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

English Bay oil (Vancouver Aquarium/CBC)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Salish Sea Communications Will Be Off Line For A Few Days

Salish Sea Communications  will be off line for a few days. The news and weather posting will return on Wednesday, April 15. Mike Sato.

4/9 Bird worth, Vic sewer, owl ESA, BC LNG, tribe treaty, fishing whales, water price, flatfish, BC spill, coral reefs

(PHOTO: Bari Bookout/Flickr)

Surveys Put A Price Tag On Urban Birds
Rather than asking people about the economic value of charismatic or endangered species, a new study asks city-dwellers about birds in their backyards and parks. Researchers compared two types of common birds—finches and corvids—in Seattle and Berlin, asking residents how much they would pay to conserve the species and what they spend, if anything, on bird food. In Seattle, the answer is $120 million a year and in Berlin, $70 million. Michelle Ma reports. (UW News)

Federal funding extended for Greater Victoria sewage and bridge
Greater Victoria’s two biggest infrastructure projects have been granted extensions on federal funding offers, giving local government officials a bit of relief. Both the Johnson Street Bridge and the Capital Regional District’s wastewater-treatment projects were given an extra year to meet deadlines before losing a combined $104.4 million in support. Nils Jensen, chairman of the CRD core-area liquid-waste management committee, said the extension was crucial to wastewater treatment plans. The extension was granted based on an aggressive work plan with key objectives and milestones. Amy Smart and Lindsay Kines report. (Times Colonist)

Wildlife Officials Consider Endangered Listing For Spotted Owl
The Northwest’s most iconic bird could get a conservation boost in the coming years. On Wednesday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is announcing it will review the protection status of the Northern Spotted Owl. The result could be an endangered species listing. The owl was first listed as threatened in 1990. It was the height of the “Timber Wars” in the Northwest and the listing became a pivotal moment in the region’s cultural and economic history. It led to a temporary ban on logging in federal old growth forests and eventually to the Northwest Forest Plan, which cut logging on national forests and other federal land by more than 80 percent. Jes Burn reports (EarthFix)

Opposition to Woodfibre LNG heats up in Squamish
Opposition to the proposed Woodfibre LNG plant is escalating in Squamish and Howe Sound, where a protest — not the first — involving hundreds of opponents marched through downtown Squamish Sunday venting their rage at the plan. Although the plant’s supporters value the project’s potential tax base and promised jobs, critics believe the future of Squamish — recently cited as one of just two Canadian destinations in the New York Times’s list of 52 best places in the world to visit in 2015 — is largely in tourism and outdoor recreation, and that Woodfibre LNG’s alleged negative environmental impacts don’t square with that.  Brian Morton reports. (Vancouver Sun)

First Nations to sign tentative treaty deal but future of process in doubt
A group of five First Nations on southern Vancouver Island is expected to sign a tentative treaty settlement on Thursday – even as some of the key participants reconsider the slow and costly process of settling modern-day treaties. The agreement-in-principle between the Te’Mexw Treaty Association, Ottawa and Victoria is being inked in the B.C. capital with all the ceremony that is expected after almost 21 years of negotiations. But the talks are not over – the parties will now move to the “final agreement” stage. Meanwhile, the future for other First Nations that are further behind in the treaty process is in question. Justine Hunter reports. (Globe and Mail)

Fish-stealing whales take bite out of black-cod harvest
Frustrated Alaska fishermen have tried tactics like blasting heavy metal music from their boats to keep whales from stealing fish from their lines. To protect their catch, they are now talking about abandoning hooks and lines in favor of baited traps. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

Putting A Price On Water
When you turn on the tap and water comes out, there’s a tendency to think it’s free. But increasingly, there’s a push to recognize water as the precious commodity it is, by putting a higher price on it. Water as the oil of the 21st Century was the headline on an event in Seattle put on by the Clean Tech Alliance. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KPLU)

Plan would reopen fishing for flatfish in Hood Canal
Flatfish have recovered enough in Hood Canal that the state Department of Fish and Wildlife is proposing a limited renewal of fishing for flounder, sole and other species in Quilcene Bay and the northern portion of Dabob Bay. Recreational fishing would be opened for flounder, sole and other flatfish except halibut. The state Fish and Wildlife Commission will hear public testimony on the proposal at 10:15 a.m. Friday during its meeting at the Capital Events Center, 6005 Tyee Drive S.W. in Tumwater. The commission meeting begins today. This issue is on Friday’s agenda. (Peninsula Daily News)

Crews investigate apparent oil spill in English Bay
Crews are working to clean up what appears to be an oil spill in English Bay. An emergency response team was called in to deal with an oily substance coating the water on the east side of the bay at about 5 p.m. Wednesday. Port Metro Vancouver received multiple reports about the spill before calling in the coast guard. The coast guard and marine response teams worked into the night co-ordinating efforts to recover the substance and pinpoint its source. (Canadian Press)

Recipe for saving coral reefs: Add more fish
Fish are the key ingredients in a new recipe to diagnose and restore degraded coral reef ecosystems, according to scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, WCS, James Cook University, and other organizations in a new study in the journal Nature. For overfished coral reef systems, restoring fish populations that perform key roles will in turn restore ecological functions critical to recovery. For moderately or lightly fished reefs, the recipe requires knowing which fish to catch, how many, and which to leave behind. (Science Daily)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT THU APR 9 2015
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING NW IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING SW AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 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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4/8 Allen grant, oil train suit, train safety, LNG glut, pontoons, septic death, Green Porno

Olympia oyster (OR DFW)

Paul Allen’s Foundation grants $1.5M to Puget Sound Restoration Fund project
Puget Sound is absolutely vital to the health of the Pacific Northwest, but the ever-increasing acidification of ocean waters is taking its toll on our lovely waters. The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation has granted $1.5 million to the Puget Sound Restoration Fund so researchers can “investigate seaweed cultivation” as one potential strategy to lessen acidification of the Sound. The project will be led by Dr. Jonathan Davis and Betsy Peabody at Puget Sound Restoration in collaboration with partners at the University of Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Molly Brown reports. (GeekWire)

Puget Sound Tribe's Lawsuit Aims To Keep Oil Trains Off Its Reservation
The Swinomish Tribe has filed a lawsuit against BNSF Railway to stop oil trains from traveling through its reservation. BNSF train tracks cross the top of the Swinomish Reservation in Skagit County. In recent years they’ve been used to move oil from North Dakota to two refineries in Anacortes. In 1990 BNSF and the Swinomish reached a settlement that required BNSF to regularly update the tribe on the type of cargo moving through the reservation. It also limited traffic to two 25-car trains per day. Now, the tribe says BNSF is running several times that many train cars through the reservation each day (an estimated six oil trains of more than 100 cars per week). Ashley Ahearn reports. (KUOW)

Cantwell, Fire Chiefs Pressing For More Regulation Of Oil Trains
Highly volatile Bakken  crude oil poses a serious threat to the safety of communities located along rail lines. Just since February, there have been four fiery derailments in the US and Canada.  Now Democrats in the U.S. Senate are pressing for more regulation. Speaking at the the Emergency Operations Center near a downtown Seattle rail tunnel, U.S. Sen. Maria  Cantwell (D- Wash.) said it’s frustrating to see how slowly federal officials are moving when so much explosive oil is coming through. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KPLU) See also: First responders likely wouldn’t fight oil-train fire in Seattle rail tunnel  Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

Global supply glut threatens British Columbia’s LNG projects
Most liquefied natural gas export projects are at risk of being cancelled in North America as a result of a looming global glut of LNG, putting a damper on British Columbia’s energy dreams. Moody’s Investors Service Inc. issued a stark outlook for the fledgling North American LNG industry, arguing it doesn’t make economic sense to invest billions of dollars on each venture especially as Asian buyers slow down their LNG orders for new LNG supplies. Brent Jang reports. (Globe and Mail)

Floating bridge pontoons being towed through Strait; contest underway to capture best image of their travels
The final three pontoons for the state Highway 520 floating bridge over Lake Washington near Seattle will make their way through the Strait of Juan de Fuca this week. Three tugboats — the Western Ranger, Arthur Brusco and Nancy M — are towing the giant floats from Grays Harbor on the Pacific coast, around Cape Flattery and through the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Puget Sound, then through the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Ballard and finally into Lake Washington. There, they'll join the 74 previously constructed pontoons that together will support the world's largest floating bridge. Just when the football-field-size floats will pass points on the Strait is uncertain. They are expected to be in Seattle's boat channel Thursday. (Peninsula Daily News)

Inspection overdue on septic tank where child died
King 5 has uncovered the Skagit County property where a two-year-old boy fell into a septic tank with an insecure lid and died Monday was overdue for an inspection. The little boy who died, Orion Fenstra, was at the property with his parents who knew the caretaker of the lot. Danielle Leigh reports. (KING)

Isabella Rossellini, former supermodel, stages play about sex lives of animals
Internationally renowned supermodel and actress Isabella Rossellini is bringing her one-woman show Green Porno to Vancouver's PuSh festival, educating audiences about the sex lives of animals. "For basically just being a pet lover, I became more interested in biology and zoology and conservation, and so lately I went back to university to study ethology, which is animal behaviour in particular," Rossellini told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff. The focus of her one-woman show is reproduction, Rossellini said. (CBC)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT WED APR 8 2015
TODAY
W WIND 10 KT...BECOMING NW IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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4/7 Radiation, Shell drill, oil train, fuel exports, WA budget, carbon tax, forage fish, toxics law, glacier melt

Turkey Vulture (Brian Zeiler/BirdNote)

If you like to listen: Turkey Vulture, A Poem  
Vultures are an avian clean-up crew, removing carrion from the landscape. When Turkey Vultures circle low, you can see their naked red heads and deeply slotted black primary feathers. With their wings canted in a dihedral "V," they tilt upwind from side to side. The Turkey Vulture's keen sense of smell enables it, even high aloft, to locate dead animals on the ground. (BirdNote)

Fukushima radiation measured on B.C. shore for 1st time
Trace amounts of radiation from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan have been detected on North American shores for the first time, but researchers say the amount of radiation is not a concern.  Radioactive forms of the element cesium that could only have come from Fukushima were detected in samples collected on Feb. 19 in Ucluelet, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, with the help of the Ucluelet Aquarium, scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution reported today. (CBC)

Greenpeace boards Seattle-bound Shell drilling platform in mid-Pacific
A half-dozen Greenpeace activists have boarded Shell Oil’s Seattle-bound drilling platform as it crosses the eastern Pacific, but say they will make no effort to interfere with the navigation of the ship. The Shell drilling platform “Polar Pioneer.” Six Greenpeace activists, equipped with supplies, are now aboard the Seattle-bound rig.  They are protesting  Shell’s plans to drill in the Arctic…. And, Greenpeace being Greenpeace, the “Polar Pioneer Six” intend to unfurl a large banner denouncing Shell’s proposed drilling. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

NTSB: Equip oil trains with fire protection within 5 years
The National Transportation Safety Board on Monday called for the nation’s fleet of railroad tank cars hauling crude oil and ethanol to be equipped with fire protection within five years, half the time some industry groups would prefer. The NTSB cited the performance of tank cars in four recent oil train derailments, two in the U.S. and two in Canada, where fire exposure weakened the bare steel tanks and increased the pressure inside the cars beyond what they were designed to sustain. Curtis Tate reports. (McClatchy)

Guest Opinion: Dirty fuel exports darken NW’s Earth Day
Some hailed President Barack Obama’s recent veto of the Keystone pipeline authorization legislation as an early Earth Day gift, spelling the project’s death knell. However, his decision was actually based on process, not policy. While Obama has articulated the science behind climate change better than any predecessor, his all-of-the-above energy strategy has opened the floodgates to unprecedented levels of domestic fossil fuel extraction with lax oversight. Fred Felleman opines. (Crosscut)

Washington Senate passes two-year state budget plan
The Senate on Monday passed a budget plan that relies, in part, on modifying a class size ballot measure and asking voters if they agree with the decision. The $38 billion, two-year budget passed the Republican-controlled chamber on a 26-23 vote. It doesn't include any new taxes, mostly relying on existing revenue, fund transfers and redirecting tax income from recreational marijuana. Rachel La Corte reports. (Associated Press) See also: Stand-Off In Olympia Before Budget Negotiations Even Begin  Austin Jenkins reports. (KUOW)

Climate Group Launches Initiative For A Carbon Tax In Washington
…. The circulation of petitions to put Initiative 732 on the 2016 ballot signals a new strategy that may come into play if Gov. Jay Inslee and fellow Democrats in the Legislature are unable to pass their own carbon cap-and-trade proposal. The Initiative would phase in a $25-per-ton tax on carbon dioxide emissions from certain fossil fuels and fossil fuel-generated electricity, starting in July, 2017. The proceeds would go into the general fund and be directed to offset reductions in the state sales tax and the business and occupation tax on manufacturing. Gas prices would eventually go up by 25 cents per gallon but rebates of up to $1,500 per year would be provided to 400,000 families in Washington to make the tax "revenue neutral." Ashley Ahearn reports. (KUOW)

Fishing amplifies forage fish collapses
A new study shows for the first time that fishing likely worsens population collapses in species of forage fish, including herring, anchovies and sardines. Some of the largest fisheries in the world target these species, and these “baitfish” are also a key source of food for larger marine animals, including salmon, tuna, seabirds and whales. Scientists have long known about wide fluctuations in the abundance of forage fish, including the occasional population collapse. But they had not figured out whether collapses were entirely natural or related to fishing. The study, published April 6 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, implicates fishing in the collapse of forage fish stocks and recommends risk-based management tools that would track a fishery’s numbers and suspend fishing when necessary. Michelle Ma reports. (UW Today)

Senate Committee Guts Inslee Plan to Clean Up Toxics in Fish
With the feds pressing Gov. Jay Inslee to better protect consumers from toxic chemicals in fish, a Senate committee gutted a potentially pivotal bill to allow the state to set up a new toxic-cleanup program. Inslee now opposes the legislation, saying it would leave him without tools he needs to head off federal intervention in Washington’s water-pollution-control system…. Originally, the governor’s legislation would have required the Department of Ecology to develop these so-called “chemical action plans,” including ideas for removing toxic substances from the environment. The agency could also order chemical manufacturers to consider safer alternatives and even ban chemicals when safer ones are available. But the Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Telecommunications on Tuesday voted to take away Ecology’s ability to ban chemicals and limited the number of toxic substances Ecology could study. Chris Dunagan reports. (Investigate West)

How Western Canada glaciers will melt away
Wonder what your favourite glacier to ski or hike will look like in 20 or 40 years? A new study makes detailed predictions about how the glaciers in B.C. and Alberta will melt and shrink between now and 2100. Glaciers are melting rapidly around the world, including in Canada, and human-caused climate change is now considered to be the main driver. Thousands of glaciers in B.C. and Alberta are expected to lose 60 to 80 per cent of their combined volume compared to 2005, depending on how much CO2 gets added to the atmosphere between now and the end of the century. Emily Chung reports. (CBC) See also: Skiing, salmon spawning may be casualties of glacial melt: report  Tamsyn Burgmann reports. (Globe and Mail)

Now, your tug weather---
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 258 AM PDT TUE APR 7 2015
TODAY
NE WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING NW. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
NW WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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4/6 Poop DNA, fake reef, hatcheries, fish farm, sardines, fish slaves, snowpack, protect orcas, train watch, Skagit GI, beaver dams, Octo Ursula, CA water

Dog-poop DNA tests nail non-scoopers
…. Just you and Rex at the park, or maybe by your neighbor’s hedge, in that spot where that neighbor can’t spot you two. But, no, DNA testing for dog droppings — to identify whether it was left by Rex or Fluffy — has finally arrived in this region…. A company called BioPet Vet Lab, out of Knoxville, Tenn., says its PooPrints testing kits are now in 26 apartment and condo complexes and homeowner associations in greater Seattle. Erik Lacitis reports. (Seattle Times)

Former Canadian warship sunk off B.C. coast to create artificial reef
The sound of boat horns and cheering from hundreds of excited onlookers saturated the smoke-filled ocean air as demolition crews sank a former Canadian warship off the B.C. coast on Saturday. After years of legal wrangling, the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia successfully sank the former HMCS Annapolis in the waters of Halkett Bay Marine Provincial Park off Gambier Island northwest of Vancouver. Geordon Omand reports. (Canadian Press)

NOAA plan will speed up review of hatcheries
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has withdrawn its draft environmental impact statement on Puget Sound salmon and steelhead hatcheries. The draft was in preparation of a full review of all 133 hatchery genetic management plans into one EIS. Reviews will now proceed on a smaller scale with individual or watershed-level plans, according to NOAA’s March 26 announcement. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Guest Opinion: Why fish hatcheries remain essential
Daniel Jack Chasan’s recent attack on salmon and steelhead hatcheries failed to provide a view of their importance to the 20 treaty Indian tribes in western Washington. Our treaty rights depend on salmon and steelhead being available for harvest. Hatcheries are essential to fulfilling the harvest rights that the tribes reserved in treaties with the United States government. Without hatcheries there would be no salmon or steelhead fishing at all by anyone in western Washington. Most wild stocks are not healthy enough to support sustainable harvest. Lorraine Loomis opines. (Crosscut)

Tackling a sustainable industry for Atlantic salmon farming
In a clearing near Port McNeill, an experiment is under way. Inside an unassuming steel-clad building, thousands of Atlantic salmon swim in circular tanks. When those fish are big enough – in about 12 months, when they have grown from 100-gram smolts to between three to five kilograms in weight – they will be harvested, having never touched the ocean. Their waste will be processed into garden soil. Water, almost all of which is recirculated, comes from nearby wells and the plant is highly automated…. Kuterra is a front-runner in the quest to prove Atlantic salmon can be raised on land in a way that is more environmentally friendly than the ocean-based systems used to raise the fish, an aquaculture staple worldwide since the 1960s. It reached a milestone last April, when its salmon hit the market. But questions remain, including whether the costs – including equipment, power and food – of raising Atlantic salmon entirely on land outweigh potential profits. Wendy Stueck reports. (Globe and Mail)

Feds likely to shut down sardine fishing on West Coast
West Coast fisheries managers will likely shut down sardine fishing this year as numbers decline, echoing a previous collapse that decimated a thriving industry and increasing worries that other species might be withheld from the commercial market. Fishermen are resigned to not being able to get sardines, but they hope the Pacific Fishery Management Council will not be so concerned that it sets the level for incidental catch of sardines at zero, shutting down other fisheries, such as mackerel, anchovies and market squid, which often swim with sardines. Jeff Barnard reports. (Associated Press)

AP investigation prompts emergency rescue of 300 plus slaves
Hundreds of fishermen raced to be rescued Friday from the isolated Indonesian island where an Associated Press investigation found that many were enslaved to catch seafood that could end up in the United States and elsewhere. Robin McDowell and Margie Mason report. (Associated Press)

Sparse snowpack in Olympics close to worst in America’s West
Despite a dusting of fresh snow on the peaks, the snowpack in the Olympic Mountains looks more like a record snow lack, fueling concerns about a thirsty summer. As of Saturday, the snowpack was at a mere 3 percent of average, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service, which monitors snowpack to predict summer water supplies. It’s the second-lowest snowpack by percentage west of the Rocky Mountains, behind only California’s Lake Tahoe region, which measured 2 percent of the mammoth snowfall expected near the lake in the Sierra Nevada range. Arwyn Rice reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Tired of waiting for feds, advocates take own path to protect orcas
A group of orca advocates is making its own plans to protect endangered killer whales, saying a federal action plan is overdue. The group celebrated news of four calves born to the southern resident killer whales since December. But with a 50 per cent mortality rate and a slew of other threats to their survival, members say it’s time to get serious about protecting the species, which was declared endangered 12 years ago. “What we really need is a comprehensive plan,” said Misty MacDuffee, a biologist with the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. Amy Smart reports. (Times Colonist)

Snohomish County group tallies oil train shipments, verifies BNSF railway reports
Environmental activists are preparing to head out this month to perform a second annual tally of trains carrying crude oil and coal through Snohomish County. Snohomish County Train Watch sent 29 volunteers out last year to cover around-the-clock shifts during an entire week in Edmonds, Everett and Marysville. They recorded 16 shipments of oil and 20 of coal. Soon after the group released those findings, the federal government ordered railroads to disclose the number of crude-oil shipments of more than 1 million gallons passing through each county in each state. This year, the Train Watch count will be used to verify what BNSF Railway reports to state officials. Volunteers also will keep an eye on the types of tank cars that are in use and the routes the oil trains take. Noah Haglund reports. (Everett Herald)

County declines Skagit River GI study extension request
More than 20 years and nearly $20 million into the Skagit River General Investigation study, Skagit County has declined a request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for more money and time. The corps last month requested a waiver from the county to extend the feasibility phase of the study through 2016 at an additional cost of $810,000. Feasibility is the second of five phases. The county announced Wednesday that it is not willing to adjust the earlier agreement. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Strait of Juan de Fuca beaches in Clallam closed to shellfish harvest
The Strait of Juan de Fuca from Cape Flattery to the Jefferson County line has been closed to recreational harvesting of all species of shellfish because of the danger of potentially deadly PSP, paralytic shellfish poisoning. The state Department of Health extended the closure Friday. (Peninsula Daily News)

Don Cayo: Libel case may have implications for other clashes over the environment
What is a SLAPP suit? SLAPP is a new-ish acronym that stands for “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation” — a slur that critics have coined to sling when a big guy, usually a business, sues a little guy, usually a citizen or a non-profit, for no better reason than to shut them up. Don Cayo opines. (Vancouver Sun)

Beavers Star in Tribes' Fish, Water Conservation Project
Sometimes moving to a new neighborhood is the best choice for everyone. That's the theory behind a research project by the Tulalip Tribes of Washington to relocate beaver families. The critters have become a nuisance in the lowlands but in higher elevations, their hard work can benefit the entire Snohomish watershed. Ben Dittbrenner is a graduate student of University of Washington Environmental and Forestry Sciences and he's working with the Tribes to trap and move beavers and study the effects of their dam-building. When less snow is predicted with a changing climate, he says a beaver dam is just the right type of eco-friendly barrier to moderate spring runoff. Chris Thomas reports. (Public News Service)

Hello, Ursula: Poll-takers name Port Angeles marine life center octopus in vote landslide
Thanks to overwhelming support by online voters, the new moniker for an octopus at the Feiro Marine Life Center is Ursula. The name — inspired by the tentacled villain in Walt Disney Co.’s 1989 movie “The Little Mermaid” — beat three other names in the Peninsula Poll conducted on the Peninsula Daily News’ website Friday and Saturday.  Chris McDaniel reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Will Turning Seawater Into Drinking Water Help Drought-Hit California?
Last week, Governor Jerry Brown made water conservation mandatory in the drought-stricken state of California. "As Californians, we have to pull together and save water in every way we can," he said. But if the four-year drought continues, conservation alone — at least what's required by the governor's plan — won't fix the problem. Across California, communities are examining all options to avoid running out of water. Some, like the coastal city of Santa Barbara, are looking to the past for inspiration. (NPR)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 304 AM PDT MON APR 6 2015
TODAY
SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING SW IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF
 SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
W WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING E. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE
 EVENING.
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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 Crab moves, Navy sonar, coal power, PT MSC, ferry reservations, AK oil, drought

(Ocean Networks Canada/Vancouver Sun)

If you like to watch: Video: Rare footage of mass crab migration off Vancouver Island
An Ocean Networks Canada seafloor observatory has obtained rare footage of a mass migration of grooved tanner crabs at a depth of almost 1,000 metres at Barkley Canyon, about 100 kilometres off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Researchers believe the migration to shallower waters is related to mating and egg laying. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Court Rules Navy's Sonar Training In Pacific Violates Environmental Laws
A federal judge on Tuesday said the National Marine Fisheries Service violated environmental laws when it approved the Navy's plans for training in waters off Hawaii and Southern California. The agency failed to support its finding that the training would have a "negligible impact" on marine life, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Oki Mollway wrote in her ruling. The Navy, she said, also failed to take a hard look at alternatives such as training in different areas or at different times to avoid potentially harming dolphins, whales and other species. Environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Conservation Council for Hawaii, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Honolulu. (ABC News)

The Northwest Struggles With Coal-Generated Power From Out Of State
Northwest utilities are fighting pressure to end to all use of coal-fired power -- even when it's generated in places like Utah and Montana. Many people are surprised to find out how much coal-fired power the Northwest still uses, even with all of its hydroelectric dams and wind farms. Oregon still gets about a third of its electricity from coal. In Washington, it's about 15 percent. And while the two coal plants based in Oregon and Washington are both scheduled to close – Eastern Oregon's Boardman plant in 2020 and Eastern Washington's Centralia plant in 2025 – that won't mean the end of coal-fired power in the two states. Both states have utilities that get some of their power from out-of-state coal plants. Cassandra Profita reports. (EarthFix)

Port Townsend Marine Science Center exhibit opens for season today
The Port Townsend Marine Science Center’s marine exhibit opens for the spring season today to offer visitors up-close-and-personal contact with area sea life. A variety of sea animals are in open pools at the exhibit at the end pier at Fort Worden State Park. Hours are from noon to 5 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. Charlie Bermant reports. (Peninsula Daily News) And: WHO AM I? Help name the new octopus at Port Angeles' marine life center in today's Peninsula Poll

San Juan Islanders largely OK with ferry reservation system
Washington State Ferries implemented a three-tier vehicle reservation system Dec. 2 to better manage congestion on ferries between the Anacortes terminal and the San Juan Islands. Reservations have been taken for travel via ferry since Jan. 5. And while there have been some complaints about the system, locals say it’s better than waiting hours to get on a sailing. Shelby Rowe reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Hit to Alaska from dropping oil prices could dampen Puget Sound trade
Economic damage to Alaska from low oil prices may hit the Puget Sound area economy hard in 2016. That was the warning from a panel of Alaska experts in Seattle Thursday, who said purchases of Washington goods and even Alaska-bound cruise tourism could suffer. Alaska, which depends on oil for 90 percent of its state government revenue, is facing a $3 billion state budget shortfall, about a quarter of a normal budget…. Washington state and Alaska are closely linked economically, with113,000 direct and indirect Alaska-linked jobs paying $6.2 billion in the Puget Sound region, according to a January report, “Ties that Bind,” by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. Steve Wilhelm reports. (Puget Sound Business Journal)

Western Drought Response Kicks Into Higher Gear
California Governor Jerry Brown ordered statewide mandatory water saving measures Wednesday. Water managers are preparing for drought in Oregon and Washington state as well. Washington and Oregon's governors have already declared drought emergencies in select counties where farmers depend on runoff for irrigation. In Olympia, a drought and water supply committee that has been dormant for years has been reconvened. Tom Banse reports. (KUOW)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI APR 3 2015
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON PDT TODAY
TODAY
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING SW 5 TO 15 KT BY NOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT
 10 SECONDS. RAIN TAPERING OFF TO SHOWERS BY NOON. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF TSTMS THIS AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
SW WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 7 OR 8 FT AT 13 SECONDS. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF TSTMS THIS EVENING. SHOWERS
 LIKELY.
SAT
S WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING SE 10 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 9 FT AT 13 SECONDS. SHOWERS
 LIKELY.
SAT NIGHT
SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 OR 8 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
SUN
E WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS.

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

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told