand has led to a major increase in the price of halibut in B.C. With the abundance of halibut available across the province going down, pricing has skyrocketed over the last decade making the fish more expensive than some prized meat cuts. Ten years ago, the price of halibut in Prince Rupert averaged under $12 per pound. Now, that price has shot up to $27 per pound across the city. (CBC)

Kelso wetlands mitigation bank moves forward
A lush tract of land is about to get more lucrative for Kelso by staying just how it is. City Council members voted Tuesday to grant Forterra NW a conservation easement to 240 acres of land along the Coweeman River and into the hills east of Aldercrest Road. The move takes the city a step closer to establishing a 440-acre “mitigation bank,” a process started two years ago. Mitigation banks allow developers to buy credits to offset ecological disturbances their developments will cause, City Manager Steve Taylor said. Brooks Johnson reports. (Longview Daily News)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI MAY 22 2015
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 8 SECONDS. PATCHY DRIZZLE AFTER MIDNIGHT.
SAT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS. PATCHY DRIZZLE IN THE MORNING.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
SUN
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
SUN NIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
MON
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING W TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 4 FT.
--
"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

5/12 Shell drill, BC LNG, carbon tax, Navy noise, fin whale, Burrard wetland, drought

Polar Pioneer ((Vincenzo Floramo/Greenpeace)

Obama administration approves Shell drilling in Arctic Ocean  
The Obama administration gave conditional approval on Monday to allow Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc. to start drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic Ocean this summer. The approval is a major victory for Shell and the rest of the petroleum industry, which has sought for years to drill in the remote waters of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, which are believed to hold vast reserves of oil and gas. Coral Davenport reports. (NY Times)

Oil rig Polar Pioneer to exit Port Angeles this week despite Seattle mayor’s objections, waiting protesters
The Polar Pioneer — the giant floating oil rig anchored in Port Angeles Harbor since April 17 — will be towed by tug to Seattle this week, Shell Oil Co. announced Monday. The 400-foot-long apparatus will be brought to Seattle despite a code interpretation by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and a city planning agency that a Port of Seattle terminal is not permitted to host such a rig. Chris McDaniel reports. (Peninsula Daily News) See also:  'Kayaktivists' plan protest of Shell’s oil spill response vessel in Bellingham Samantha Wohlfeil reports. (Bellingham Herald)

B.C. First Nations likely to reject Petronas LNG project
A hereditary chief says Lax Kw’alaams members are poised in the final round of voting to reject a $1-billion cash offer dangled by a major liquefied natural gas project, posing a setback for the venture led by Malaysia’s Petronas. Donnie Wesley of the Gitwilgyoots, one of nine allied tribes of the Lax Kw’alaams, said the tribes are united in their opposition to the Pacific NorthWest LNG project near Prince Rupert, B.C. Brent Jang reports. (Globe and Mail)

Democrats revise cap and trade bill in hopes of passage
Public schools would continue to receive the largest chunk of $1.2 billion generated from a cap and trade program in Washington under a revised proposal released Monday by House Democrats. But oil refiners and lumber mill operators also stand to receive hundreds of millions dollars as well and no money would be spent on transportation as desired by Gov. Jay Inslee. On Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on the proposed substitute to House Bill 1314. A companion bill was introduced in the Senate Monday. Jerry Cornfield reports. (Everett Herald)

Is noise from Navy jets a threat to Olympic National Park? Rep. Derek Kilmer wants soundings
The joys of Washington’s Olympic National Park include being put to sleep by the sound of surf, the whistle of winds at high places like Bogachiel Peak, and the swift, purposeful, near silent movement of a Roosevelt Elk herd across a meadow. U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., who represents the Olympic Peninsula, wants to know if these sounds — and silences — are threatened by the U.S. Navy’s interest in using areas of the Peninsula for electronic warfare range testing, with an increased number of jets flying over pristine places. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

Dead fin whale hit by cruise ship spotted in Vancouver's harbour
The carcass of a dead fin whale has washed up in Burrard Inlet next to downtown Vancouver, and officials inspecting the young male whale said it was struck by a cruise ship. The whale was likely hit north of Vancouver Island, according to a veteran whale biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. This is the third time since the 1990s that a fin whale has been found near Vancouver after being hit by a cruise ship, said John Ford, a research scientist with the department. (CBC)

Park board proposal would restore long-lost Burrard Inlet wetland
Vancouver park board is considering turning part of the New Brighton Park foreshore into a marsh in an effort to restore wetland habitat for shorebirds, waterfowl and fish that has been lost for 50 years. Much of the Burrard Inlet wetlands vanished during the industrialization of the shoreline. New Brighton Park was developed in the 1960s and its intertidal habitat was covered over with fill. Gerry Bellett reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Water outlook worsens following fewer April showers
Through April, the state’s water supply outlook continued on a downward trend. The Skagit River, however, seems to be maintaining adequate streamflow, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service. The conservation service’s most recent report indicates about 67 percent of the agency’s snowpack monitoring sites had no snow as of May 1. Of sites monitored for 23 years or more, 77 percent of them set record lows. Snowpack across the state is at 17 percent of normal, which is a record low. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald) See also: Drought Help  Cliff Mass reports. (Weather Blog)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT TUE MAY 12 2015
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 8 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

1/19 Elwha, Alki, MLK, Lummi, BC pipes, Gorge spill, Ioco land, BC megathrust, Lynnwood wetland

Eulachon samples (Coastal Watershed Institute)

If you like to watch: Coastal Watershed Institute Elwha Sampling
Anne Shaffer of CWI writes: "At our January long term sampling of the Elwha estuary and lower river we documented-for the first time after looking for over a decade-hundreds of gravid and spent eulachon, Thaleichthys pacificus, and a gravid female long fin smelt, Spirinchus thaleichthys. These   forage fish, which are federally listed along areas of the west coast due to their  precipitous decline, are-literally-the backbone of coastal cultures and nearshore ecosystems…. Within five months of the dam removal ending, these fish are literally flooding the system, feeding dozens of harbor seals and thousands of birds."

If you like to watch: Alki Junkyard - 1/17/2015
Laura James shares some cool underwater views-- and maybe some good news about seastar recovery.

New blog: The 12th Man On MLK Day
"Hard to sit down and compose a Martin Luther King Day blog after watching the end of Sunday’s Seattle Seahawk game. The 12th Man/Woman in houses up and down the neighborhood street yelled himself/herself hoarse. I hope they yell as hard for justice on Monday but race, civil rights, equal opportunity, domestic abuse, gender equality aren’t as simple as a football game, regardless of how much some people might think of sports as a metaphor for life…."

Lummis reject ‘standing offer’ to negotiate approval of Whatcom County coal terminal
The chairman of Lummi Nation said Thursday, Jan. 15, the tribe is not negotiating with the shipping-terminal company that would build a coal-export facility at Cherry Point. Lummi Chairman Tim Ballew sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dated Jan. 5, asking the agency to immediately deny a federal permit for the Gateway Pacific Terminal. The terminal applicant, SSA Marine, responded by asserting its “standing offer” to meet with Lummi officials and work out a deal that would allow the terminal to be built. “Plain and simple, the response is just as the letter to the Corps said,” Ballew said on Thursday, Jan 15. “There is no way to mitigate the damages the proposed project would bring.” Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Kinder Morgan pipeline: Vancouver submits almost 600 more questions
The City of Vancouver has sent Kinder Morgan almost 600 more questions about its proposed pipeline plan in an effort to plug "significant gaps" in the information already provided by the energy giant. Using its status as intervenor, the city says its questions, submitted to the National Energy Board (NEB), have arisen from either a lack of clarity in Kinder Morgan's 15,000 page proposal, or from responses to previous questions. "It is imperative that all of our questions are fully answered by the company this time," the city said in a statement. "In the first round of requests, Kinder Morgan failed to answer nearly 150 of the 394 questions submitted by us." (CBC)

Falling oil prices pose another delay for B.C. pipelines
Energy economists say that a prolonged slump in oil prices will further slow two proposed pipelines already hamstrung by court challenges and community opposition in British Columbia. Federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver has maintained that “the strategic need is still there” for both the Northern Gateway and Trans Mountain pipelines to go through the province. But the slumping price of oil has caused enough “market instability,” as Mr. Oliver put it, to prompt Ottawa to postpone its budget to at least April. Mike Hager reports. (Globe and Mail)

BP oil spill smaller than feared, judge rules
BP faces a fine of up to $13.7bn (£9bn) after a US judge ruled that the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill was smaller than initially feared. His ruling put the spill at 3.2 million barrels - the US government had estimated it at 4.09 million barrels. It shields the oil giant from what could have been a $17.6bn fine. A final figure is expected later this month. (BBC)

Olympia runs short on money for much-needed repairs at Percival Landing
Percival Landing on Olympia’s downtown waterfront would cost millions of dollars to repair, but the city is trying to scrape up enough money for basic maintenance. City parks staff updated the Olympia City Council about the aging park’s condition — and expected costs for repairs — at a study session Jan. 13. Andy Hobbs reports. (Olympian)

Haz-mat crews at work on fuel spill in Gorge Waterway
Animals chewing on copper line coming from a home fuel-oil tank could be the culprits in a 1,000-litre spill into the Gorge Waterway. The spill — at least the third to enter the Gorge in the past year — was discovered about 10 a.m. Friday. It was traced to a broken fuel line at a modular home just off Admirals Road, about 500 metres from where the oil entered the water, said David Rogers of B.C. Hazmat. Jeff Bell report. (Times Colonist)

Metro Vancouver land package including Ioco townsite sold
A new player in Metro Vancouver real estate development — Brilliant Circle Group Investments Ltd — has bought 230 acres of Imperial Oil land in Port Moody and Anmore to develop a master-planned new village. The deal, which closed last week, includes about half of the Ioco townsite as well as the surrounding area, which is forested land in both Port Moody and Anmore. The purchase price was not disclosed. The property includes some heritage buildings and is close to an environmentally sensitive salmon hatchery. Jenny Lee and Brian Morton report. (Vancouver Sun)

Lynnwood rents land for $5, but wetland strings are attached
A small stretch of Highway 99 in Lynnwood is the scene of a quiet, cordial conflict between wetland preservation and business promotion. The disagreement involves two billboards, a 28-year-old document and a 99.8 percent discount on a city contract. Rikki King reports. (Everett Herald)

As waters acidify, Maine looks to Pacific Northwest peers for help
In the icy waters of midcoast Maine, Bill Mook has his eyes on his oysters – and how the waters they need to survive are gradually, but clearly, changing. Down the coast near Portland, the issue is clams and the mud flats that have become inhospitable to their survival. Farther south still, near Cape Cod in Massachusetts, the worry is so-called “sea butterflies,” tiny marine snails that live low on the food chain and are – like the oysters and clams – threatened by a process known as “ocean acidification.” Chris Adams reports. (McClatchy)

B.C. megathrust earthquake will rip earth open like a zipper says expert
Last megathrust earthquake off B.C. coast in 1700 generated a four storey tsunami in Japan nine hours later. A Natural Resources Canada seismologist says the odds of 'big one' occurring in next 50 years are one in 10. Dirk Meissner reports. (The Canadian Press)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 216 AM PST MON JAN 19 2015
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 11 FT AT 12 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 9 FT AT 13 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON.
 SHOWERS LIKELY IN THE MORNING...THEN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
SW WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING S AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 8 FT AT 13 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

12/5 Quake fault, Rhapsody dead, Navy Growlers, WA wetlands, Everett sewer, Vancouver birds

(USGS/KPLU)

Study: Offshore Fault Where The 'Big One' Originates Eerily Quiet
…. The fault zone expected to generate the next big one lies underwater between 40 and 80 miles offshore of the Pacific Northwest coastline. Earthquake scientists have listening posts along the coast from Vancouver Island to Northern California. But those onshore seismometers have detected few signs of the grinding and slipping you would expect to see as one tectonic plate dives beneath another, with the exception of the junctions on the north and south ends of what is formally known as the Cascadia Subduction Zone…. The bottom line: Even with more sensitive instruments, it’s still eerily quiet out there. Which leads the researchers to conclude the dangerous Cascadia fault zone is stuck  — or in science-speak, it is fully “locked.” …The evidence pointing to the colliding tectonic plates being completely stuck has serious implications for earthquake risk on land in the Pacific Northwest. Tom Banse report. (NW Public Radio)

Endangered killer whale found dead in Strait of Georgia
A member of B.C.’s endangered southern resident killer whale population has been found dead of unknown causes in the Strait of Georgia. The 18-year-old female member of J pod died sometime in the last couple of days, according to Howard Garrett, co-founder of the Washington state-based Orca Network…. The young whale, known as Rhapsody, has never produced a calf, but Garrett said many orca-watchers believed she was in the later stages of pregnancy because of her large size when she was seen breaching this summer. Bethany Lindsay reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Hundreds turn out for Navy Growler EIS Scoping Meeting in Port Townsend Thursday
Hundreds of people from the North Olympic Peninsula came to Fort Worden in Port Townsend Thursday afternoon to hear the Navy explain their plans for expansion of the Growler air fleet. The Navy had subject matter experts with signage to help explain their plans, which in some cases did clarify issues. (more on that later). Additionally, the Navy provided scribes and the ability for people to get their comments logged to the official record of public comment. Opponents of the expansion were out in force, and had stations with question banks so people could ask knowledgeable questions. The opposition groups have a great deal of concern about noise pollution, jet pollution, the tie in of this expansion with the Electromagnetic warfare training that the Navy plans to use these planes to test over the west end of the Olympic National Park and Clallam County. (Olympic Peninsula Environmental News)

Ecology wants comments on state wetland plan
The state Department of Ecology is seeking public comment on a proposed statewide plan for the management of wetland areas. Comments will be accepted through Dec. 31. The plan was developed using a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant, Ecology said in a news release. It includes creating a wetland monitoring program and assessment strategy, providing support for local governments in need of wetland expertise, and streamlines the permitting process in an effort to better protect Washington’s wetland areas. (Skagit Valley Herald)

$320M fix prescribed for Everett’s aging sewers
The city has unveiled a 10-year plan for its aging flood-prone sewer system. The Comprehensive Sewer Plan, revealed Wednesday at a meeting of the City Council, will cost more than $320 million over the next decade, with sewer and stormwater rates nearly doubling in that time. Chris Winters reports. (Herald of Everett)

City of Vancouver hopes new bird strategy will take flight
The City of Vancouver has produced a draft “bird strategy” to give wing to a better environment for birds. It recommends a number of things people can do to improve habitat, reduce unnecessary deaths through cat predation and strikes to buildings, and generally enjoy the avian world. Jeff Lee reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
 WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST FRI DEC 5 2014
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING
TODAY
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 13 SECONDS. RAIN.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. SW SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS. RAIN.
SAT
S WIND 20 TO 30 KT...BECOMING SW 10 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 FT. SW SWELL 5
 FT AT 9 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY...MAINLY IN THE MORNING.
SAT NIGHT
SW WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING SE AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
SUN
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. 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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

6/13 Phytoplankton, Tacoma PCBs, train risks, train count, pro BC pipe, belugas, Samish wetlands, Foss waterway, Oly isthmus, cormorant kill

Phytoplankton (Smithsonian/Richard Kirby)

If you like to listen: Cruising for Carbon's Impact on the High Seas: Critters who Supply Half the World's Oxygen at Risk
The US west coast is a living laboratory for studying the effects of chemical changes in the ocean brought on by increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. On a recent month long 'ocean acidification cruise' supported by the National Science Foundation, scientists found impacts to marine life at the base of the food web who also supply half the world's oxygen, phytoplankton. The findings have yet to be analyzed in the lab but were the first ever to be conducted in the high seas. Martha Baskin reports. (Green Acre Radio)

With Data and Resolve, Tacoma Fights Pollution
Last year, environmental engineers working for this city had an unnerving worry. After a decade and tens of millions of dollars devoted to a fastidious cleanup of its corner of Puget Sound, Tacoma’s shore front was in danger of being contaminated with a highly toxic chemical. Working their way upstream, the engineers discovered the source of the problem: a storm drain in a residential neighborhood. Black goo stuck to its sides was old grout that contained large concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. Used in local road building in 1975, PCBs, odorless and carcinogenic, were outlawed soon thereafter. Yet they were swept up and sent mostly through drain pipes on their way to Puget Sound. Felicity Barringer reports. (NY Times)

Governor Inslee on oil trains: ‘I want to know’ risks
Gov. Jay Inslee says he wants a full assessment of the risks of using the rails to ship volatile crude oil from North Dakota to Puget Sound-area refineries and a proposed Columbia River terminal that would take four mile-long oil trains each day. The governor on Thursday instructed state agencies to “begin developing spill response plans for affected counties” and get ready to coordinate with neighboring states and British Columbia.  The state Department of Ecology will submit findings on Oct. 1. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.com)

Citizen oil-train spotters challenge railroad secrecy
BNSF Railway doesn’t want civilians to know how often it transports large shipments of Bakken crude oil through Snohomish County, but a mathematician from Everett can give you a pretty good estimate. Dean Smith, 71, a retired researcher for a federal agency, isn’t on the “need-to-know” list, but he’s got a darn good idea of the frequency and routes of oil trains. He organized the Snohomish County Train Watch, and he and 29 volunteers monitored train traffic in Edmonds, Everett and Marysville for a week in April. Crude-oil tank cars can be identified by their red, diamond-shaped hazardous-material placards that bear the number 1267. They tried to keep track around the clock but missed a few shifts. Even so, they counted 16 shipments of oil and 20 of coal, Smith said. They also tallied another 96 trains, including those of Amtrak, the Sounder commuter run between Seattle and Everett and other freight during the period. Jerry Cornfield reports. (Everett Herald)

Greenlight Northern Gateway 40 politicians, industry leaders urge  
A group of politicians and business leaders is urging Ottawa to approve Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project. Forty people, including the premier of Alberta and several former federal cabinet ministers, signed an open letter that appeared in national newspapers on Thursday. Titled “Northern Gateway: A Project for Canada,” the letter calls the proposed pipeline one "that’s right for our time.” (CBC)

Whale research at risk if Vancouver Aquarium loses cetaceans
The Vancouver Aquarium would likely survive without beluga whales, but it would be at the expense of some of the world’s most important research into arctic wildlife, according to the heads of two American aquariums that don’t keep cetaceans. Vancouver’s aquarium conducts important research on arctic wildlife, including belugas, that is not done anywhere else, said Jim Hekkers, managing director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, Calif., and Jerry Schubel, president of the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif. Jeff Lee reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Neighbors protest Samish wetland restoration
A 104-acre wetland restoration project the state has planned on the Samish River continues to face scrutiny from neighboring landowners.... The land, commonly known as the Welts property, is part of Fish and Wildlife’s Skagit Wildlife Area referred to as the Samish River Unit. It is on the west bank of the Samish River, south of Bayview-Edison Road. Fish and Wildlife allows public access for walking, bird-watching, fishing and hunting. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Feds seek $3.5 million from Washington Department of Transportation for Foss Waterway clean-up
The federal government has gone to court to try to squeeze another $3.5 million out of the Washington State Department of Transportation for costs associated with the cleanup of Tacoma’s Thea Foss and Wheeler Osgood waterways. In pleadings filed earlier this spring, lawyers with the Department of Justice asked a U.S. District Court judge in Tacoma to allow them to re-open a lawsuit over cleanup costs that was resolved in the federal government’s favor in 2011. Adam Lynn reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

‘Mistake by the lake’ owners receive permit for hotel, while Olympia council declines $200,000 grant for isthmus park
The public and private sectors want to redevelop the blighted isthmus between Capitol Lake and West Bay in downtown Olympia – but not everyone is on the same page. The private owners of the Capitol Center Building - nicknamed by critics as the “mistake by the lake” - will move forward with plans to create a hotel on the isthmus. Meanwhile, the public is trying to nail down funding and a vision for a park next door to a building that some say the city should raze. Views on Fifth Ltd. received a city permit May 27 to remodel the tower. The owners are still working with engineers and architects, and no timeline has been set for the hotel’s construction, said property manager Neil Falkenburg. Andy Hobbs reports. (Olympian)

Corps Plans To Kill Nearly 16,000 Cormorants Nesting In Columbia River
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to kill nearly 16,000 cormorants nesting in the Columbia River estuary in an effort to protect threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead. The corps issued its proposed management plan Thursday. It would wipe out about half the cormorants currently nesting on an island at the mouth of the Columbia River by 2018. Officials say it’s the best way to reduce the colony to the number of birds required under an agreement that allows the Corps to operate dams on the Columbia River. Cassandra Profita reports. (EarthFix)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 230 AM PDT FRI JUN 13 2014
TODAY
W WIND 15 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 3 FT. NW SWELL 7 FT AT 8 SECONDS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TONIGHT AND SAT
W WIND 15 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 3 FT. NW SWELL 7 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT THROUGH SUN NIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. NW 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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate


Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

3/7 Oil trains, Navy hands, tidal energy, L112 review, Lolita, bog fight, stormwater, eco-village, SJI Monument meet

Crow at work (Science Daily)

If you like to watch: Genius Crow Solves Eight Complex Puzzles in Amazing Video
Researchers at the University of Cambridge say they've proven crows aren't just the one of the smartest birds in the world, but even smarter than most preschoolers. A video shows a crow solving eight complex puzzles in a row in order to reach food. Jen Markham reports. (Science Daily)

Eleven oil trains a day “is a big deal”: Cantwell
Aging, 1964-vintage tanker cars must be quickly phased out as oil trains move through downtowns of Seattle, Spokane, Vancouver and other cities, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told a senior executive of the American Petroleum Institute on Thursday. “About 11 trains a day, to our population centers, is a big deal,” Cantwell said at a hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee. “We’ve gone from four years ago — having basically nothing on rail by crude — to now having something like 408,000 carloads of crude.  Knowing when those DOT-111 cars are going to be off those rails — those cars that the NTSB has said are unacceptable — that is the key issue.” Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

Navy crew steps into muddy project to protect Everett wetland
They spent months at sea in the pressure packed world of air traffic control on an aircraft carrier. So how do they relax? By grabbing hand tools, boots and rain gear and heading into the bog. A crew from the Air Traffic Unit from the USS Nimitz is wading through deep mud into the deep urban woods of southeast Everett. They are being instructed on how to pull and replant native plants that are in the path of a new walkway that will be built at the Northwest Stream Center. The Adopt-A-Stream program is organizing the nature walkway that will take visitors into a classic northwest lowland wetland. Gary Chittim reports.

Tribes challenge PUD tidal turbine proposal
The Island County hearing examiner will listen for two days to arguments regarding permits for a proposed tidal turbine pilot project in waters off Whidbey Island. The Tulalip Tribes and the PC Landing Corp. are appealing permits issued by Island County for the temporary installation of two tidal energy generators in Admiralty Inlet and related onshore equipment structures. The project is proposed by Snohomish Public Utility District. The hearing starts Thursday, March 6. Jessie Stensland reports. (South Whidbey Record)

Ken Balcomb calls for further review of orca’s death
Ken Balcomb, the dean of killer whale research in Puget Sound, is asking federal authorities to reopen the investigation into the death of L-112, a young female orca who died two years ago of mysterious causes. Ken maintains that an underwater “blast” remains the mostly likely cause of death for the whale, who was known as Sooke — or Victoria, as Ken originally named her. A draft final report (PDF 2.3 mb) by the National Marine Fisheries Service, dated Feb. 24, states that “blunt trauma to the head and neck is the prime consideration for the cause of mortality. Despite extensive diagnostic evaluation, the cause of the head and neck injuries could not be determined.” Chris Dunagan blogs. (Kitsap Sun)

Decision gives whale advocates new hope
A 20-year quest to bring home Lolita, the last of seven orcas captured from Penn Cove decades ago, has resulted in a small but significant victory. In late January, National Marine Fisheries, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, announced that the whale is considered a member of the Southern Resident orca population, which is listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The decision is not yet official, nor is there any guarantee that Lolita will be released from captivity, but it would afford her all the same protections as her Puget Sound relatives. “This is the best shot Lolita’s ever had for returning home,” said Howard Garrett, a founder of Whidbey Island-based Orca Network, a group that has lobbied for the whale’s release for two decades. Justin Burnett reports. (Whidbey News Times)

Peat repeat: Appeals court to hear Lynnwood bog preservation fight
A rare sphagnum-moss bog in Snohomish County could be a bit closer to being preserved. The Court of Appeals Division 1 decided this week to take on the issue because it appears that the trial-court judge erred when developers were given the OK to get a grading permit for a road through sensitive wetlands. The road was the first step to building five luxury homes at the edge of Hooven Bog. Attorneys for developers Rodney Loveless and Robert Dillon, Snohomish County and a private citizen, Randy Whalen, will get a chance to argue their positions before the Court of Appeals, probably in the fall. A decision will likely come several months later. Nancy Bartley reports. (Seattle Times)

America’s Best Stormwater Monitoring?
Polluted runoff is bad. Green stormwater infrastructure is good. But as rain gardens proliferate like frogs after a rainstorm and development continues to creep across the landscape, it’s time to flesh out those generalities with solid data. And stormwater folks in Washington state are poised to do just that with a new stormwater monitoring program. “We have completely changed the paradigm for Clean Water Act permit monitoring,” said Karen Dinicola, the state Ecology Department staff lead for the project, called the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program Stormwater Work Group. Lisa Stiffler reports. (Sightline)

If you like to listen: It Takes An Eco-Village
In a world of dwindling natural resources and mounting environmental crisis, who is devising ways of living that will work for the long haul? And how can we, as individuals, make a difference? To answer these fundamental questions, Professor Karen Litfin embarked upon a journey to many of the world’s ecovillages – intentional communities at the cutting-edge of sustainable living. Martha Baskin reports. (Public Radio Exchange)

Meet-n’-greet with National Monument manager
The manager of San Juan Islands National Monument will be in Friday Harbor for a “meet-and-greet” with islanders, March 12. A veteran administrator with the Bureau of Land Management, Marcia deChadenedes was recently named manager of the newly created national monument following an earlier four-month appointment as interim manager. She joins the BLM Spokane office March 9. The meet-and-greet, hosted by Islanders for the San Juan Islands National Monument, is 3-6 p.m. at the San Juan Preservation Trust office, 468 Argyle Ave. Daniel Picard, district manager of the BLM Spokane region, will also attend. (San Juan Journal)

Climate consultant refutes cost assumption
A consultant to Gov. Jay Inslee’s bipartisan work group on climate change is disputing Republican and oil-industry claims that a clean-fuels standard in Washington could tack $1 or more to the cost of a gallon of gasoline. In a memo dated Feb. 3 but made public this week by Inslee’s office, staffers with the Leidos consulting firm said actual effects on Washington fuel prices would be far lower. The firm estimated they would be in the range of 6 cents to 8 cents per gallon if Washington moved, as California has, to phase in a 10 percent mix of ethanol in fuel stocks. Leidos outlined an alternative scenario costing 4 to 6 cents. In that scenario, low-carbon ethanol would immediately start replacing high-carbon ethanol from corn rather than displacing gasoline or diesel. Brad Shannon reports. (The Olympian)


Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST FRI MAR 7 2014
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM PST THIS MORNING THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
 GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON
TODAY
S WIND 10 TO 20 KT RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT THIS AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. SW SWELL 8 FT AT 13 SECONDS. A
 CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. SW SWELL 7 FT AT 12 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS...THEN A CHANCE OF RAIN AFTER
 MIDNIGHT.
SAT
S WIND 25 TO 35 KT. COMBINED SEAS 8 TO 11 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 11 SECONDS. RAIN.
SAT NIGHT
S WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 20 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. SW SWELL 11 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
SUN
SW WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING W TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 10 FT AT 14 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

2/11 Bog fight, BC pipe, BC coal, train safety, climate, shellfish health risk, steelhead, Glines Canyon Dam

Randy Whalen in Hooven Bog (Mark Harrison/Seattle Times)

Bog a battlefield for developer, neighbor in Snohomish County
To Randy Whalen and environmental consultants who’ve seen the property, Hooven Bog and wetlands are a rare wonderland of unique plants and lofty trees and likely the last remaining sphagnum-moss bog of its kind in the Everett-to-Olympia corridor. To Rod Loveless and Robert Dillon, who own 90 percent of the 30-acre site, the property is an investment that could bring $1.4 million if they put five homes on it and logged the wetlands. Hooven Bog and wetlands, just north of Woodinville in Snohomish County, will be before the state Court of Appeals on Friday when that court will decide whether or not to take the case of Loveless & Dillon v. Snohomish County — which ultimately pits property-owner rights against environmental preservation. What it comes down to is this: Can Loveless & Dillon legally build a road through the wetlands so they can develop or log their property — and in the process irreparably damage the headwaters to Bear Creek, which meanders through King County. Nancy Bartley reports.

Vancouver seeks intervener status in Trans Mountain Pipeline
The City of Vancouver is the latest local government body to file for intervener status at the National Energy Board hearings into the expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline. Several other municipalities including, Surrey, White Rock, Langley and the District of North Vancouver have already applied. Last week the provincial government also applied for intervener status at the upcoming hearings. Wednesday is the final day to register. Kinder Morgan has applied to triple the capacity of the existing 60-year-old pipeline, which runs from near Edmonton, Alberta to Vancouver Harbour in Burnaby. To register citizen comment, go to: The clock is ticking- apply to take part in the Kinder Morgan hearings today

B.C. coal export plan faces resistance
As Canada’s efforts to send oil abroad encounter thorny opposition, critics are increasingly targeting another resource export: Coal. Plans to export thermal coal from the West Coast to Asia are being put under the microscope as North American miners jockey to ship abundant domestic supplies overseas. Demand for thermal coal, a commodity used by power plants to generate electricity, has weakened in recent years in North America due to the boom in U.S. shale gas production. With many U.S. power plants switching to natural gas, a coal glut has forced miners to look to Asia for new markets. Fraser Surrey Docks LP, a marine terminal located on the Fraser River in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey, wants to serve as a new staging ground for exports of thermal coal originating from Wyoming’s Powder River basin. Fraser Surrey Docks is owned by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, an investment fund managed by Australia’s Macquarie Group. Brent Jang reports.

Freezing out the bigger picture: Arctic blasts tied to climate change
....If the world is really warming up, how come it is so darned cold? The question might say more about how humans perceive the world than it does about the climate. After all, in principle, we are all supposed to know that climate and weather are not the same thing. But we have a strange tendency to think that whatever is happening to us right now must be happening everywhere. Scientists refer to global warming because it is about, well, the globe. It is also about the long run. It is really not about what happened yesterday in New York. Justin Gillis reports.

Competing bills to address safety of oil transport
Washington lawmakers on Monday considered competing measures that try to address potential risks as more crude oil is shipped by rail into the state. The Senate Ways and Means Committee heard testimony on a mostly Republican-backed bill that would study the safety of transporting oil and hazardous materials by train, including reviewing gaps in local, state and federal oil-spill response. Meanwhile, the House Appropriations Committee took testimony on a competing Democratic-sponsored bill that is favored by environmental groups who say it provides more transparency and calls for more immediate action. Phuong Le reports.

Health risks estimated for Port Gamble Bay shellfish  (subscription)
People who consume significant quantities of contaminated shellfish from Port Gamble Bay face a higher risk of getting cancer than people who eat foods without cancer-causing chemicals, according to a new health assessment. Out of every 1,000 people who eat 1.1 pounds of clams, oysters and crabs every day over a lifetime, two people could be expected to get cancer because of those shellfish, according to the analysis, which focuses on shellfish taken from the upper portion of Port Gamble Bay.... According to a study of shellfish consumption by the Suquamish Tribe, an average tribal member eats about a half-pound of shellfish a day. If those shellfish were taken from Port Gamble Bay, the increased risk of cancer over a lifetime would be three additional cases of cancer in 10,000 people. The 1.1 pounds is consumed by about 5 percent of tribal members. As a comparison, recreational shellfish harvesters consume about 0.13 pounds of shellfish a day, according to King County statistics. If taken from Port Gamble Bay, the health risk for recreational harvesters would not be significant, according to the report. Chris Dunagan reports.

Stalking Puget Sound Steelhead With Science
You might call Barry Berejikian a steelhead stalker. The government scientist’s pursuit of these anodramous trout has brought him to the deck of the Chasina, a research vessel that’s motoring through choppy gray waters of southern Puget Sound near the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. He’s here to lay the groundwork for an experiment that could explain why so few steelhead are completing their journey through Puget Sound and on to the Pacific Ocean. Ashley Ahearn reports.

May 1 finish sought for Glines Canyon Dam removal project as work continues
Workers were on schedule to blast away at the last upright section of Glines Canyon Dam early Monday evening, and hopes are to finish the removal project by May 1, according to Olympic National Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes. Officials from contractor Barnard Construction Inc. of Bozeman, Mont., hope to have the edifice completely demolished by May 1, she said. The contract with Bozeman calls for completion by Sept. 30. Paul Gottlieb reports.

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST TUE FEB 11 2014
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
 GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING
TODAY
S WIND 5 TO 15 KT BECOMING SE 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 10
 SECONDS. RAIN.
TONIGHT
S WIND 25 TO 35 KT. COMBINED SEAS 7 TO 10 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 11 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

12/5 King tides, Fraser toxins, BC tribes, BC spills, mudsnails, Alexis Valauir, anxious fish, wetlands, eagles, Skagit fish

(PHOTO: KOMO-TV)

New blog: It’s “King” Tide Time Again
If you live in Puget Sound, the first “king” tides will be occurring this weekend, beginning December 6. The Strait of Juan de Fuca shorelines have already had their first round of these seasonal extra-high tides this week. The tides will also be high at the end of December and early January in Puget Sound.

Mercury, PCBs to be recycled near Fraser River in Chilliwack
A hazardous waste recycling plant on the shores of the Fraser River opposed by environmentalists, wildlife groups and First Nations was unanimously approved by Chilliwack city council Tuesday evening. Ontario-based Aevitas Inc. asked council to rezone a property on the Cattermole Lands from heavy industrial to special industrial to allow for the plant that, each month, will recycle 5,000 litres of transformer oil containing PCBs and 500,000 lamps containing mercury. Few even knew about the proposal and the public hearing until it was nearly too late. Paul Henderson reports.

Feds told to work harder with aboriginal groups on energy projects
A report set for release today will urge the federal government to do more to build trust with aboriginal communities and ensure their participation in proposed energy projects on Canada’s West Coast. The report by the prime minister’s special envoy, Doug Eyford, is based on months of consultations with aboriginal groups in British Columbia and Alberta. It’s a key part of the federal effort to win support for proposed pipelines to take oilsands bitumen and natural gas to B.C. ports for export to Asian markets.

B.C. still struggling to define ‘world-class’ response to oil spills
With two major studies now in hand demonstrating how poorly prepared B.C. is for a marine oil spill, Environment Minister Mary Polak says the government still doesn’t know what it would take to achieve a “world-class” response system... Her ministry is reviewing this week’s report from a federal panel that found major gaps in the safety system for oil supertankers plying Canadian waters off the coast. That did not take into account the hundreds of additional tankers expected to pass along the B.C. coast if two proposed oil pipelines are built. The provincial government recently released its own study that found efforts to clean up tanker spills would leave most of the oil on the ocean. Justine Hunter reports.

Freeze could help kill Capitol Lake's mudsnail population
State wildlife officials say this week’s freezing weather could kill off half or more of an invasive New Zealand mudsnail population afflicting Capitol Lake in downtown Olympia. With temperatures falling into the teens overnight, the theory is that the mudsnails — which are the size of a grain of rice — will simply die of cold. To maximize the effect, the Department of Enterprise Services began draining the lake Tuesday, and by Wednesday morning a scientist from the Department of Wildlife was inspecting the newly uncovered shore areas where the tiny mollusks live. Brad Shannon reports.

If you like to listen: Alexis Valauir -Ocean Acidification Effects on Global Communities
From the 2013 NW Straits Annual Conference: Alexis Valauir, a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, traveled to Norway, Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand and the Cook Islands researching how ocean acidification on communities. She shares her experiences and offers insight into communicating global environmental problems to different cultures.

Rising Ocean Acidification Leads to Anxiety in Fish
A new research study combining marine physiology, neuroscience, pharmacology, and behavioral psychology has revealed a surprising outcome from increases of carbon dioxide uptake in the oceans: anxious fish. A growing base of scientific evidence has shown that the absorption of human-produced carbon dioxide into the world's oceans is causing surface waters to decline in pH, causing a rise in acidity. This ocean acidification is known to disrupt the growth of shells and skeletons of certain marine animals but other consequences such as behavioral impacts have been largely unknown.

Humans Threaten Wetlands' Ability to Keep Pace With Sea-Level Rise
Left to themselves, coastal wetlands can resist rapid levels of sea-level rise. But humans could be sabotaging some of their best defenses, according to a Nature review paper published December 5 from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.

Where to see bald eagles, from B.C. to Oregon
For bald-eagle fans in the Northwest, the cool, dark days of December and January don’t mean outdoor doldrums. This is prime eagle-viewing time. In winter, many eagles make their way from high-latitude areas to the relatively warm and food-rich lakes and rivers of Washington, Oregon and southern British Columbia. Since winter is not mating or hatching season, the birds congregate more than usual, meaning you potentially can see dozens at once, often feeding on salmon at the side of spawning streams. Bonus: You’ll probably see other animals as well. Christy Karras reports.

Fish habitat restoration gets boost with $3.5 million grant
Nine Skagit County fish habitat restoration projects sponsored by state and local agencies received more than $3.5 million in grant funding from the state’s Salmon Recovery Funding Board on Wednesday, the Skagit Watershed Council announced. The council is a community partnership that promotes protection and restoration of salmon habitat in Skagit. Each of the project sponsors — Skagit County Public Works, Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group, Skagit Land Trust, Seattle City Light, Skagit River System Cooperative and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife — are partners in the council, Executive Director Richard Brocksmith said. Kimberly Cauvel reports.

Sea-Level Rise to Drive Coastal Flooding, Regardless of Change in Cyclone Activity
Despite the fact that recent studies have focused on climate change impacts on the intensity and frequency of tropical cyclones themselves, a research team led by Jon Woodruff of the University of Massachusetts Amherst found on review of the relevant science that sea level rise and shoreline retreat are the two more certain factors expected to drive an increase in future flood risk from such storms.

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 AM PST THU DEC 5 2013
GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING
TODAY
E WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 2 FT AT 9 SECONDS. CHANCE OF FLURRIES.
TONIGHT
E WIND 20 TO 25 KT BECOMING 20 TO 30 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. W SWELL 2 FT AT 11 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SNOW.
--
"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