4/10 Water hemlock, shellfish spray,BC novovirus, BC pipe, recycling, harbor cleanup, snowpack, 'best place,' fishing app

Water hemlock [WikiMedia]

Western water hemlock Cicuta douglasii
Western water hemlock is a perennial plant in the parsley and carrot family that grows in wet areas of meadows, pastures, and streams.  It has small  white flowers that grow in umbrella-like clusters which each produce two seeds.  Water hemlock is the most toxic plant native to North America. Only a small amount of the toxic oil from the plant is needed to produce poisoning in livestock or humans.  The roots are the most toxic part, but the green seed heads are also highly poisonous.  The leaves and stems are poisonous in the early stages of growth, but lose much of their toxicity when mature.  (Thurston County Integrated Pest Management)

State ecology officials deny pesticide permit 
Washington state ecology officials have denied a permit sought by shellfish growers that would have allowed them to use a pesticide on oyster and clam beds. The Willapa-Grays Harbor Oyster Growers Association wanted to use a neonicotinoid pesticide to control native burrowing shrimp. But the Washington Department of Ecology on Monday denied the request, saying the environmental harm would be too great…. The decision is subject to public comment through May 14. Once the decision is final, it may be appealed within 30 days. (KIRO) See also: Washington state says no to spraying neurotoxic pesticide on oyster beds   Bethany Jean Clement reports. (Seattle Times)

2 B.C. oyster farms closed after norovirus outbreak
Two B.C. Vancouver Island oyster farms have been closed following an outbreak of norovirus associated with eating the raw shellfish. The B.C. Centre for Disease Control says about 40 cases of acute gastrointestinal illness have been connected to the consumption of raw oysters since March. Testing has confirmed some of the cases were norovirus. Federal officials with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) confirmed the affected farms are located on the east coast of Vancouver Island at Deep Bay and Denman Island. (CBC)

B.C. could face budgetary backlash for Kinder Morgan stance
British Columbia could face a budgetary crisis if Ottawa begins withholding federal money for health care, child care or Metro Vancouver transit, amid a worsening rift between the two governments over the Kinder Morgan pipeline. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley told her legislature Monday that she’s discussed with Ottawa the idea of curtailing funding to B.C. as retaliation for the province frustrating Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion with court challenges. Rob Shaw reports. (Vancouver Sun) See also: Financing, lawsuits among Ottawa's options for moving Trans Mountain forward, says Carr

If proposed pipeline fails, Kinder Morgan could take Canada to court
Kinder Morgan has spent plenty of time recently on the defensive as it faces legal challenges against its proposed Trans Mountain expansion pipeline. However, if the project fails, the Houston-based company could go on the offensive to try to recoup billions of dollars. Investors are already asking whether the company will take such action, and some legal experts say it has a legitimate case against Canada because of how the B.C. government and some municipalities have tried to oppose the project. If the company seeks damages, it would likely use NAFTA, since Chapter 11 of the agreement allows foreign companies to file compensation claims in countries where they have investments and believe a government action is unfair and discriminatory. Kyle Bakx reports. (CBC) See also: Risky business: Trans Mountain twist pits shareholders against taxpayers  Jason Proctor reports. (CBC)

China recycling policy impacting Skagit County
On any given day, Skagit County residents recycle a variety of plastic items, from yogurt containers emptied at breakfast to soda bottles drained for an afternoon pick-me-up. For years, many of these items have made their way to China — the primary market for recyclables from throughout the United States, including Skagit County. Now, with China banning the import of several types of recyclables — including some plastics, metals and fibers used for textiles — communities throughout the U.S. must either send such recyclables to more expensive recycling markets or to area landfills. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald) See also: Seattle: You need to clean up your recycling act Kim Malcolm and Katherine Banwell report.(KUOW)

Draft cleanup study for Port Angeles Harbor given to Ecology
A carpet of sand and gravel would cap buried logs, woody debris and carcinogenic pollutants that contaminate sediment at the bottom of Port Angeles Harbor under a $32.1 million draft plan recommended by a five-party group of governments and businesses. Representatives from the city of Port Angeles, Port of Port Angeles, Nippon Paper Industries USA, Merrill & Ring timber management company and Georgia-Pacific LLC pulp and paper company presented the 782-page draft Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study in person Friday to the state Department of Ecology’s Olympia headquarters, Nathan West, director of the city Department of Community Development, said Monday. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)
 
Washington snowpack above average heading into April
Washington state is heading into spring with above normal snowpack, according to federal data released Monday. Snowpack is on average at 113 percent, or 13 percent above normal, across Washington state, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s National Water and Climate Center in Portland, Ore. The snow pack ranges from 155 percent to just below 80 percent in the lowest areas. (KING)

Puget Sound Falls In Ranking Of 'Best Places To Live'
The Seattle area has dropped in U.S. News & World Report's 2018 Best Places to Live in the United States rankings, considered the granddaddy of "best places" lists. This year, the Seattle-Tacoma metro area was ranked No. 10 on the list. In 2017 we made it to No. 6, up from No. 7 in 2016…. The Seattle area got dinged for two things: cost of living and commute time (and to a lesser extent, the famed "Seattle freeze"). Neal McNamara reports. (Patch)

'Fish Washington' app to provide up-to-the-minute information for anglers, WDFW says
Ahead of the lowland lakes fishing opener later this month, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Monday the debut of a new mobile application that will help users determine fishing regulations across the state. The free app, titled "Fish Washington," is available on the Apple App Store, Google Play and via the WDFW website. It lists up-to-the-minute regulations for every lake, river, stream and marine area in the state, WDFW says. The app launches ahead of the lowland lakes fishing opener on April 28, which is considered the biggest fishing day of the year in Washington. Lauren Smith reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  300 AM PDT Tue Apr 10 2018  
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM PDT EARLY THIS  MORNING  GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM PDT THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS  AFTERNOON  
TODAY  SE wind 20 to 30 kt becoming SW 25 to 35 kt in the  afternoon. Combined seas 6 to 7 ft with a dominant period of  11 seconds building to 9 to 11 ft with a dominant period of  11 seconds in the afternoon. Rain in the morning then showers in  the afternoon.
TONIGHT  S wind 20 to 30 kt becoming SE 10 to 20 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft subsiding to 1 to 3 ft after  midnight. SW swell 12 ft at 11 seconds. Showers 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.

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4/9 Vendovi Is, BC pipe halted, Tacoma LNG, Everett settlement, paying for oil, Pruitt's EPA, 9th Circuit, Dungeness oyster farm

Vendovi Island

Vendovi Island
Vendovi Island lies across Samish Bay from mainland Skagit County, between Guemes Island and Lummi Island. The San Juan Preservation Trust purchased the island for $6.4 million in 2010. Vendovi Island was named after a Fijian High Chief Ro Veidovi who was captured by Charles Wilkes and brought to North America. The prisoner, held in low esteem by Wilkes's me, in turn viewed the local natives with utter contempt. By the time Wilkes's expedition returned to the East Coast in 1842, Vendovi was ill and died in New York. (Wikipedia, Washington State Place Names)

Kinder Morgan Trans-Canada Pipeline on ice due to British Columbia opposition
Kinder Morgan announced Sunday it is suspending the cross-Canada Trans Mountain Pipeline except for “essential” spending, pending a decision by May 31 to kill or proceed with the controversial project. The Houston-based energy firm has proposed a more-than-700-mile-long pipeline from Alberta to Burnaby, B.C., intended to nearly triple the transport of bitumen oil from Canada’s interior to the coast to 890,000 barrels a day. But the company in a statement Sunday said opposition to the project, particularly by the government of British Columbia, has put completion of the project in doubt. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times) See also: Notley demands 'concrete action' from Ottawa to get Trans Mountain pipeline moving  Says Rachel Notley to B.C.: 'You can mess with Texas, but you can't mess with Alberta' (CBC) And also: See also: B.C. Trans Mountain opposition remains steadfast as Kinder Morgan suspends 'non-essential' pipeline work  (Canadian Press)

Puget Sound Energy, Puyallup Tribe in showdown over LNG plant on Tacoma tideflats
What started out as a proposal by Puget Sound Energy (PSE) to build a liquefied natural-gas plant, to provide cleaner fuel for transportation and natural gas to its customers, has turned into a waterfront battle more bitter than anything this city has seen in years. So bruised is Tacoma, the city has reworked its tribal consultation policy to ensure and improve early contact with tribal leaders, and banned any future fossil-fuel development on the tideflats while it undertakes a full-on planning review for its most important industrial area. Opponents have taken up a battle cry of “No LNG in the Salish Sea,” and have turned out to show PSE just how contentious building a new fossil-fuel project in the region can be. Lynda Mapes report. (Seattle Times)

3 companies to pay $4M for old Everett waterfront pollution
A federal judge in Seattle has finalized a nearly $4 million settlement with three companies over habitat damage caused by mill and manufacturing operations in Everett that date to the early 1900s. Weyerhaeuser Corp., Jeld-Wen Inc. and Kimberly Clark Corp. have operated pulp and paper mills, machine shops, casket builders and other endeavors in the Port Gardner area near the mouth of the Snohomish River. The federal government and Washington state filed a complaint against them in U.S. District Court in Seattle in January, on behalf of the Tulalip and Suquamish tribes. The tribes blame the companies for pollution, including from oil, heavy metals and PCBs, that damaged shellfish beds and other natural resources. (Associated Press)

Oil companies asked to pay their fair share of climate-related costs
Devastating droughts, wildfires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, freak snowstorms and sea-level rise linked to climate change have already exacted staggering costs, with billions more to come as land and sea temperatures continue to rise. If Surrey doesn’t upgrade its dikes and improve its flood-control measures, for example, it’s estimated that climate change-related flooding could cause more than $1 billion worth of property damage, affect more than 1,500 residents, hundreds of jobs and more than $25 billion in truck and rail traffic. Surrey’s Mayor Linda Hepner called those costs “jaw-dropping.” So too are the mitigation costs. Preventing flooding in Surrey is estimated at $1.5 billion, but across Metro Vancouver the estimated cost is $9 billion and that doesn’t begin to address the other climate-related issues. Daphne Bramham reports. (Vancouver Run)

In His Haste to Roll Back Rules, Scott Pruitt, E.P.A. Chief, Risks His Agenda
As ethical questions threaten the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Scott Pruitt, President Trump has defended him with a persuasive conservative argument: Mr. Pruitt is doing a great job at what he was hired to do, roll back regulations. But legal experts and White House officials say that in Mr. Pruitt’s haste to undo government rules and in his eagerness to hold high-profile political events promoting his agenda, he has often been less than rigorous in following important procedures, leading to poorly crafted legal efforts that risk being struck down in court. The result, they say, is that the rollbacks, intended to fulfill one of the president’s central campaign pledges, may ultimately be undercut or reversed. Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman report. (NY Times)

Judge’s Death Gives Trump a Chance to Remake a Vexing Court
In the spring of 2014, a friend tried to nudge Judge Stephen Reinhardt, then an 83-year-old liberal stalwart on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, into stepping aside from full-time duties so President Barack Obama could nominate a successor. The friend, Erwin Chemerinsky, now the dean at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, said he had gently suggested to Judge Reinhardt that he and another longtime liberal figure on the San Francisco-based court make way while Democrats still had the power to assure that jurists with a similar philosophy would take their place. Judge Reinhardt swiftly rejected that notion and stayed on. Now Judge Reinhardt, who died this past week at age 87, could very well be replaced by a nominee chosen by President Trump. The president suddenly has a chance to seat a judge with a markedly different judicial outlook, giving conservatives a greater voice on the liberal-leaning court, which has been a particular thorn in Mr. Trump’s side. Carl Hulse reports. (NY Times)

Comment period extended for tribe’s oyster farm plans in Dungeness refuge
The Clallam County Hearing Examiner has extended the comment period for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s plans to re-establish an oyster farm within the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. Hearing Examiner Andrew Reeves decided Thursday to allow public comments through April 27. The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe will have until May 18 to respond to public comments and the county Department of Community Development will provide a staff report by May 31. The hearing will continue June 7. Jesse Major reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  240 AM PDT Mon Apr 9 2018  
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH LATE  TONIGHT
GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY  AFTERNOON  
TODAY  SE wind to 10 kt becoming E in the afternoon. Wind waves  2 ft or less. W swell 8 ft at 10 seconds.
TONIGHT  SE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell  5 ft at 9 seconds.

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

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4/6 Pipefish, drugged salmon #SSEC2018, BC pipe, BC net pens, bottlenose dolphins, NIMBYs, nat'l parks, Pat Bay, Scott Pruitt, KUOW

Bay pipefish [Seattle Aquarium]

Bay Pipefish Syngnathus griseolineatus
Bay pipefish are found in eelgrass or algae beds in shallow bays and inlets along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Baja California and grow up to 13 inches. After successfully courting a mate, the female deposits up to 225 eggs into brood pouches on the male's underside. The male incubates the eggs and provides nutrients, oxygen, and water to the embryos. About two weeks later, when the young are ready to hatch they emerge the males' pouch as tiny versions of their parents. Bay pipefish camouflage well in eelgrass beds by positioning themselves vertically and staying in place for long periods of time. To feed, they wait for small prey to swim within an inch and then suck them up with small, tube-shaped mouths. (Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium)

Puget Sound salmon do drugs, which may hurt their survival  #SSEC2018
Anti-depressants. Diabetes drugs. High-blood-pressure medication. Puget Sound chinook are doing our drugs, and it may be hurting them, new research shows. The metabolic disturbance evident in the fish from human drugs was severe enough that it may result not only in failure to thrive but early mortality and an inability to compete for food and habitat. The response was particularly pronounced in Puget Sound chinook — a threatened species many other animals depend on for their survival, including critically endangered southern-resident killer whales. The research built on earlier work, published in 2016, that showed juvenile Puget Sound chinook and Pacific staghorn sculpin are packing drugs including Prozac, Advil, Benadryl, and Lipitor among dozens of other drugs present in tainted wastewater discharge. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Trudeau travels to B.C. in support of Trans Mountain pipeline expansion
Hundreds of protesters opposed to the expansion of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline demonstrated Thursday night outside a Vancouver hotel where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed a Liberal party fundraising dinner. They chanted “Kinder Morgan has got to go” as they marched several blocks through downtown to a hotel where the Liberals were meeting…. Trudeau’s speech to the fundraising event was interrupted by Cedar George-Parker, a young Indigenous leader from the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation who shouted: “The pipeline is not happening, the youth will stand up and stop it. … You lied to the people, you lied to our people.” Linda Givetash and Amy Smart report. (National Post)

B.C. chefs pen letter to government to stop salmon farming
A group of more than 50 B.C. chefs is telling the provincial government to stop salmon-farming leases in a bid to protect wild salmon. The chefs, along with environmental crusader David Suzuki, held a news conference in Vancouver on Thursday to urge B.C. to terminate 20, open net-pen, salmon-farm tenures coming up for renewal in June in the Broughton Archipelago, a wild-salmon migratory route.  The group has written a letter outlining its concerns to Doug Donaldson, the B.C. minister of forests, lands, natural-resource operations and rural development, and Lana Popham, the minister of agriculture. Tiffany Crawford reports. (Vancouver Sun) See also: Fish farm companies should be required to get First Nations approval, B.C. advisory council recommends  Provincial advisory council spent 18 months coming up with recommendations on fish farms (CBC)

Rare visitors! Bottlenose Dolphins living in Puget Sound 
There's been a rare sighting in Puget Sound recently.  A group of bottlenose dolphins has been spotted regularly over the past seven months. Researchers at the nonprofit Cascadia Research tell us this has never happened before. Aside from a few random sightings in the years since 2008, they’ve never seen the dolphins hang around in the area for this long. Bottlenose dolphins tend to live in warmer, tropical waters, not the cold waters of Puget Sound. Kathy Rusch reports. (KCPQ)

Roadblocks to housing: How NIMBYs use environmental review processes to stall affordable housing
…. Welcome to the world of SEPA, the State Environmental Protection Act, a law with a track record of protecting nature and NIMBYs from the perils of overdevelopment and the threat of living near homeless and formerly homeless people. SEPA is the Washington State version of the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). Born amid the environmental movement of the 1970s, the environmental laws constitute a promise to bear in mind the consequences of development and ensure that an effort is made to mitigate negative side effects to the degree possible. Triggered under specific circumstances, SEPA and its brethren act as a governmental pause button. Ashley Archibald reports. (Real Change)

Mount Rainier, Olympic, North Cascades national parks get $1 million gift
Washington state's three national parks are planning upgrades thanks to a $1 million donation from the estate of a woman who loved the outdoors, according to Washington's National Park Fund. The recently announced gift comes from the estate of Bette Wallace, who grew up in Washington and later lived in California. Craig Hill reports. (Tacoma News Tribune) See also: Officials rethinking fee hikes: Olympic National Park officials await final plan  Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Habitat project shores up Pat Bay
Soon, the beach at North Saanich’s Pat Bay will be a lot easier to walk upon, but the gravel being spread there is not just for people — it’s for fish habitat and protection of the shoreline. More than 3,800 tonnes of beach-grade gravel has been spread along Pat Bay, next to the Tseycum First Nation and West Saanich Road over the last few weeks. Ian Bruce, executive director of Peninsula Streams, says it’s the latest phase of a project that started in 2012. Gravel is being spread out to raise the height of the beach, which Bruce said has two purposes. The first is to reduce the impact of incoming waves on the shoreline.... Second, the height creates better habitat for small feeder fish, like sand lance and smelt, which lay microscopic eggs in the gravel. Bruce said these species provide food for other fish like salmon which, in turn, contribute to the food supply for larger mammals, like killer whales. Steven Heywood reports. (Victoria News)

Pressure Mounts on Scott Pruitt, E.P.A. Chief, as Top Advisers Eye the Exit
Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, is under increased White House scrutiny over his housing and travel arrangements as some of his own senior staff are expressing growing frustration with the public criticism of their boss, according to four people, including an E.P.A. official, who have spoken with the staff members. Mr. Pruitt has emerged as one of President Trump’s top lieutenants as well as a conservative hero for his aggressiveness in loosening or undoing dozens of environmental regulations while weakening many of the agency’s clean-air and water-enforcement programs. But the series of ethical questions is threatening his good standing with the president and driving away some senior staffers. Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman report. (NY Times)

Seven positions eliminated at public radio KUOW amid restructuring of 'drive time' shows
Seattle’s public radio station KUOW is restructuring its morning and afternoon “drive time” shows and eliminating seven positions while creating seven new ones, according to an email from the station’s chief content officer, Jennifer Strachan. Employees in the soon-to-be-eliminated positions were informed that they will be invited to apply for the new spots, which were advertised on the University of Washington’s job board Thursday, but they were also warned that not all will find a good fit, according to Strachan. The change comes about two months after staffers overwhelming elected to join SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents radio and television journalists, but before employees had bargained a new contract agreement with management. Christine Clarridge reports. (Seattle Times)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  231 AM PDT Fri Apr 6 2018  
GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH LATE SATURDAY  NIGHT  
TODAY  SE wind to 10 kt becoming E in the afternoon. Wind waves  1 ft or less. SW swell 7 ft at 10 seconds. Showers likely in the  morning then a slight chance of showers in the afternoon.
TONIGHT  SE wind 10 to 20 kt becoming E 25 to 35 kt late.  Combined seas 7 to 9 ft with a dominant period of 11 seconds. A  chance of rain in the evening then rain after midnight.
SAT  E wind 25 to 35 kt. Combined seas 6 to 8 ft with a  dominant period of 12 seconds building to 10 to 12 ft with a  dominant period of 10 seconds in the afternoon. Rain.
SAT NIGHT  SE wind 25 to 35 kt easing to 15 to 25 kt after  midnight. Combined seas 12 to 14 ft with a dominant period of  11 seconds building to 15 to 16 ft with a dominant period of  14 seconds after midnight.
SUN  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 14 ft  at 13 seconds.

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

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4/5 #SSEC2018, Pineapple Express, Samish poop, Dungeness Bay clams, Snake R dams, bag ban, Andeavor appeal, fisheries emissions, Nat'l forest & parks, Navy pier, HI hiways

Gabriola Island [Laurie MacBride]

Drawn to the Intimate
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "Much as I love magnificent scenery, I don’t focus my camera lens on it very often. Instead, I tend to be drawn to the more “intimate landscapes” to be found in nature – smaller, quieter scenes contained within the larger vistas. The allure of small tableaux may be subtler than that of grand landscapes, but subtlety is part of their attraction for me. To really see them, I need to look closely and clear my mind of the usual distractions. Taking the time and quiet space to do this is good medicine for me…."

Fate of orcas takes center stage at Salish Sea conference
Gov. Jay Inslee joined former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to open three days of science talks at the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference in Seattle. The conference will include about 700 scientific presentations on topics ranging from orcas to habitat restoration, from climate change to toxic chemicals. Chris Dunagan reports. (Salish Sea Currents) See also: Can the Endangered Orca Whale Save the Sound?  (Salish Sea Communications)

Salish Sea Communications blog: The Salish Sea Stories We Tell  #SSEC2018

'Monster' Atmospheric River Will Impact Puget Sound: Forecast
Up to 3 inches of rain could fall in the coming days as a Pineapple Express storm system hits the West Coast. The National Weather Service in Seattle has also issued a special weather statement for a possible high-wind event on Saturday. California will bear the brunt of the storm, which rolls in Thursday. But forecasts show Puget Sound might get as much as 3 inches of rain over the next week. Across Puget Sound, forecasts indicate a 100 percent chance of rain on Thursday, and a 90 percent chance on Friday night and Saturday. "This is really an historic event that is very unusual for this time of the year," University of Washington meteorologist Cliff Mass wrote in a blog post this week. Neal McNamara reports. (Patch)

Samish watershed gets first strike during pollution evaluation
Fecal pollution levels in the Samish watershed exceeded the state limit last week, netting the watershed its first strike during a spring evaluation. The state Department of Health evaluates the Samish watershed March through June for a potential shellfish harvest upgrade in Samish Bay. Samish Bay is home to several shellfish growers who are unable to harvest when fecal pollution exceeds a certain limit or the Samish River reaches a certain flow. Shellfish growers are subject to harvest closures during high river flows because high flows often correlate with pollution. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe aims to re-establish oyster farm in Dungeness refuge
The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe seeks to re-establish an oyster farm in Dungeness Bay and will have its proposal heard by the Clallam County Hearing Examiner on Thursday. The tribe’s oyster farm would be on 50 acres of leased Department of Natural Resources tideland within the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, said Ron Allen, tribal chairman. The farm would be in the bay about 4,000 feet north of Cline Spit. “If everything goes well, we’ll be planting next spring,” he said. The hearing is set for 1 p.m. Thursday in Room 160 at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth Street, Port Angeles. Jesse Major reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Study: It's Possible To Replace Snake River Dams With Renewable Energy
Lower Snake River dams could be replaced by a variety of renewable energy resources, according to a new study by the NW Energy Coalition. The advocacy group says this means dam removal doesn’t have to be a choice between salmon and renewable energy. Many hydropower supporters say removing the four Lower Snake River dams could mean more of the Northwest’s power generation would have to come from fossil fuel sources, like natural gas. Courtney Flatt reports. (NWPB/EarthFix)

Port Angeles council bans thin plastic carryout bags 
After three public hearings and months of debate, the Port Angeles City Council has banned thin plastic carry-out bags at stores within the city. The council voted 4-3 Tuesday to approve a plastic bag policy that prohibits single-use plastic bags that are less than 2.25 thousandths of an inch and imposes a 5-cent minimum charge on any bag a retailer supplies to a customer at the point of sale. The goal of the ordinance, which takes effect July 3, is to encourage shoppers to bring reusable bags to the grocery store or pharmacy. Rob Ollikainen reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Environmental groups appeal Skagit County permit for refinery project
A coalition of environmental groups is appealing a permit issued by Skagit County for a project proposed at the Andeavor Anacortes Refinery, which was formerly Tesoro. The appeal, which was filed Wednesday with the state Shorelines Hearings Board, marks the coalition's second attempt to get the permit withdrawn and require the county to take a deeper look at potential environmental impacts of what is called the Clean Products Upgrade Project. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Fisheries emissions rising despite recent efforts, UBC study shows
A shift to harvesting crustaceans like shrimp and lobster is feeding a growing carbon footprint for the world's fisheries, according to new research from the University of B.C. The study, published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change, found a 21-per-cent increase in greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of fish landed by the world's fishing fleets between 1990 and 2011…. A major source of this unexpected increase in emissions is a 60-per-cent increase in the lobster and shrimp caught in the 21 years covered by the study, according to Parker. Bethany Lindsay reports. (CBC)

Visit Counts, Spending At Northwest's National Forests Are Flat
A report out last month says visitors spent nearly $740 million in communities near U.S. Forest Service lands in Washington and Oregon. The number of visitors and dollars coming into the region hasn’t changed much in nearly two decades. In the Northwest, playing outside is still a moneymaker. According to the U.S. Forest Service, national forest lands support more than 2,000 year-long jobs in Washington and close to 4,000 in Oregon. Many of those jobs are in rural communities. These numbers haven’t changed much since 2013, when the Forest Service last looked at similar data. According to the study, stability in visitor spending likely traces to “steadily declining unemployment, increased consumer confidence and very low inflation over the last eight years.” Emily Schwing reports. (KUOW)

Americans tell Interior to take a hike over proposed national park fee increase
Interior Department officials are backing away from a plan to dramatically increase entrance fees at the most popular national parks after receiving more than 100,000 public comments from Americans nearly unanimously opposed to the idea. Darryl Fears reports. (Washington Post)

Navy moves closer to starting construction on submarine pier extension at Bangor
Naval Base Kitsap is one step closer to starting construction on a pier extension at Bangor that would increase the installation's submarine berthing capacity. On March 28, the Navy filed for a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin construction. Army Corps of Engineers approval is required for projects that would involve construction work in waterways under the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act. If the permit is approved, the Navy will add a 520-foot-long extension to an existing pier at Bangor's waterfront and construct a new mooring dolphin to the west of the extended pier. The Navy will relocate the pier's wave attenuation screen and construct new port security measures. Julieanne Stanford reports. (Kitsap Sun)

A $15 Billion Price Tag To Protect Hawaii Highways From Climate Change
…. Hawaii’s Department of Transportation faces huge, costly challenges if it’s to protect the state’s coastal highways from a rising ocean that is already taking its toll. The agency has a grim estimate of how much that will cost: $15 billion. The figure, provided by DOT’s deputy director for highways, Ed Sniffen, assumes the state will need $7.5 million for every mile of highway road that must either be raised, pushed back or relocated entirely to escape erosion and flooding in the next 50 to 100 years  — and $40 million for every mile of bridge. Marcel Honore reports. (Civil Beat)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  245 AM PDT Thu Apr 5 2018  
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON  
TODAY  SE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. SW swell 4 ft  at 7 seconds building to 6 ft at 8 seconds in the afternoon.  Rain.
TONIGHT  SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell  8 ft at 9 seconds. Showers.
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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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4/4 Hummer myths, sperm whale, bowheads, sea cucumbers, Sinclair Broadcasting

Rufus hummingbird [Mike Yip/BirdNote]

Hummingbird Migration Myths
Have you ever wondered how a tiny hummingbird travels thousands of miles during its migration? You’re not alone. The wonder of bird migration has puzzled and mystified people for thousands of years. Before the benefit of bird-banding research and radio transmitters to track migrating birds, folklore, myths, and legends attempted to explain this awe-inspiring phenomenon. One common myth about hummingbirds is that they hopped a ride on the backs of migrating geese. And here’s a fascinating tale that comes from early cultures living in the dry central highlands of northern Mexico: In the fall after the hummingbirds have finished nesting, when the flowers are finished blooming and there is nothing for them to eat, hummingbirds fly to the branches of trees. They grab hold of a branch and hang down by their beaks. Dangling there, the hummingbirds dry up. They remain lifeless throughout the winter dry-season. Then in the spring, when the rains come, the hummingbirds soak up the rain and come alive again. (BirdNote)


Salish Sea Communications will be at the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference the next few days and news clips will be posted as time allows. Look for tweets #SSEC2018.

First sperm whale spotted in inland waters in Washington state
The Pacific Whale Watch Association said they spotted for the first time ever a sperm whale in inland waters in Washington state, according to a press release. The release states that members of the association were able to capture photos and hydrophone audio of the whale, the first of its kind seen by whale watching tours in the Salish Sea. (KOMO)

UW research: Listen to the 'crazy, crazy' songs of bowhead whales 
UW scientist records the “jazz singers of the Arctic” as bowhead whales shriek, moan, rattle and ululate under the ice during the dark of winter. Kate Stafford has listened to more bowhead-whale songs than any person on the planet — but when asked to describe the sound, she’s momentarily at a loss. “It’s hard to put into words,” said the University of Washington oceanographer. “They shriek. They moan. They cry and they rattle and they whistle and they hum.” Sandi Doughton reports. (Seattle Times)

Sea Cucumber Conspiracy Netted Businessman $1.5 Million: Feds 
A Pierce County businessman is facing a felony charge for allegedly over-harvesting sea cucumbers, a bottom-feeding animal protected by state and federal law - and one that's eaten as a delicacy around the world and sells for as much as $170 per pound. According to charges filed in federal court in Seattle, Hoon Namkoong, owner of Orient Seafood Production (OSP) in Fife, allegedly conspired with fishermen around Puget Sound to under-report sea cucumber purchases for more than two years. Neal McNamara reports. (Patch)

Turmoil inside KOMO News as conservative owner Sinclair mandates talking points 
Amid a national outcry over Sinclair Broadcasting and its mandate to insert conservative talking points on local TV news, several journalists at KOMO News — Sinclair’s Seattle-area station — describe a newsroom in turmoil. Some staffers have reached a breaking point and have discussed protesting their corporate bosses, or plan to leave as soon as they can. Sinclair, the nation’s biggest owner of local TV news stations, has for several years required KOMO and many of its stations across the country to air “must-run” news stories and commentaries produced by Sinclair that tilt heavily to the right on the political spectrum. But it recently required its local anchors in Seattle and elsewhere to deliver on air a Sinclair-provided script bashing “fake news” and accusing journalists of pushing their political agenda without checking their facts. To many, it looked like talking points from the Trump administration had been directly broadcast into living rooms across the country, filtered through their trusted local anchors. Mike Rosenberg reports. (Seattle Times)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  849 PM PDT Tue Apr 3 2018  
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM PDT WEDNESDAY THROUGH  WEDNESDAY EVENING  
WED  E wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 3 ft at  8 seconds. Rain likely.
WED NIGHT  SE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. SW swell  4 ft at 8 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.

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4/3 Survive the Sound, Skagit poop, Columbia water, Tacoma LNG, car pollution, estuary CO2, rain art

Sponsor a Fish, Save a Species

Survive the Sound is Back!
Predators, disease, pollution, oh my! It’s tough in Puget Sound for steelhead. Fortunately, you can help and have some fun in the process by joining Long Live the Kings''s Survive the Sound. You can follow the perilous migration of 48 funny looking steelhead smolts. These fish will face all sorts of obstacles along the way, and few will survive. It’s up to you to pick the fish that will make it to the finish line alive. Sponsor more than one fish, invite friends, or build a big team to have a chance at winning the grand prizes!  Proceeds help Long Live the Kings restore wild salmon and steelhead, and support free classroom participation.

New Skagit County website highlights fecal pollution
In an effort to keep fecal pollution out of area waters, Skagit County has launched a new website — Poopsmart.org. In areas of the county, particularly in the Samish and Padilla bay watersheds, feces pollution from sources such as septic systems, livestock and pets is a frequent problem. If feces from any of those sources isn’t managed properly, it can get carried into area streams, rivers and bays…. The new website that launched this week is another effort to spread the word that poop is a pollutant, and there are several ways community members can help keep it out of the water. This new effort is called the Poop Smart campaign. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Appeals Court Orders More Spill Over Dams To Help Columbia River Salmon
The federal government will have to spill more water over Columbia and Snake river dams starting Tuesday in an effort to help young salmon migrating to the ocean. This will make up the biggest planned water spill over dams for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The requirement comes after the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Monday ordered  federal dam managers on the Columbia and Snake rivers to comply with a judge’s ruling from last year. The National Marine Fisheries Service had appealed U.S. District Judge Michael Simon’s ruling to increase spill over dams. Courtney Flatt reports. (NYPB/EarthFix)

Protesters blockade PSE headquarters over Tacoma gas plant
Protesters erected a miniature longhouse -- just five feet tall and 12 feet long -- in front of Puget Sound Energy's front doors Monday morning and blocked the entrance to the company's headquarters in Bellevue for about three hours Monday morning. The protesters oppose a liquid natural gas plant, including a 150-foot-tall gas storage tank, being built at the mouth of the Puyallup River. The round, 8 million gallon tank, already rising high above the Tacoma tide flats, is much narrower but about as tall as the Tacoma Dome. John Ryan reports. (KUOW) See also: Protesters build a longhouse at PSE, ask what it and LNG project have in common  Candace Ruud reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Calling Car Pollution Standards ‘Too High,’ E.P.A. Sets Up Fight With California
The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday took steps to challenge California’s decades-old right to set its own air pollution rules, setting up a showdown between the federal government and a state that has emerged as a bulwark against the Trump administration’s policies. The E.P.A. statement was part of the agency’s widely expected decision to reconsider, and most likely roll back, Obama-era rules requiring automakers to hit ambitious emissions and mileage standards by 2025. The statement, though, was notable for the forcefulness of its language suggesting that the Trump administration would take on California’s authority to set its own rules. Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. administrator, signaled that he aimed to make California fall in line. Hiroko Tabuchi reports. (NY Times)

Study suggests estuaries may experience accelerated impacts of human-caused CO2
Rising anthropogenic, or human-caused, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may have up to twice the impact on coastal estuaries as it does in the oceans because the human-caused CO2 lowers the ecosystem's ability to absorb natural fluctuations of the greenhouse gas, a new study suggests. Researchers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Oregon State University found that there was significant daily variability when it comes to harmful indices of CO2 for many marine organisms in estuaries. At night, for example, water in the estuary had higher carbon dioxide, lower pH levels, and a lower saturation state from the collective "exhale" of the ecosystem. Oregon State University (Phys.Org)

Art revealed by rain adorns area sidewalks
There’s art on the sidewalks of Mount Vernon, but it takes some rain to see it. Instead of being scribbled on sunny days and washed away during the next rain, “Rainworks” art remains hidden until the sidewalks get wet. Images adorn sidewalks at seven locations in Mount Vernon and one in Bay View, waiting to be discovered on rainy days and brighten the often dreary days of spring, said Kristi Carpenter of the Skagit Conservation District. The conservation district partnered with seven area artists to create a Rainworks Art Trail in Mount Vernon. Community members are encouraged to try to see all the art through May 31 before it fades away. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  235 AM PDT Tue Apr 3 2018  
TODAY  SW wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft  at 7 seconds. A chance of rain.
TONIGHT  SW wind to 10 kt becoming SE 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 7 seconds.  Rain.

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

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

4/2 Macoma clam, killer culverts, river cleanup, underwater noise, Sinclair news, Ripple Rock, Exxon suit, Velella velella, BC pipe

Macoma clams [PHOTO: Don Rothaus/WDFW]

Macoma clams
The macomas comprise a fairly large group of clams in this area but these four species are those most likely to be found in the intertidal zone of Puget Sound beaches: inconspicuous macoma (Macoma inconspicua), sand clam (Macoma secta), bent-nose clam (Macoma nasuta) and the polluted macoma (Macoma irus). The Macomas are interesting in that they tend to lay flat in the substrate unlike most of the other intertidal clams which are usually on their edges. Also, unlike most other clams, their siphons are separate -- not fused together. Most clams passively filter the water to obtain their food while the macomas use their long (up to 18) inhalant siphon like a vacuum cleaner hose which they move around to suck up detritus from the surface of the substrate. (King County Beach Assessment Clam Identification Key)

A Fight Over Salmon-Killing Roads Is Now A Supreme Court Case About Native Rights
Seventeen years ago, 21 tribes sued the state of Washington to fix those culverts. On April 18, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to take on the case. The question is whether or not state taxpayers should have to dish out billions to dig up roads so salmon can get through. And the court’s decision will have repercussions for tribes all over the West and Midwest. Eilis O'Neill reports. (KUOW)

New blog: April Showers Bring Flowers—And A Lot More 
Sidd Finch, a self-described "woo woo" sort of guy, asks your help in cleaning up a local river.

Underwater noise pollution also disturbs fish, study suggests
Plastics and oil aren't the only types of pollution having a negative impact on fish. According to a new study entitled Sound the Alarm, noise is also a growing problem for the aquatic animals. "In terms of fish behaviour and physiology, it's negative responses across the board," said Kieran Cox, a doctoral student at the University of Victoria. Cox and fish ecologist, Francis Juanes, led the collaborative team that conducted the research, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Global Change Biology. (CBC)

KOMO attacks 'biased and false news' in Sinclair-written promos
Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest owner of television stations in the U.S., employs a well-known practice of producing "must-runs," conservative commentary segments that each Sinclair-owned station is required to air. But promos now running on Seattle's KOMO-TV show the next step in the company's plan to undermine non-Sinclair outlets. The promos, which began airing on the station last week, are part of a Sinclair campaign that forces local anchors to read Sinclair-written scripts warning of the dangers of "one-sided news stories plaguing our country."  Stephen Cohen reports. (SeattlePI) See also: Why Sinclair Made Dozens of Local News Anchors Recite the Same Script  Jacey Rortin reports. (NY Times)

60 years later, a major underwater explosion in B.C. still fascinates
Sandra Parish is looking over at a span of ocean once called "one of the vilest stretches of water in the world," from the comfort of her office at the Museum at Campbell River. The specific subject of Parish's gaze is British Columbia's Seymour Narrows — the former home of Ripple Rock, an underwater mountain that was blown to smithereens 60 years ago this week. "(Ripple Rock) was a major marine navigational hazard in a pretty important waterway on the Inside Coast," said Parish, the museum's executive director. Maryse Zeidler reports. (CBC)

Judge dismisses Exxon lawsuit against climate change probe
A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit by Exxon Mobil aimed at stopping an investigation by New York and Massachusetts officials into whether the oil giant misled investors and the public about its knowledge of climate change and how the issue could affect its business. “Exxon’s allegations that the AGs are pursuing bad faith investigations in order to violate Exxon’s constitutional rights are implausible and therefore must be dismissed for failure to state a claim,” Manhattan U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni said. In her ruling, Caproni described Exxon’s lawsuit as “running roughshod over the adage that the best defense is a good offense.” (Associated Press)

Blue jellyfish-like creatures return to Tofino's beaches
Tofino beach-goers got a rare glimpse of some strange looking blue creatures Sunday, as hundreds of jellyfish-like creatures known as Velella velella washed ashore. Also known as By-the-Wind-Sailors, the small carnivorous animals are related to jellyfish. They do sting, but not enough to harm people. They use their stinging tentacles to feed on small fish larvae. (CBC)

Pipeline demonstrators make their way into Burnaby RCMP detachment after man’s arrest 
The Burnaby RCMP’s battle with pipeline protesters took another turn Friday, as demonstrators made their way into the detachment’s main lobby to protest the arrest of one of their own. On Thursday, Harry Johnson-Larue, 31, was arrested on an outstanding warrant related to the alleged assault of a Burnaby police officer last Sunday. Johnson-Larue initially resisted arrest, police said, but was taken into custody safely. According to police, that incident began when a man was arrested for mischief after allegedly removing a city of Burnaby survey monument. He resisted, and managed to flee after demonstrators physically obstructed the officer. When the officer chased him, police say, the cop was pushed by a protester, causing him to injure his knee. Harrison Mooney reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  259 AM PDT Mon Apr 2 2018  
TODAY  W wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 6 ft  at 8 seconds.
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5  to 6 ft at 8 seconds. A chance of showers.

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

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told