11/27 Orca ESA, WA SEPA rules, Foss park, Dungeness water, Pacific Flyway

Orcas in Washington state waters will be counted and studied over the next nine months to determine whether they need to continue to be listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Seattle announced Monday. The federal listing is being challenged by an activist California-based law firm and two of its clients. The Pacific Legal Foundation, based in Sacramento, Calif., with an office in Bellevue, and two large farms in California's San Joaquin Valley are asking that the orcas be removed from the federal endangered species list. "New genetic analyses done since 2010 show that the orca whales (in Western Washington waters) are not genetically distinct from orca whales anywhere else in the world," said Damien Schiff, an attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation in Sacramento. The fact the petition will be reviewed does not mean orcas will be taken off the list, said Brian Gorman, a NOAA spokesman for the Seattle office, which is handling the request. Bill Sheets reports. Calif. farms challenge state orcas’ endangered status

In the first of a two-part rulemaking, the Washington Department of Ecology is proposing changes to the State Environmental Policy Act which would, among a number of changes, give local governments the option to select the exempt threshold for single-family housing developments from between four to up to 30 units. For multi-family buildings, local governments could select from four to up to 60 units as the exempt level while the threshold for minor agricultural construction projects could be between 10,000 to 40,000 square feet. The department will hold two public hearings for the proposed rule on Tuesday Dec. 4, at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., Ecology headquarters building, 300 Desmond Drive, Lacey. The public comment period for the proposed rule is open until Dec. 11. Ecology seeks public comment on draft SEPA rule changes

A vacant lot on the Thea Foss Waterway, once the site of a steam plant that supplied heat to downtown Tacoma, could become downtown Tacoma’s newest park. The Foss Waterway Development Authority on Wednesday will consider purchasing the 0.7-acre parcel at 1147 E. Dock St. as the site of a future park. If the board approves the $400,000 purchase price, the authority will begin looking for grant funds to transform the site into the city’s newest waterfront attraction. John Gillie reports. Foss lot could become 3rd park along waterway

It’s hard to imagine a fight over water in Western Washington, a region that typically evokes images of rain gear and umbrellas. But in the rural Dungeness Valley on the Olympic Peninsula, known for its lavender fields and namesake crabs, the debate has been fierce over how much water landowners, irrigators, American Indian tribes and others can use while still leaving enough in streams for threatened fish. The tug-of-war over water that has unfolded in arid regions of the West is now playing out in this rural community. State regulators recently restricted new groundwater use in the area to ensure supplies for future use and sufficient flow in the Dungeness River and its tributaries for salmon and other natural resources.  Under the new rule, property owners will have to buy credits to offset new water use from individual wells starting Jan. 2.  Water won’t stay free in Dungeness

In this area, we have more than 150 bird species, about 50 of which leave us each fall for warmer southern climates. These sunshine lovers include songbirds like flycatchers, vireos, warblers and grosbeaks. Thousands of shorebirds, raptors, and waterfowl migrate south each year. And about another 50 species, known as boreal migrants, come to our area for the winter. Loons, scaups, teals, grebes, and numerous other birds spend their summers in Canada but retreat to Puget Sound for the cooler winter months. The Pacific Flyway, a broad swath of sky extending from northern Alaska to Central America, is one of the most popular paths for birds heading south at this time of year. Elsa Watson writes. Winter migrants face a daunting commute to a habitat in decline

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST TUE NOV 27 2012
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM PST THIS MORNING
TODAY
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 15 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 13 SECONDS.

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