9/6 Salish Sea News & Weather: Humpies, BC herring, Elwha weir, Nemo, Salmon in Classroom, Samish closures, poop DNA, cougars, shame on Obama

You like it hot? Want it hotter or is this just right? Cliff Mass blogs on What is the warmest place on Earth?  Warmest in the Northwest?

Beware the Tox-Ick Monster.

Fish on the move: There are an estimated 6 million pink salmon entering our rivers and about 1.2 million of them head up the Skagit. 'Humpy mania'

Jude Isabella blogs in The Tyee on the herring summit held up north bringing First Nations and scientists together. Summit to save BC herring draws First Nations, other experts 

Down south, the Port Gamble S’Klallam tribe is surveying the nearshore environment “to prioritize nearshore habitat restoration projects, to determine what species are living where throughout Puget Sound waters, and to learn more about habitat conditions in the nearshore environment.” Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe examines the nearshore throughout mid-Hood Canal and Admiralty Inlet

On the Elwha, biologists have strung up a 200-foot-long floating structure to corral spawning salmon and take scale and DNA samples. Researchers use giant fish weir to study salmon

Poor Nemo: John Ryan of KUOW reports on how ocean acidification from increasing carbon dioxide affects the survival senses of clownfish and what that might mean in Puget Sound. Acidity Fries Fish Senses

Remember Salmon in the Classroom? I never thought these were ‘real fish’ but it was sad to see the 20-year program cut from the Fish and Wildlife Department budget to save about half a million dollars. Thanks to citizens who formed the Salmon Education Alliance, the program will be funded privately and reinstated. Salmon in Classroom program revived, but without state money

Open, closed, open, closed: Last Tuesday, the state Health Department closed Samish Bay commercial harvest because of incidences of vibriosis, then reopened it two hours later because the four cases of vibriosis that triggered the shutdown had not occurred within a 30-day period. Then a case was reported last Thursday, triggering a month-long shutdown. Go figure. Samish shellfish harvests closed for 1 month

Meanwhile: Skagit County is using “microbial source tracking” as part of its Clean Samish Initiative to see who is and who is not responsible for the presence of fecal coliform bacteria in the water. Findings will be discussed from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 8 at the Edison Elementary School cafeteria, 5801 Main Ave. in Bow. County to release results of DNA tests in Samish Basin
 
Thank you, Snohomish. When it rained, the city dumped millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the Snohomish River. Now, Snohomish adds pipelines to help keep sewage out of river

Watch ‘em while they’re here: Photos: B.C.'s amazing wildlife

What are the animals telling us?  Conservation officers kill cougar near Goldstream Park campground  and Cougar trapped and removed from Sudden Valley
 
Shame shame shame: “President Barack Obama on Friday scrapped his administration's controversial plans to tighten smog rules, bowing to the demands of congressional Republicans and some business leaders.”  Obama halts controversial EPA regulation

Now, your tug weather:
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 253 AM PDT TUE SEP 6 2011
  TODAY
 W WIND 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS. PATCHY MORNING FOG.
 TONIGHT
 W WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING LIGHT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT...SUBSIDING. W SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS.

-- "Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service.
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