10/31 Salish Sea News and Weather: Orcas, Elwha, 7 billionth babies, Tacoma Tideflats, chinook, ocean acid, global warming, mystery fish, Sultan R. hydro, squid jig, coal terminal, ferry wake, wood boat podcasts

Boo! Last day of October: Happy Hallowe’en, Samhain, All Saints’ Day, Dia de los Muertos, Mictecacihuatl, All Souls’ Day...

If you like to watch orcas: “Pt. Robinson”  and “Orcas at Pt.Robinson Lighthouse”

And watch how the Elwha River is moved from one side to the other in John Gussman’s Elwha video.

Happy birthday! Various '7 billionth' babies celebrated worldwide

Enough for 2011: 48 feet of the 108-foot Elwha Dam and 32 feet of the 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam have been removed thus far and work will resume next year. Elwha dams work on hiatus till January

Tacoma’s future as the major Puget Sound shipping port rests on getting the Tacoma Tideflats cleaned up and getting a business moved in. Changes needed for Tideflats to stop economic engine's sputtering

How many Chinook salmon need to be shared with endangered orca whales is the ultimate questions to be answered by government authorities. To get to the science, an independent, cross-border panel has recently completed the first of three workshops looking at studies connecting the abundance of chinook and the well-being of the rare killer whales. The panel has about three dozen studies and reports to analyze before a decision is made at the end of 2012. Experts examining killer whales' salmon diet

Brennan Clarke in The Globe and Mail reports on the changes Rob Saunders, CEO of Island Scallops in Baynes Sound, is experiencing with his shellfish larvae. “Because of ocean acidification the only way we can grow any larvae – oysters, clams, mussels, geoducks, you name it – is to take the CO2 out of the seawater,” he says.  An acidic ocean threatens shellfish farms 
 
End of argument? Probably not. Richard Muller, prominent physicist and skeptic of global warming, was bankrolled by oil and gas-funded Koch Foundation but found that temperatures really are rising rapidly. Skeptic finds he now agrees global warming is real
 
Can’t happen here, right? Consumer Reports finds one-fifth of 190 pieces of seafood sampled from east coast retail stores and restaurants were found to be mislabeled as different species, incompletely labeled, or misidentified by employees. Mystery fish: The label said red snapper, the lab said baloney

Martha Baskin at Green Acre Radio reports from the Sultan River where the the state’s first hydropower plant in nearly 20 years gets switched on. Listen at State "Flips the Switch" on the First Hydropower Plant in Nearly Twenty Years. Is it a Smart Clean Energy Choice?

When the  military sells surplus land around Greater Victoria, make environmental protection of endangered ecosystems on these Department of National Defence lands the first priority. Conservationists fearful of DND land sale

Mark Yuasa at the Seattle Times gets practically poetic when talking about decapods, “6-to-10 inch slimy blobs with octopus-like tentacles and a purplish brown mottled body.” Squid jigging has begun, and best months are coming
 
“Whatcom County, the Washington Department of Ecology and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were quick to offer reassurances that they plan to conduct an open and transparent environmental review of the Gateway Pacific Terminal project, despite language in a three-agency agreement that seems to indicate otherwise.” John Stark in the Bellingham Herald reports: Agencies say they plan an open review of cargo shipping terminal

Hopes of ripping through Rich Passage without tearing up the beach is what’s to be tested this week when Kitsap Transit’s wake research project begins its sea test in Port Orchard Bay, between Illahee and Bainbridge Island. Research ferry wake tests beginning

If you like to listen: Deborah Bach in Three Sheets Northwest reports on boater Dan Mattson’s new podcast series focused entirely on wooden boats. Wooden boat lovers: new weekly podcast hopes to speak to you

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 242 AM PDT MON OCT 31 2011
  TODAY
 NW WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 9 FT AT 12 SECONDS. SCATTERED SHOWERS IN THE MORNING.
 TONIGHT
 W SWELL 10 FT AT 15 SECONDS. NW WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT.

--
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10/28 Salish Sea News and Weather: State budget, Cherry Point herring, jobs, trains, Little Squalicum, bald eagles, Burien shoreline, oil spill readiness

Got herring? (NMFS)

Viadoom? And, if you like to watch: Viaduct deconstruct: Time-lapse video of the Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition

Governor says cut more than $1.5 billion from health care, social services, prisons and education. Gregoire outlines grim choices for budget cuts

Bob Simmons in Crosscut on shipping docks at Cherry Point, coal export and herring. Big Coal meets Cherry Point's tiny herring 

Part 2 of NPR’s story by Richard Harris on shipping coal to China, this one entering the hall of mirrors of energy economics. The Global Coal Trade's Complex Calculation 

Bellingham Herald’s John Stark reports on how many jobs the coal port might bring— as calculated by economists hired by the coal export facility proponent. Economists: Cargo terminal would bring fewer construction jobs, slightly more permanent ones   See Floyd McKay’s story in Crosscut, too. New study points to jobs from Bellingham coal port

Railroad story: Residents may be concerned about whether Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad’s tree cutting along its right of way in Everett will de-stabilize the slope but there’s nothing the city can do about it. According to city attorney Jim Iles, an interstate commerce clause allows BNSF to monitor and care for property around the tracks. Anyway, “They aren’t always easy to get a hold of or deal with,” he said.  Why the city can’t stop the railroad from cutting down trees

Good news: Bellingham Bay’s Little Squalicum Park is open after initial cleanup work was completed at two toxic sites at the park and Little Squalicum Creek was rerouted into its historic channel. Initial cleanup complete at Little Squalicum Park

More good news: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that removing toxins from paper mill wastewater has made a difference.  Bald eagle eggs collected last year have dramatically lower levels of the contaminant dioxin than they did 15 years ago. Bald Eagle Eggs Show Dioxin Regulations Working

What’s government for, anyway? The Burien City Council wants to let shoreline property owners unhappy with the Department of Ecology’s shoreline master program requirements meet directly with Ecology officials to work differences out. Mayor Joan McGilton doesn’t think so: “McGilton said it’s not reasonable when talking about the health of the entire Puget Sound to allow requirement exceptions for Burien.” Burien property owners may negotiate with Ecology department on shoreline plan

The Olympian editorializes on very good reasons to be ready to respond to a large-scale oil spill. Continually upgrade ability to respond to oil spills 

And, for your weekend pondering: Science Daily reports that the mere presence of a predator causes enough stress to kill a dragonfly, even when the predator cannot actually get at its prey to eat it, say biologists at the University of Toronto. Insects Are Scared to Death of Fish

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 AM PDT FRI OCT 28 2011
  GALE WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE THIS AFTERNOON
 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING
  TODAY
 SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT RISING TO 25 TO 35 KT LATE MORNING...THEN BECOMING W 15 TO 25 KT LATE. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT BUILDING TO 5 TO 7 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 13 SECONDS. RAIN IN THE MORNING...THEN SHOWERS LIKELY IN THE AFTERNOON.
 TONIGHT
 W WIND 15 TO 25 KT EASING TO 10 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT SUBSIDING TO 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
 SAT
 SW WIND 10 KT BECOMING E LATE. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 10 SECONDS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
 SAT NIGHT
 SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 9 FT SUBSIDING TO 7 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
 SUN
 SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT BECOMING W 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 6 FT.

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

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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10/27 Salish Sea News and Weather: Gov's budget, coal trains, beach detective, Chico Cr., tidal energy

Boo! (Tidal turbine, see below)

Viadoom?

If you like to watch: Breaching Condit Dam, 10/26/11

New blog: Some thoughts on Carl Safina’s Proposal For A Merger of Knowledge and Devotion

Gov. Gregoire puts her proposal out this afternoon on how to balance the state budget’s $2 billion shortfall. Lawmakers gather in special session in late November.  Gregoire to unveil proposed cuts to state budget
 
Closely watched trains. Spokane enviro groups don’t like the prospects of having dozens more trains passing through loaded with coal going west to China. Environmental groups upset about coal trains 

Local hero: Jessie Stensland in the Whidbey News Times profiles the work of Mike McVay, beach detective, who finds pieces of beaches that belong to the public but whose ownership may have been ‘lost, forgotten or fogged up over the years.’ Sleuth uncovers public beaches — Island County joins the effort by hiring researcher

The Kitsap Sun reports on the progress replacing two culverts at Taylor and David roads to allow for a better flow of Dickerson Creek which flows into Chico Creek. For the habitat and the salmon. Restoration projects planned for Dickerson Creek in the Chico area

P.R. piece by Golder Associates but a good overview of how Snohomish PUD is moving forward with assessing the use of tidal energy in Puget Sound. Mapping a future for tidal energy

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT THU OCT 27 2011
  SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
 GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON
  TODAY
 NW WIND 10 KT BECOMING E IN THE MORNING...THEN RISING TO SE 15 TO 25 KT LATE. WIND WAVES 1 FT BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 9 SECONDS BUILDING TO 9 FT AT 14 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON.
 TONIGHT
 SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT RISING TO 25 TO 35 KT LATE. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 13 SECONDS. CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE EVENING... THEN RAIN LIKELY AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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

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10/26 Salish Sea News and Weather: Species protection, orca slaves, coal export, Seattle shores, BC mining, Julie Knight, fed land sale, WSF, Dockton, deep-sea amoebae

Peregrine Falcon (Teddy Llovet)

Viadoom?

Try this: Carl Safina proposes a way to bring science and faith together in moving to solve our environmental problems.  “Knowledge and Devotion; A Proposal For A Merger”

As reported by the Associated Press, SeaDoc Society this year “counted 113 species that are listed as threatened or endangered, or are candidates for listing in either the U.S. or Canada — compared with 64 species in 2008. The snowy owl, cackling goose, Pacific sardine and surf smelt are among 49 species that use the Salish Sea that have recently been flagged for special conservation attention, whether by the Canadian province, Washington state, or the U.S. or Canadian governments.” Study: more species in Wash., B.C. need protection

PETA is reported to be suing SeaWorld San Diego and Orlando for holding five performing killer whales in violation of the Constitution's ban on slavery and wants them returned to their natural habitat, like the Salish Sea. Lawsuit to be filed alleging orca ‘slavery'

The coal export fight reaches National Public Radio. A Local Fight Against Global Coal In A Northwest Town
  The town of Edmonds invites folks to Sustainable Edmonds’ presentation tonight of “Coal Hard Truth” which addresses train traffic that will pass through Edmonds as part of the project. "Coal Hard Truth": Sustainable Edmonds Having Forum on Proposed Coal Trains   The Washington Department of Ecology, Whatcom County and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have signed a formal agreement to share the job of overseeing an environmental impact statement for SSA Marine's proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal project at Cherry Point.  County, state and federal agencies will join forces on Cherry Point impact statement   And, David Roberts in Grist: Jay Inslee, candidate for WA governor, chats with Grist about clean energy and coal ports

Seattle’s second draft of its revised shoreline master program includes recommendation to limit the number of houseboats and to increase building setbacks from 25 to 35 feet.  The update revises rules for all of Seattle’s shorelines including Lake Union/Ship Canal, the Puget Sound, Lake Washington, Green Lake and the Duwamish River. Shoreline plan recommends added setbacks, more access

Big, big business: BC’s mining industry want you to know that in 2010 it produced an $8.9-billion economic impact throughout the province. Mining generates $8.9-billion boost to B.C. economy

Ashley Ahearn has a cool slideshow on EarthFix showing why Julie Knight, director of IOSA, the Island Oil Spill Association, inspires so many. San Juan Islands' Oil Safety Darling

Want land? A bill was heard yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives that would require the Obama Administration to sell off public lands. U.S. House bill would sell off public lands in the Northwest

C.B. Hall in today’s Crosscut examines how “A recent disruption in ferry service to the San Juan Islands illuminated just how close Washington's ferry system is to the edge. Can a new government task force resuscitate the struggling system?” The fragile state of Washington's ferries

Congratulations to Powell Jones, the new Dungeness River Audubon Center director, who had previously served as its education coordinator.  Dungeness River Audubon Center gets new director

Check out Migael Scherer’s blog in Three Sheets Northwest about Dockton, which “was once a busy shipyard, with the first dry dock in Puget Sound large enough for sailing schooners.” In Migael’s Wake|Dockton County Park

And, deeper still, Scripps scientists working in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench have documented the deepest known existence of xenophyophores, single-celled animals exclusively found in deep-sea environments. Researchers Identify Mysterious Life Forms in the Extreme Deep Sea

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT WED OCT 26 2011
  SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM PDT THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS EVENING
  TODAY
 SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING S 15 TO 25 KT IN THE LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON...THEN BECOMING W LATE. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS SUBSIDING TO 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS. PATCHY MORNING FOG. RAIN DEVELOPING.
 TONIGHT
 W WIND 15 TO 25 KT BECOMING NW 10 TO 20 KT IN THE EVENING. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 9 SECONDS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE EVENING.

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

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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10/25 Salish Sea News and Weather: RainWatch, fish police, fish virus, coal export, "Sound Living," eagles, BP, global warming

(Mary Lynn Stephanson)

Got Viadoom?

New blog: Warming Up For The Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Part 2

Newer blog: Saving the Salish Sea Part 3

Hey, this is cool. Seattle RainWatch launched its weather maps that provides regional and metro precipitation info. Check it out here.

Join Washington Fish and Wildlife Officer Erik Olsen as he patrols the fish markets to make sure the fish you are buying is properly labeled. Fish fraud police: Are you getting what you pay for? 

Guess who else is rightfully worried about the threat of a BC sockeye virus? It threatens BC’s fish farming industry which has annual sales of $250 million and employs about 3,000 souls. Lethal virus found in B.C. sockeye ‘threat’ to producers

Bellingham mayoral candidate Kelli Linville now joins incumbent mayor Dan Pike in opposing the coal export facility proposed for Cherry Point. In the race for the open county executive seat, candidate Doug Ericksen is an outspoken supporter of the terminal, while candidate Jack Louws is uncommitted. Coal fight takes lead role in Bellingham, Whatcom elections

What’s on your calendar Nov. 5? You’re invited to “Sound Living: Exploring the Connections Between Water, Land and People," a “communiversity” at Everett Community College featuring more than 40 local experts who will speak on topics such as salmon, sea birds, harbor seals, endangered whales, fisheries restoration, algae blooms and contaminants in Snohomish County waters. Take a day to protect Puget Sound area at Everett event

According to scientists presenting research findings at this week’s Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference, wintering populations of bald eagles on BC south coast increased to an estimated 56,000 birds, a 4.5-fold increase. B.C.'s south coast hosts world's largest concentration of wintering eagles

Just business, thank you: From the Associated Press, “BP PLC reported Tuesday that third-quarter profits more than doubled thanks to higher oil prices, with the chief executive saying the results marked a turnaround from the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill.... For the three months ending Sept. 30, BP had a net profit of $4.9 billion, compared with $1.8 billion a year earlier.” BP sees Q3 profit rise, to sell off more assets

Last word? No way. Cooling the Warming Debate: Major New Analysis Confirms That Global Warming Is Real

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT TUE OCT 25 2011
  TODAY
 NE WIND TO 10 KT IN THE MORNING BECOMING E 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS. PATCHY MORNING FOG.
 TONIGHT
 SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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10/24 Salish Sea News and Weather: Viadoom, PSP targets, PSP $, Party of Pollution, Marine Harvest, KAPO, Doc Hastings, botulism, fish regs, GKFBP, microplastics

Viaduct 1953 (seattletransitblog.com)

Got Viadoom?

Rabbits’ Guy continues the discussion on the blog “What Is A ‘Constituency’ For Puget Sound” with the suggestion, “Looking at the new PSP "Wheel" of indicators might give a start for a campaign that picks out and sticks to just a very few easily related-to ideas ... and then continues a steady drumbeat via many channels.” Read here.

The last three Puget Sound Partnership recovery targets— those dealing with land use-- were adopted Friday. As reported in the Kitsap Sun, Partnership executive director Gerry O’Keefe said, “We know where we are going and what Puget Sound recovery looks like in 2020.  Partnership establishes targets on land use to help Puget Sound

Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency says the Partnership mishandled grant money due to a “fundamental systemic weakness” in its internal controls and wants $120,000 in grants returned. EPA Yanks Puget Sound Partnership Funds

Great minds thinking alike: Rod Brown and Scott Wyatt in a Seattle Times guest editorial argue that state lawmakers who screw with the Northwest's long-standing environmental assets and values screw businesses and qualified workers. Dire economy should not betray Northwest's environmental values   Paul Krugman in the NY Times says we’re finally talking about jobs and the GOP jobs plan is to allow more pollution. Party of Pollution

Up north, activist-scientist Alexandra Morton has succeeded in getting the courts and the Canadian government to hold farmed salmon producer Marine Harvest accountable for the unintended capture of wild salmon and herring at two of its northern Vancouver Island facilities.  Salmon firm to admit breach of bycatch law

Consistently rebuffed in the courts, the Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review its lawsuit over Kitsap County shoreline regulations. KAPO attorneys seek review of case by US Supreme Court

In the Skagit, agriculture interests now want the county to join the state’s Voluntary Stewardship program that would use incentives rather than regulations to protect critical habitat. Deadline nears for new habitat protections

Washington’s own Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Pasco) chairs the House Natural Resources Committee and thinks that the Border Patrol "has become encumbered with layers of environmental regulations.” His solution, along with his GOP committee members, is to exempt the Border Patrol from 36 environmental laws on federal lands in a 100-mile zone along the Canadian and Mexican borders. GOP wants Homeland Security exempt from environmental laws along borders

About 6,000 dead birds may have died from botulism after eating dead fish.  Thousands of dead birds wash up on Ontario shores, botulism blamed 

Public comment on the Washington Fish and Wildlife 2012-13 fishing regulations will be limited this year to staff recommendation due to funding cuts and staff layoffs. Angler suggestions won't be heard this time  
 
Congratulations to Port Angeles: its Waterfront & Transportation Improvement Plan got an outstanding achievement award from the American Planning Association and the Planning Association of Washington.  Port Angeles waterfront plan receives award 

It’s a mouthful but the Great Kitsap Forest & Bay Project (GKFBP), a large consortium of community and business groups, has been formed to engage, educate and create enthusiasm for the effort to conserve 7,000 acres of forest land and two miles of shoreline along Port Gamble Bay. Community group aims to help proposed conservation effort succeed                  

What’s in your bathroom? Tom Watson in the Seattle Times says the plastics you can’t see in your bath products are not good for our Sound’s critters. Bathroom shelf may be source of microplastics in Sound

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 250 AM PDT MON OCT 24 2011
  TODAY
 W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 9 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
 TONIGHT
 W WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING LIGHT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 OR 8 FT AT 12 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT.

--
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10/21 Salish Sea News and Weather: Coal, Fisher Slough, fish farm, Humptulips, eulachon, salmon drumming, Haida Gwaii,flooding, bioluminesence

Turn Point (lighthousefriends.com)

New blog: “Warming Up For The Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Part 1”

‘strix27’ thoughtfully comments on the blog “What Is A ‘Constituency’ For Puget Sound” by concluding: “People respond to personal and economic benefit arguments and to a lesser extent to general aesthetic arguments. Thus far, it seems as if our efforts to clean up Puget Sound have been top-down (governmental decrees), inward-looking (environmental groups of the converted) and bureaucratic (Puget Sound Partnership.) None of those approaches resonate with people worried about their jobs and traffic conditions.  We need a better defined goal, a better message and a more efficient way to achieve the goal.”

Ready or not, Carmageddom, ViaDoom: Viaduct closure starts 7:30 pm Friday

National Geographic discovers the Cherry Point coal export issue. What’s wrong here?-- “Energy is ‘a sector of the economy where we're used to being takers and not givers,’ says Vic Svec, senior vice president for investor relations at Peabody Energy, the world's largest private sector coal company, which is seeking to be a major exporter here. ‘Coal is an area where the United States has abundant resources, and we can improve our trade balance by exporting a component of that.’ Hint to an answer: selling coal to China is selling them cheap energy which allows China to keep production costs low and allows them to continue outcompeting us in manufacturing— and jobs. Seeking a Pacific Northwest Gateway for U.S. Coal
 
Martha Baskin at Green Acre Radio reports on the Skagit’s Fisher Slough restoration project and whether it can hit the hat trick of economy, ecology and equity by being good for jobs and farming, good for fish and fair to all. Listen at Stimulus Funds at Work Restoring Coastal Habitat, Jump-Starting the Economy &  Protecting Farmland from Floods

Pacific Seafood of Oregon proposes to grow 10 million pounds a year of steelhead and Atlantic salmon in cages in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, nearly doubling the farmed fish grown in saltwater in Washington. Plan for giant fish farm in Strait roils the waters  Pacific Seafood might want to read the Grist blog by Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish, on How to fix fish farms

Because we like to say “Humptulips”-- State Fish and Wildlife Director Phil Anderson met with fishermen, guides and citizens to discuss budget cuts affecting the state’s salmon hatchery program. “What we're trying to do is get together a group of volunteers that are interested in trying to minimize the impacts in the reductions that we have to make relative to our revenue at Humptulips Hatchery." Humptulips Hatchery Needs Help

Because we like to say “eulachon”-- That’s the name for Pacific smelt whose habitats in creeks, rivers and estuaries associated with the Klamath, Columbia and Umpqua rivers are now designated as critical smelt habitat by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Pacific Smelt Receive Critical Habitat Designation

Bang the pots slowly when a drumming ceremony takes place this Saturday in West Seattle when the public is invited to take part calling the coho salmon back to Fauntleroy Creek (bring your own drum, or pot and spoon, organizers urge).Beat the drum for homecoming salmon

Great story and photos by Mary Ann Kae on her voyage to Great Bear Rainforest. “Haida Gwaii is something of a holy grail for certain Northwest cruisers: remote, mysterious, cloaked in the mythology of the Northwest’s own Vikings, the Haida.” Encounters in the Great Bear Rainforest – a summer in British Columbia 

It’s been done in Olympia and should be done in every city and town in the Salish Sea: Greg Hanscomb blogs about New York City artist Eve Moshe bringing climate change home by mapping coming floods and using chalk to draw the boundaries on the actual cityscape. Underwater homes: A visual guide to NYC’s future floods

And, because we like the bright and shiny, from Science Daily: “It has long been known that distinctive blue flashes--a type of bioluminescence--that are visible at night in some marine environments are caused by tiny, unicellular plankton known as dinoflagellates. However, a new study has, for the first time, detailed the potential mechanism for this bioluminesence. Proposed bioluminescence mechanism: When a dinoflagellate is mechanically agitated, an electrical impulse travels around its vacuole membrane. This impulse opens up proton channels that allow protons to flow from the vacuole into the scintillons, where they activate light-emitting luciferase proteins. The result: A flash of light.  Bioluminescence: Explanation for Glowing Seas Suggested


Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 252 AM PDT FRI OCT 21 2011
 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
  TODAY
 SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING AND BECOMING S IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING. W SWELL 2 FT AT 9 SECONDS. RAIN.
 TONIGHT
 SW WIND 10 TO 20 KT...EASING AND BECOMING S AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING. W SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY.
 SAT
 SE WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING SW IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 8 SECONDS. RAIN.
 SAT NIGHT
 W WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING. W SWELL 5 FT.
 SUN AND MON
 W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 TO 8 FT.

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

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10/20/11 Salish Sea News and Weather: Orcas, runoff rules, Elwha, Cantwell, fishing rules, invasives, N.Kitsap forest, at-risk youth, deer season, menhaden

PHOTO: Orca Network

Going on today: Orca Network notes that It's orca time in central Puget Sound and The Whale Trail alerts travelers that  New Whale Trail signs installed on Washington State Ferries will help riders identify species

Going to Surrey? Remember George W. Bush? Throng of protesters expected for Bush speech in Surrey

State environmental regulators released draft rules Wednesday that spell out exactly how governments should incorporate the strategies to control polluted runoff that can harm fish and water quality. Those of us who care about reducing the amount of runoff pollution going into Puget Sound and restoring the Sound to health consider the draft rules inadequate. Tell ‘em that in the review process. Wash. rules to spell out strategies to curb runoff

Remember the Elwha? Check out the latest progress: Instant waterfall on the Elwha River as water diverted to the west of former dam

Very busy lady: Senator Maria Cantwell and Alaska senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich introduced legislation asking government scientists to develop a response to the recently-discovered salmon virus. Sen. Cantwell wants game plan to stop salmon virus  Cantwell also has asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help control the spread of Asian clams recently discovered in Lake Whatcom, Whatcom Creek and Lake Padden. Cantwell seeks federal action on Asian clams found in Whatcom County waters

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is taking public comment on new fishing rules for next year at its web site through December 30. Among the proposed rules are closing winter steelhead fishing early in many Puget Sound rivers and preventing anglers from keeping sturgeon in the Sound and its tributaries. Proposed new rules for steelhead, sturgeon in Washington

Check out the state’s invasive species report. Knapweeds and gypsy moths are two invasive species found at Point Roberts. Two invasive species identified in Point Roberts

Got $70 million? That’s an estimated price for protecting 7,000 acres of forestland in North Kitsap. Olympic Property Group and Cascade Land Conservancy now have an option agreement for sale of the property, and Cascade Land Conservancy has 18 months to work out the finances. North Kitsap forestland deal could protect 7,000 acres 

Can’t eat Asian clams in Whatcom County, don’t eat paralytic shellfish poisoning-contaminated shellfish south of Point Whitehorn near Birch Bay. Most recreational shellfish harvesting unsafe in Whatcom County

Barbara Bach in Three Sheets Northwest has a fine story on the  Center for Wooden Boat’s Job Skills Training Program which helps young people from low-income or underserved backgrounds explore marine careers and learn professional skills. New program teaches at-risk kids how to navigate through the waters of Puget Sound, and of life

“Bambi might be beautiful, but he has absolutely no sense of right-of-way.” It's deer season -- on the roads

And from the other great waters: Clare Leschin-Hoar blogs that menhaden is a tiny fish considered “the most important in the sea.” However, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission now has fixed a technical error in how they have been measuring the stock’s health and has concluded that the fish have been overfished for more than half of the fishing seasons for the last 54 years. Good menhaden are hard to find

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 237 AM PDT THU OCT 20 2011
  TODAY
 LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN.
 TONIGHT
 LIGHT WIND...BECOMING SE 10 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES BUILDING TO 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS. RAIN LIKELY.

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10/19 Salish Sea News and Weather: Oil spills, Cherry Point, salmon virus, salmon graphs, fish farm nets, Pebble Mine, wastewater, ferries, behavior change, LOTT, Leech Creek Park

Check out the new marine mammal identification signs on Washington State Ferries and at the terminals.

Off New Zealand, salvage crews face bad weather that stymie efforts to pump oil off the stricken cargo ship. Rena's position 'very precarious'   Locally, we had three oil spills in Puget Sound and the Partnership is convening environmentalists, government officials, citizens and tribal leaders to evaluate oil spill risks and make suggestions on how to reduce them to Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Legislature. Group to analyze how to reduce oil spills in Puget Sound

Must read: Bob Simmons in Crosscut tells the great story of how Governor John Spellman showed true leadership in stopping Chicago Bridge and Iron’s proposal to develop the Cherry Point shoreline. Cherry Point's coal debate: new fight on a site with stormy history

"This is potentially very big. It's of big concern to us," said John Kerwin, who supervises the fish health unit at the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife. "It's a disease emergency," said James Winton, who directs the fish health section of the U.S. Geological Survey's Western Fisheries Research Center in Seattle.  Deadly salmon virus raises concerns in Washington, BC   More: Ashley Ahearn of EarthFix talks to David Montgomery, author of King of Fish about Sick Wild Salmon

I love ‘Iris’ who posted: “I’m getting ready for the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference, at which I’m presenting a poster titled “The Potential Importance of Competition Between Juvenile Chinook Salmon and Herring in Puget Sound”.  It’s a long title, I know. Anyway, making posters is actually kind of fun for me.  It’s like designing a flowchart of your project, but with more detail and pictures.  And this poster has been more fun than others I have made, mainly because I have SHINY TOYS to use! Making Pretty Graphs and Posters

Each net encompasses an entire fish farm and costs $250,000 but Marine Harvest Canada says keeping seals and sea lions out rather than having to have to kill them is worth the cost. B.C. salmon farm installs netting to limit need to shoot invading animals

Residents near Bristol Bay have voted to block the Pebble Mine which is proposed next to one of the world’s most productive salmon fisheries. The mine would be an open-pit operation to extract gold and copper. The vote was close, and mine developers have challenged the local initiative in court. Alaska's attorney general has called it "unenforceable." Bristol Bay votes to block Pebble Mine operation

Read the news release on the Cascadia Green Building Council’s report examining and comparing wastewater management practices in urban areas. “Using a mid-sized city in the Puget Sound region as a case study, Cascadia, measured a broad spectrum of environmental impacts associated with large scale, centralized sewage conveyance and treatment systems and compared them against smaller, decentralized alternatives.” Then read the report. Report on the Environmental Impacts of Wastewater Treatment Strategies
 
Ed Friedrich in the Kitsap Sun reports on the details of changes in Washington State Ferry ridership. The study is part of the ferry system designing a new reservation system and a simpler fare structure to go with it. It must also handle time-of-day pricing and mesh with other transit payment systems. Washington State Ferries study find fewer frequent riders in past decade

Interesting story in Grist about Jon Bird, his work trying to get people to change their behavior using “nudge” theory, and experiments carried out on Bainbridge Island. "There's a difference between awareness and behavior," Bird says. "We've got the awareness, but haven't quite got the motivation ... Why is it that gyms have more membership than capacity? Most people don't go. That's human beings."  Change hurts: Influencing behavior is a messy business

Department of Clean Enough To Drink: All the sites where the LOTT Clean Water Alliance plans to discharge highly treated wastewater into the ground are sites with well-drained soils that are places where the wastewater could contaminate groundwater. Regulations block LOTT plant plans

Did you know that the National Recreation and Park Association Standard for Park Land are 34.45 Acres of land per 1,000 people? And that even after Saturday’s dedication of Leech Creek Park in Pierce County’s University Park, the city is about 90 percent short of this having only 3.63 acres/1,000 population — the lowest percentage per population for parkland of any city in the South Puget Sound area! But congratulations to the folks who made the new park possible.  Leech Creek Park Will Be Dedicated This Saturday

Now, your tug weather:
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT WED OCT 19 2011
  TODAY
 SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING SW 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS. CHANCE OF RAIN.
 TONIGHT
 W WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS. CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE EVENING...THEN RAIN LIKELY AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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

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10/18 Salish Sea News and Weather: BC virus, oil train, CSOs, Dungeness R., Campbell R., Lacey shores, Barry Lewis, Will Swagel, barnacles, rising seas

IF YOU LIKE TO WATCH 1: Our Lady of Lights shares the very cool “Owl on Final Approach”

IF YOU LIKE TO WATCH 2: If this doesn’t bring a tear to your eyes, check your pulse: “Flashmob Surprise Party”

And, not yet but soon: Live video streaming during 9-day viaduct closure

New Blog: “B.C.’s Bragging Rights in the Salish Sea”

Nothing to brag about: Randy Shore in the Vancouver Sun reports that infectious salmon anemia has been found in B.C.’s Rivers Inlet. It  is a flu-like virus never found before in the North Pacific. It affecting Atlantic salmon and spreads very quickly and mutates easily. It’s effect on wild sockeye isn’t known. Wild B.C. salmon test positive for 'lethal' virus linked to fish farms

Oil Train: Whitney Pipkin in the Skagit Valley Herald reports on Tesoro Refinery’s proposal to build additional railways and spurs for crude oil deliveries in Anacortes. “The project is part of the refinery’s decision to increase the amount of product it receives from a North Dakota shale deposit from 2,000 barrels per day to 30,000 barrels per day, reducing its reliance on other sources.” Public comment deadline is Oct. 21. Tesoro rail project headed for approval

Keri DeTore reports in the West Seattle Blog... on the city of Seattle’s plans to fix its combined sewage overflow problem. Keeping West Seattle waterways cleaner: The city takes on CSO 

Olympic National Park officials estimate it would cost about $7.6 million to restore the Upper Dungeness River watershed by improving fish passage and upgrading roads and trails but, alas, the money just isn’t there.  Upper Dungeness restoration advocates concede money isn’t available

As a young man, Mike Gage worked for logging companies and thought nothing of driving through salmon streams to get to trees on the other side. “In those days, we could see no end to the old growth forest, just as we could see no end to the fish. We were wrong.” He is 71 now and  leads the Campbell River Salmon Foundation in restoring habitat. Mark Hume paints a great story in Fish get a helping hand to spawn

There are three miles of shorelines along Woodland Creek and Puget Sound under city of Lacey jurisdiction. Now, the shoreline program that governs future development and preservation is in place. Congratulations. Ecology approves Lacey’s shoreline program update

Journal of the San Juans editor Scott Rasmussen tells a story of a day in the life of San Juan Island National Historical Park chief ranger Barry Lewis. Evolution of enforcement at San Juan Island's National Historical Park  http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/sanjuans/jsj/news/132029838.html

Thanks to Paige for passing on Robert Woolsey’s KCAW story from Sitka about Will Swagel’s fishy parody of “The Night Before Christmas.” Take a listen to “The Bight Before Christmas” ‘Twas the night before Christmas, throughout Sitka Sound. / Not a creature stirred anywhere on the fish grounds. / The hoochies were hung in the wheelhouse with care… Author's Christmas "Bight" featured in Pacific Fishing

No Hunting: Environmental groups file to block wolf hunt

Thanks, Josh, for sending on Ben Coxworth’s fascinating story in GizMag about macrocyclic lactones, molecules created by certain types of bacteria, which when added to a regular anti-fouling coating and applied to a boat’s hull keeps barnacles from attaching. There’s a pretty dramatic picture with the news article. Bacterial byproduct keeps barnacles from clinging to ships' hulls

We probably will need the anti-fouling coating in the next five centuries. Sea Levels to Continue to Rise for 500 Years? Long-Term Climate Calculations Suggest So

Now, your tug weather--
 WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 610 AM PDT TUE OCT 18 2011
  GALE WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM PDT THIS MORNING
  TODAY
 E WIND 25 TO 35 KT...EASING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 4 TO 6 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
 TONIGHT
 E WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING SE 10 KT LATE. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT SUBSIDING TO 1 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS.

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

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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10/17 Salish Sea News and Weather: Oil spills, jellyfish, BC PSP, Eld Inlet, Shinglemill preserve, Pebble Mine, 7B souls, shrinking species

PHOTO: AP

Mr. Grant adds his comment to the blog, “What Is A ‘Constituency’ For Puget Sound?”

Bad oil days: They’ve now assessed possible shoreline damage after removing the work barge that sank off West Seattle last Friday, Coast Guard assesses spill damage to WA shoreline. On Saturday, a mishandled fuel transfer in Tacoma’s Hylebos Waterway spilled fuel, 100 gallons of diesel spill into Hylebos.  A barge with a crane sank in Gig Harbor on Saturday, Sunken barge spills diesel fuel in Gig Harbor.

And the really big one, as reported by the Associated Press: “Salvage crews have resumed pumping oil from a stricken cargo ship teetering on a reef off the New Zealand coast a week after abandoning an earlier attempt due to bad weather. But the condition of the vessel Rena is precarious, and more bad weather predicted for Monday night could hamper or even end salvage attempts. The ship has major structural cracks and experts say it could break apart or slip from the reef at any time.” Work resumes to pump oil from listing New Zealand ship

Arwyn Rick in the Peninsula Daily News reports on the fall visits from jellyfish washed ashore on Strait of Juan de Fuca beaches. An influx of visitors -- jellyfish -- float in on currents to North Olympic Peninsula
 
No eat: Possible paralytic shellfish poisoning may result from consuming mussels harvested from the Okever inlet near Powell River by Aquatec Seafoods Ltd. and Taylor Shellfish Canada (which does business as Fanny Bay Oysters) between Oct. 2 and 14. Contamination warning issued for B.C. mussels

Congratulations to Capitol Land Trust and volunteers at Saturday’s Eld Inlet restoration work day who planted slough sedge, red alder, salmonberry, and other trees and plants. Olympia watershed workers unite

Congratulations to Vashon Maury Island Land Trust for getting a restoration grant to continue their work at the Shinglemill Creek Preserve. Land trust garners grants for work at Shinglemill preserve

2 Weeks, 7 Cities 1 Goal: Trout Unlimited Alaska’s road show to stop the Pebble Mine proposal plays in Seattle today. "Save Bristol Bay Road Show" to highlight risk to jobs in Seattle

You still counting?: Challenges loom as world population about to hit 7 billion

Honey, they shrank the species: It’s controversial but a study claims that many of Earth’s species -- cotton, corn, strawberries, bay scallops, shrimp, crayfish, carp, Atlantic salmon, herring, frogs, toads, iguanas, hooded robins, red-billed gulls, California squirrels, lynx and wood rats — appear to be shrinking in individual size. Study blames global warming for shrinking size of some animals and plants

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON OCT 17 2011
  TODAY
 VARIABLE WIND 10 KT OR LESS. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 13 SECONDS. AREAS OF FOG IN THE MORNING.
 TONIGHT
 E WIND 10 TO 15 KT...RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 12 SECONDS.

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

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter. 

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

10/14 Salish Sea News and Weather: BC marine conservation, Fisher Slough, septic ban, Foss spill, No-GMO, onboard recycling

Photo: SHELTERFORCE

Welcome, Ron! Governor Gregoire appoints Ron Sims to Puget Sound Partnership Leadership Council

Rabbits’ Guy comments on “What Is A ‘Constituency’ For Puget Sound”

Hooray for Georgia Strait Alliance and our Canadian neighbors for moving forward in making the Southern Strait of Georgia a national marine conservation area protecting 1,400 square kilometres of the Salish Sea! Now, how about the State of Washington, its treaty tribes and the U.S. Government stepping up on our side of the border? Strait of Georgia to get government protection

Bellamy Pailthorp at KPLU gets into Fisher Slough Love, describing the $7 million restoration project south of Mount Vernon. More than fish depending on Skagit Valley estuary restoration

Thurston County Board of Health has stopped allowing repair, expansion or installation of on-site septic systems in two Lacey subdivisions until the areas are hooked up to a sewer system in 2014 to correct pollution of groundwater, Woodland Creek and Henderson Inlet. Septic ban in 2 neighborhoods

That diesel sheen found yesterday in Tacoma’s Thea Foss Waterway was probably from a private home and came down through the storm drain to the waterway, according to Ecology.  Ecology, City of Tacoma responding to diesel spill in Thea Foss Waterway

October is National Non-GMO Month. What do you know about GMOs?  Locally, the GMO Awareness Group of Sequim hosts a rally Sunday to raise awareness about genetically modified organisms in the food supply and to protest the idea that GMOs are a safe technology that will feed the world..   Protest set against genetically modified organisms in food

Marty McComber at Three Sheets Northwest blogs thoughtfully on the challenges, attitudes and solutions to onboard recycling. Round and round

Coming up on Oct 19: UW’s Puget Sound Initiative Director Joel Baker talks in Olympia about the presence of plastics in Puget Sound, and the Puget Sound Partnership hosts a meeting aboard the interisland ferry in the San Juans to hear from you about what needs to be done to restore the Sound to health by 2020.

Now, your weekend tug weather:
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI OCT 14 2011
  TODAY
 E WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING 10 TO 15 KT EARLY IN THE AFTERNOON...THEN BECOMING W LATE. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
 TONIGHT
 NW WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
 SAT
 NW WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
 SAT NIGHT
 NW WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 4 FT.
 SUN
 W WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 4 FT.

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

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter. 

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10/13 Salish Sea News & Weather: PA sewer, orcas, seals, Nooksack dace, catfish, small boats, Adventuress

PHOTO: Ryan Kitko

Something’s happening here, what it is, it ain’t very clear— but we’ll find out soon enough:  “The Honourable Peter Kent Canada’s Environment Minister and Minister responsible for Parks Canada and The Honourable Terry Lake Minister of the Environment  for British Columbia invite you to an important announcement regarding THE PROTECTION OF SOUTHERN STRAIT OF GEORGIA. The event will take place on Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 2:30 p.m. at the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 9811, Seaport Place Sidney, BC.”

New blog: “What Is A ‘Constituency’ For Puget Sound?”

Port Angeles can go ahead with its excavation for its sewer having determined that there are no archeological issues involved. Only an ax handle and remnants of old bottles were found at the former Rayonier pulp mill site. No archeological artifacts found in planned sewer path in Port Angeles

If you like to watch: Susan Berta at Orca Network alerts us to a new video The Orca Project has released that reveals the differences between life for killer whale families in the wild and in captivity. “A Better Way to See Orcas”

Meanwhile, no justice for Morgan, the four-year-old killer whaler rescued by the Dutch, but not to be released back to the wilds. Dutch killer whale to be sent to Spanish zoo  And, the sad end to the killer whale that swam up the Alaska river and stayed there to die: Killer whale in Alaska river was pregnant, veternarians say
 
There have been 37 sea pups on West Seattle beaches this season compared to 33 last season— and the Seal Sitters are watching out for every one of them. Seal Pups on Seattle's Shore Attracting Attention

Our Lady of the North reminded me that tiny are important as well: “The rare Nooksack dace is found only in four streams in Canada, all in the Fraser Valley, and its habitat is dwindling,” writes Mark Hume in The Globe and Mail and may soon be found only in two watersheds. Future of tiny fish caught in web of politics

And to the big: France’s Rhone River has invasive swarms of 25- to 140-pound Wels catfish pooping and peeing and creating nutrient-rich “hotspots” that may be the largest ever recorded in freshwater. Colossal Catfish!

Small boat story: Barbara Bach in Three Sheets Northwest writes about the attraction of small boats and the upcoming love fest. Small Boats Saturday at Cama Beach

Go Adventuress: Sound Experience has raised $37,281 towards their goal of $52,000 by asking donors to kick in $29 in their 29-day campaign which ends Oct 22. Fundraiser has schooner Adventuress sailing toward $52,000 goal
 
More than a big boat story: You have to read this blog by Arlene Plevin. The Yellow Coat
 
Now, your tug weather:
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT THU OCT 13 2011
  SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
  TODAY
 W SWELL 11 FT AT 12 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 9 FT AT 12 SECONDS. E WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT.
 TONIGHT
 E WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter. 

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told