4/20 Whale breath, oil sickness, BC spill centre, BP, Elwha mud, Northern Marine, Nooksack kill, Coquitlam Reservoir, Cypress restoration, rockfish MPA

New blog: Our lives are global when we least expect them to be. Travel Notes: Islands in the Salish Sea in Brussels

Celebrate Earth Day weekend at Welcome the Whale Days by hearing Dr. Bruce Mate speaks about Varvara and other Western Pacific Gray whales on Saturday at 3 PM in Langley, Whidbey Island OMG - Whales text their BFFs!  

New research shows that killer whales are inhaling bacteria, fungi and viruses once believed to be found only on land. Some of the pathogens are highly virulent. And some are even antibiotic-resistant.  Killer whales facing an airborne threat  

Open sores. Parasitic infections. Chewed-up-looking fins. Gashes. Mysterious black streaks. Two years after the drilling-rig explosion that touched off the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, scientists are beginning to suspect that fish in the Gulf of Mexico are suffering the effects of the petroleum.  2 years later, fish sick near BP oil spill site  

The federal government is closing B.C.'s command centre for emergency oil spills at a time when the province is facing two possible pipeline projects and a potential spike in tanker traffic in West Coast waterways. Ottawa has said it will shut down B.C.'s regional office for emergency oil-spill responders, located in Vancouver, and centralize operations in Quebec in the wake of the cost-cutting March 29 federal budget.  Oil-spill centre moving out of B.C.  

BP Cherry Point is a few weeks away from returning to normal refining operations, but don't expect to see much change at the gas pump. More than 3,000 contract workers have been at the refinery doing annual maintenance work as well as dealing with the aftermath of the Feb. 17 fire in the crude vacuum unit.  BP Cherry Point closer to resuming normal operations after fire, annual turnaround  

The sediment behind the Elwah dams is one of the factors that makes the $325 million Elwha restoration the largest dam removal project ever anywhere, with some 24 million cubic yards of sediment to manage. Much of the material will remain behind in the watershed, distributed along the river's middle and lower run. But a lot of it is also rinsing out to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where it is expected the material will help rebuild the near shore and beaches eroded to ankle-turning cobble. Here it comes: sediment starts to really hit the Elwha  


The Washington State Department of Ecology issued a $48,000 fine to an Anacortes yacht builder recently, citing failure to properly label and dispose of hazardous material for three consecutive inspections over an eight-month period.  Northern Marine fined $48,000  

Officials are looking for anyone with information about a spill that may have caused a sudden die-off of young salmon in the Nooksack River Tuesday. Lummi Natural Resources Department staff reported 11 dead Chinook salmon smolts and more than 100 dead pink and chum salmon in a smolt trap at Hovander Park. Officials seek tips on Nooksack River spill that killed young salmon 


Metro Vancouver is hoping to head off proposed federal government water-quality standards that it says could force Lower Mainland residents to pay $300 million to build what officials say is an unnecessary filtration system at its Coquitlam Reservoir. “It’s all very well for the federal government to set these high standards as it doesn’t cost them anything. We are the ones who will have to pay,” said North Vancouver City Mayor Darrell Mussatto. Metro Vancouver wants federal government to back off on water quality demands  

The state’s final construction budget includes $535,000 for restoration work on Cypress Island, west of Anacortes. Part of the grant will restore the Secret Harbor estuary, enhance public access and increase capacity for tourism and low-impact public uses.  Cypress Island receives money for restoration  

If you like to watch: How big do marine reserves need to be to protect resident rockfish for their entire lives? Oregon State University graduate student Tom Calvanese is tracking six species of rockfish. He captured 30 different fish inside the reserve and inserted acoustic tags into them. He set receivers inside the reserve and along the reserve boundaries. And for about a year now he’s been collecting data from the receivers that show how much time the fish spend inside and outside of the reserve. Watch the results of Tom's research: Inside A Marine Reserve: Adopt A Rockfish And See If It’s Protected  

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI APR 20 2012
TODAY
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING NW 10 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS. RAIN LIKELY THIS MORNING...THEN A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
W SWELL 10 FT AT 11 SECONDS. NW WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT.
SAT
SW WIND 10 KT...BECOMING SE IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS. SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
SAT NIGHT
SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 6 FT.
SUN
SE WIND 10 KT EARLY...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT.

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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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4/19 Polar bear Kenneth, quake faults, coal dust, whale maps, BC review, Jellies, Greg Rabourn, Alan Mearns, Mason Co., green-glow fish

R.I.P. Kenneth (The News Tribune)

Cliff Mass writes: "Hard to believe...three decent weekends in a row...and the upcoming weekend, might be the best for some of you." We Win the Spring Weekend Trifecta!

Kenneth, the oldest of four bears at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium was euthanized Wednesday after his right side became paralyzed and he could no longer stand or walk. He had lived there since 2002. Polar bear euthanized at Point Defiance Zoo

Geologists have discovered two previously unknown earthquake faults -- and possibly a third -- near Bellingham, Washington. The scientists working for the U.S. Geological Survey believe the shallow faults are capable of spawning damaging tremors.  Geologists Identify New Earthquake Faults Near Bellingham  

What's being described as an "absolute freak incident" at Westshore Terminals coal port Thursday afternoon caused a cloud of coal dust to briefly hover over the area. Unexpected wind gust stirs up coal dust at Roberts Bank  

If you like to watch: Check out the Vancouver Sun's Interactive map: cetacean sightings in B.C. over the last decade  

Environmental groups that don't have particular expertise to offer, and ordinary citizens concerned about projects like the Northern Gateway oilsands pipeline but who don't live or work near the project, shouldn't be able to participate in environmental review hearings, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said Wednesday.  Oliver defends limiting participation to environmental review hearings  

Global warming, pollution and human activity in marine habitats are not generally regarded as good things — unless you’re a jellyfish. According to a study of the jellyfish population by University of B.C. researchers, jellyfish are increasing in the majority of the world’s coastal ecosystems. Jellyfish thrive in adverse conditions, UBC study finds  

In 1995, Greg Rabourn had what Evening Magazine dubbed the worst job in the region. He was one of four people employed by King County to sort through garbage at its then-three landfills, searching for hazardous material that needed to be pulled out of the trash and disposed of separately.... But for Rabourn, his stint as a trash-sorter had a silver lining. “That’s how I discovered Vashon,” he said during a recent interview.  Vashon's basin steward: Healing the region, one project at a time  

Alan Mearns is an ecological inquirer. He likes to ask questions, find connections and discover how things work in the natural world.  That has led him to a decade of observing and recording birds, right in his Edmonds back yard.  Edmonds scientist is a birdwatcher with purpose  

“The Mason County Commissioner’s meeting this morning was on the receiving end of some long standing and deserved frustration over lack of leadership and direction in handling water quality and sanitation issues.  These are symptoms of what is a pervasive inability to establish a proactive strategy to deal with growth and environmental pressure, and it’s time to get into the 21st century.... From the Puget Sound Partnership, to Department of Health, to other county governments, to our own citizenry, Mason County is regarded as a laughing stock of efficiency and effectiveness.  It can change, it must change.  If our commissioners do not feel up to shaking the trees to establish a new way of generating a new culture, then someone else needs to step in.” Carol Gardner editorializes: County and Commissioners  

Understanding the damage that pollution causes to both wildlife and human health is set to become much easier thanks to a new green-glowing zebrafish. Created by a team from the University of Exeter, the fish makes it easier than ever before to see where in the body environmental chemicals act and how they affect health. The fluorescent fish has shown that estrogenic chemicals, which are already linked to reproductive problems, impact on more parts of the body than previously thought. Green-Glowing Fish Provides New Insights Into Health Impacts of Pollution  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT THU APR 19 2012
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON PDT TODAY THROUGH THIS EVENING
TODAY
SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING E 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT...BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 11 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS. RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING W 10 TO 20 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS. RAIN.

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

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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4/18 Clearwater Commons, oil spill, BC reviews, Eleanor Stopps, Everett mill, tsunami debris, derelict gear, trumpeter swans

Feeding time for junior (Laurie MacBride)

Laurie MacBride blogs in Eye on Environment: “The pace of bird life around our place is picking up rapidly these days. Territories are being carved out and defended and songs are getting louder (not to mention, being broadcast at earlier hours each day).” Busy Times in Birdland

New blog: What Am I Doing Here? That’s the title of a collection of Bruce Chatwin travel essays. It’s a good questions to ask — and answer— while travelling.  Travel Notes: What Am I Doing Here?

Celebrating Earth Day: Take a tour April 21 and 22 of Clearwater Commons, the most comprehensive low impact development project in Puget Sound. Situated on seven acres in a suburban environment alongside North Creek in Snohomish County, the site includes raingardens in the right of way, pervious pavements, wetland mitigation and homes on pin-pile foundations.

Coast Guard and state officials responded Tuesday to an oil spill at the Bell Harbor Marina on Elliott Bay in Seattle. Ecology spokesman Larry Altose says there's enough oil to coat the marina area, but it's difficult to tell how much has spilled. It appears to be tens of gallons. Officials respond to oil spill on Elliott Bay in Seattle

B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake enthusiastically embraced the federal government's plan announce Tuesday to let provinces run environmental reviews of natural resource projects, but said Victoria may ask for federal money to handle that new responsibility.  B.C. environment minister likes federal plan to let provinces run reviews

Eleanor Stopps, whose efforts turned Protection Island into a national wildlife refuge, has been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and is living out her remaining days in a Gig Harbor care facility. Stopps was a housewife and mother who testified before both the state Legislature and Congress, and persuaded Congress through tireless letter-writing and lobbying over a decade to grant Protection Island national wildlife refuge status in 1982.  Wildlife advocate terminal, moved to care facility

Employees at the city's last large waterfront mill worked their final shifts Sunday, and the city is already well under way with plans for the land. Kimberly-Clark says it has heard from potential buyers, and the Everett City Council is working on land-use plans.  Talk begins on future of Everett mill site

Debris from last year’s Japanese tsunami is still heading for Northwest beaches, and the Washington State Department of Ecology has begun putting up posters to help you decide what to do if you spot any.  While it isn't known exactly when the bulk of the debris will hit beaches here, some debris has crossed the ocean. Posters tell you how to deal with Japanese tsunami debris

The Olympian editorializes: “Fishing gear lost by commercial and recreational anglers in Puget Sound takes a deadly toll on marine life, from marine mammals to sea urchins. The derelict gear, which includes old fishing nets, crab pots, fishing line, hooks and lures, is lethal litter that can keep on catching years after it is lost. It’s incumbent upon commercial and sport fishers alike to maintain their gear in good shape and take all of the appropriate actions to keep from losing it.”  Education is key to help conserve our marine life  

The swans have returned to the Copper Basin. One can set the calendar by them, because for as long as I can remember, they show up at the outlet of Paxson Lake on April 6.  Usually a pair arrives first. This spring it was a pair and a single. More have followed this past week and soon they will be scattered on bits of open water at the outlets of area lakes, patiently waiting for the thaw. These are trumpeter swans, the largest waterfowl in North America. John Schandelmeier reports: Trumpeters are first to arrive in Alaska and last to leave

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT WED APR 18 2012
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM PDT EARLY THIS MORNING
TODAY
E WIND 15 TO 25 KT EARLY...BECOMING SW WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS. SHOWERS IN THE MORNING...THEN SCATTERED SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING S 5 TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 11 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE EVENING.

--
"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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4/17 BC pipe, mammals and birds, Salish Cliffs GC, coal health, Padden Trails, salmon virus, HI snails

Steller sea lions (National Geographic)

If you like to watch:  KCTS 9 and EarthFix on Wednesday at 7 PM chronicle the historic removal of two dams from the Elwha River, and show how it will impact people, salmon and the environment for years to come. Undamming the Elwha  

Kinder Morgan's proposal to expand its Trans Mountain pipeline operation will bring more oil from Alberta tar sands to the Salish Sea for export through the straits. It's not, however, your familiar crude oil. Washington Not Ready For Implications Of B.C. Pipeline Expansion  See also: B.C. mayors steel themselves for fight against Kinder Morgan pipeline  

Larry Pynn in the Vancouver Sun writes: “The shared inland waters of Juan de Fuca Strait, B.C.’s Strait of Georgia, and Washington state’s Puget Sound may once again approach its former greatness. Steller sea lions have thrived since the federal government afforded them protection in 1970 — with new abundance estimates pegging their population at 48,000 animals in winter on the B.C. coast. The breeding population had dipped to an estimated 3,400 animals before their protection. Similarly, harbour seals today total an estimated 105,000 animals, one of the densest such populations on earth, compared with fewer than 15,000 in the late 1960s.” Marine mammals coming back to the Salish Sea  

However: To the untrained eye, there is nothing remarkable about the loose knot of waterbirds bobbing innocently just offshore, south of the Tsawwassen ferry terminal.  To biologist Pete Davidson, however, they are signs of trouble brewing in the Salish Sea. Coastal waterbirds in B.C. slipping away  

Salish Cliffs Golf Club in Shelton, Wash., has become the first "Salmon-Safe"-certified golf course in the world. The certification came after the course successfully passed an exhaustive assessment verifying the Squaxin Island Tribe's commitment to protecting native habitat, managing water runoff, reducing pesticides, and advancing environmental practices throughout the region.  Salish Cliffs Becomes World's First 'Salmon-Safe' Course  

The Environmental Protection Agency wants a thorough review of the consequences of coal export through Northwest ports, saying the first project in the pipeline -- at Oregon's Port of Morrow -- "has the potential to significantly impact human health and the environment." Northwest coal export projects could have 'significant' public health impacts, EPA says

A divided Bellingham City Council voted 6-1 Monday, April 16, to send the Padden Trails rezoning proposal back to committee, after council members spent about an hour trying to reconcile the preservation of single-family neighborhoods with the need for more homes and apartments within the city limits Padden Trails project headed back to council committee

Tests on supermarket salmon, that found evidence of piscine reovirus (PRV) and then linked it to heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI), were unscientific and designed to sensationalize information and cause unfounded concern, said Mary Ellen Walling, B.C. Salmon Farmers Association executive director.  B.C. government officials, salmon farmers contradict claims of disease in farmed salmon  

Alexis Rudd blogs (wonderfully) on Hawaiian snails and Puget Sound whales. Singing Snails and Killer Whales: Parallels in Conservation

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT TUE APR 17 2012
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
W SWELL 10 FT AT 13 SECONDS. SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT...RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT...BUILDING TO 2 TO 5 FT. W SWELL 9 FT
 AT 13 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 6 FT AT 12 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT. A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE EVENING...THEN RAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.  

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

4/16 Goldstream R., BC forests, Sammamish runoff, Tom Sanford, rabbit love, Jacques Marc

Song Sparrow (Dave Green)

Dave Green at Lake Padden News blogs on the latest spring sightings of birds and plants blooming, Sightings Second Week of April 2012

New blog: Travel Notes: Brussels High and Low

Cliff Mass blogs on Bird Migration on the Coastal Radar  

About 3,000 coho salmon were introduced into the Goldstream River on Saturday. Remediation work near Goldstream Provincial Park began immediately after a tanker-truck crash that spilled thousands of litres of fuel a year ago, killing much of the plant and animal life. One year after fuel spill, fish released into Goldstream River  

The B.C. government is holding talks with the forest industry over ways to supply more timber to beetle-hit Interior sawmills, including the option of opening forest reserves that have until now been out of bounds to loggers.  The discussions have been limited to a few stakeholders who have sawmills in regions where the mountain pine beetle has devastated the timber supply. But they are raising alarms — even from within the forest industry — that the province is acting unilaterally on issues with sweeping effects on the future of the forests and the communities that depend on them.  B.C. government faces increasing opposition on plans to open forest reserves to loggers  

Stormwater engineer Eric LaFrance told the Sammamish Council that collecting and filtering all of the storm water being collected by the system of pipes, ditches and culverts proposed for the Inglewood and Tamarack neighborhoods could double in price. A $2.3 million system in Inglewood could swell to $4.5 million and the $780,000 Tamarack project may end up costing closer to $1.6 million. Councilwoman Nancy Whitten asked whether there was more the city could do to encourage low-impact development and storm water infiltration in the neighborhoods. LaFrance said the steep slopes in the area aren’t good for injecting storm water and the small lots in the neighborhood, which was plotted in the early part of the 1900s, do not lend themselves to low-impact development. Stormwater fixes could cost a bundle  

The North Olympic Land Trust has hired Port Angeles resident Tom Sanford as its new executive director. From 2005 to 2011, Sanford was the executive director of Olympic Park Institute, the campus of national nonprofit NatureBridge, which provides environmental educational programs in Olympic National Park.  North Olympic Land Trust names new executive director  

A group of rabbit lovers are up in arms over the Vancouver park board's decision to remove a bunch of blackberry bushes at Jericho Beach that are home to dozens of the furry creatures.  The board says a biologist has been hired to help move any wildlife into the surrounding brush as the zone just southeast of the Jericho Sailing Centre is cleared this month to plant native species.  Rabbit lovers worried about Jericho Park habitat destruction

Jacques Marc, exploration director of the Underwater Archeological Society of B.C., he has admired the propeller of the Idaho, a passenger ship lost off Race Rocks in 1889; studied the boiler of Tuscan Prince, a freighter that sank in Barkley Sound in 1925; been awed by the wreckage of Valencia, a passenger steamer whose sinking claimed 136 souls in 1906.  Dockyard of the damned: Vancouver Island’s hidden shipwrecks  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON APR 16 2012
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING
TODAY
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING SW IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 5 FT. W SWELL 4 TO 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 7 FT AT 17 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN IN THE MORNING...THEN SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING SW 5 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 5 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 10 FT AT 14 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

4/13 BC pipes, Everett sewage, stormwater crime, Bullitt focus, wetlands, coal op-ed, green scorecard

Kinder Morgan Canada

New blog: Travel notes, Brussels

Cliff Mass bids farewell to La Nina: “Finally, La Nina's days are numbered, and its expression in the ocean and atmosphere are beginning to fade.   In two months, it should be history, which is fortunately for us in the NW, where it brings cool, wet weather.” Goodbye La Nina  

Strong interest from shippers has convinced Kinder Morgan Canada to embark on an even bigger expansion of its Trans Mountain Pipeline through B.C. than previously suggested.  The line that crosses the Lower Mainland and sends oil for export on tankers through Burrard Inlet will be nearly tripled from 300,000 barrels per day now to 850,000, pending regulatory approval.  Kinder Morgan unveils even bigger pipeline expansion    See also:  Kinder Morgan to proceed with $5-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion to Burnaby

Opposition to Enbridge's proposed $5.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline is growing and has topped 50 per cent in British Columbia, according to an independent survey released Thursday. Opposition to the project was 52 per cent among 1,069 adults in a random telephone survey conducted on April 11 — up from 46 per cent in January and 45 per cent in December, according to the Forum Research Inc. poll.  More than half of B.C. residents oppose Northern Gateway pipeline, poll suggests

A broken sewer pipe in south Everett has spilled what a city spokeswoman estimates as "hundreds of thousands of gallons" of sewage Thursday into North Creek, which eventually flows into Lake Washington. Spokeswoman Kate Reardan says crews have been able to divert the sewage flow into pump trucks and put that material back into the sewage system at a different point. Repair crews were working to fix the break in the 20-inch diameter pipe.  Broken Everett sewer pipe leaks into creek  

State and federal regulators wrangled for more than three years with Bryan Stowe and Stowe Construction to clean up the muddy mess that caused two landslides in 2011 that closed the West Valley Highway through Sumner, Pierce County. Now Stowe, his company and an employee have earned a dubious distinction: They are the first Western Washington defendants to plead guilty to criminal charges in U.S. District Court in connection with stormwater pollution.  Developer first in state to plead guilty over stormwater pollution  

For the 60-year-old Bullitt Foundation, saving the environment isn’t just about oceans and forests anymore. The pioneering environmental philanthropy has narrowed its mission and money over the past three years from protecting nature to creating sustainable urban centers — a focus embodied in its $30 million ecological showcase of a headquarters rising atop Seattle’s Capitol Hill  Bullitt Foundation shifts its focus to urban scene  

As spring turns a warm corner, there’s no better place to experience it than a wetland, alive with swallows and the chorus of frogs. Martha Baskin of Green Acre Radio takes us to the former Naval Air Station Seattle at Sand Point.   Wetland Metamorphosis and Corridors of Connected Habitats  

Legislative session's finally over. Washington Conservation Voters tallies up the wins, the losses, the no-decisions:  Environmental Community Prevents Major Rollbacks in 2012 Session

Gov. Chris Gregoire needs to step up and take action against the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal project north of Bellingham, writes guest columnist Stephan Michaels. Gregoire needs to weigh in on proposed coal-terminal  

Clean lines of authority sought to address issues from local policing to salmon recovery. The question is asked, "Who is in charge?" Lance Dickie in the Seattle Times opines. Pursuit of accountability stirs the question, 'Who is in charge?'

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI APR 13 2012
TODAY
E WIND 10 KT BECOMING W. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 14 SECONDS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
SAT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 6 FT.
SUN AND SUN NIGHT
VARIABLE WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W 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.  

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4/12 Ocean acid, L112, bag ban, Skagit water, oil spill barge, boat fire, Bainbridge sewage, PenPly

On Brussels time. Slightly overcast, jet lagged but happy to be off the plane. Mike

Researchers said Wednesday they have conclusive evidence that ocean acidification is at least partly responsible for killing oysters on the West Coast.  Acidity in ocean killed NW oysters, new study says  

The Royal Canadian Navy’s use of sonar in Juan de Fuca Strait is unlikely to have had anything to do with the death of an endangered killer whale, according to U.S. investigators. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is investigating the death of three-year-old L112, also known as Sooke, whose body washed up on Long Beach, Washington, on Feb. 11, days after HMCS Ottawa conducted sonar exercises and set off two underwater charges in Juan de Fuca Strait. Canadian navy unlikely to be involved in killer whale’s death

Bainbridge became the first city in Kitsap — and fifth in the state — to ban plastic bags. By a unanimous vote Wednesday evening, the City Council approved an ordinance prohibiting thin-film bags common at supermarkets. The ban takes effect Nov. 1. Bainbridge bans plastic  

Washington state’s Swinomish tribe faces a water rights battle in the Skagit River basin, the likes of which we have seen before. It’s reminiscent of the dispute that broke out around a decade ago in the Klamath River basin in California and Oregon. That dispute led to a fish kill of about 70,000 salmon after federal intervention severely reduced water flows in the Klamath and its tributaries.  Snatching Skagit River Water Is In The Public Interest?

More than 200 workers at Bellingham Shipping Terminal are busy assembling the giant components of an oil well spill containment system that will be installed on a 315-foot barge expected to be in service in the Arctic Ocean by this summer.  The big rig is being put together by Greenberry Industrial, a Vancouver, Wash.-based firm with manufacturing facilities in Ferndale. Superior Energy Services of Houston will own and operate it. The work is being done on land leased from the Port of Bellingham.  Oil well spill response barge taking shape on city waterfront


No one was injured, but two boats sank and two others were damaged in a fire that broke out Tuesday night at a private Anacortes marina.  The fire was reported at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday. Fire Marshal Jack Kennedy said three boats were on fire by the time the department arrived at the private marina located at 2415 T Ave., in east Anacortes.  Anacortes marina fire sinks two boats  

A state-led cleanup is under way to remove 4,000 gallons of sewage that spilled into a south Bainbridge wetland late last month. A crew led by the state Department of Ecology used long hoses connected to a vacuum truck to skim sewage solids Tuesday afternoon and much of Wednesday. Cleanup of south Bainbridge sewage spill begins  

Demolition of the mill buildings on Marine Drive, which most recently housed Peninsula Plywood, is expected to begin in about one year. “This is our highest priority,” Jeff Robb, port executive director, said Wednesday. The buildings, constructed in the 1940s, have exceeded their useful lives and should come down as soon as possible, Robb said in a report to port commissioners Monday.
Port plans tear-down, redevelopment of PenPly site  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 PM PDT WED APR 11 2012
THU
E WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 12 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
THU NIGHT
S WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 17 SECONDS. SLIGHT 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