10/6 Salish Sea News & Weather: Snow season, Asian clams, Point Heyer, sewage viruses, squid jigging, killing sea lions, Aldo Leopold, crying Indian

Thank you, Steve Jobs.

Climate scientist Cliff Mass proclaims: Western Snow Season Begins

Uh, oh. Invasive clams that could harm water quality, clog water-intake pipes, and stink up beaches as they accumulate and die off have been found in Lake Whatcom, out of which the City of Bellingham drinks. Invasive Asian clams found in Lake Whatcom

Want to know everything you ever wanted to know about NOAA’s research on Southern Resident killer whales? Download the pdf Southern Resident Killer Whales Research Update 

Leslie Brown in the Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, reports on King County’s purchase of two shoreline properties totaling 33.5 acres and 1,500 front feet that will protect naturally eroding bluffs and one of the best and largest salt marshes in the region.  Point Heyer Natural Area garners more protection

Everett’s pulp mill may continue operations if the deal goes through with Atlas Holding LLC. Potential buyer surfaces for Everett Kimberly-Clark mill 

Science Daily reports that researchers have found that raw sewage is home to thousands of novel, undiscovered viruses, some of which could relate to human health. Biologists Find 'Surprising' Number of Unknown Viruses in Sewage
 
Locally, the Washington Department of Ecology is increasing annual fees for some types of wastewater and stormwater discharge permits paid by businesses, industries and local governments. The fee increases will help offset the state's expenses to issue and administer these permits which are the main way we prevent and control water pollution. State adjusts wastewater, stormwater permit fees

Ugly but good: Mark Yuasa in the Seattle Times reveals the lure of jigging for squid. The squid won't win any beauty contests, but grabs the attention of many food lovers on the dining table

Killing nature: A US House committee voted to pass a bill that would speed up the application process that states and Indian tribes undertake when obtaining a permit to kill sea lions in the Columbia River. Panel seeks to reduce threat of sea lions to fish   With no irony, state Fish & Wildlife agents killed a cougar that killed sheep and a llama in the Olympic Peninsula’s Eden Valley. Wildlife agents kill male cougar that attacked livestock

If you like to watch:  The Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time is the “first full-length, high-definition documentary film ever made about legendary environmentalist Aldo Leopold.” The film plays at Seattle’s Neptune Theater on October 18. Pamela Biery reviews the film in Crosscut, Leopold film revitalizes land ethics for a new generation

Saddest and most piercing blog of the day, thus far, is by Lisa Jones in Grist: Laugh at the crying Indian all you want—the joke’s on us

Now, your tug weather:
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT THU OCT 6 2011
  TODAY
 W WIND 10 KT RISING TO 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES BUILDING TO 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
 TONIGHT
 W WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 8 SECONDS. CHANCE OF RAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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