3/15 Cathedral Grove, gray whales, Edmonds Marsh, Vic sewage, Admiralty Pt, Ambre, McCain's salmon, Bainbridge shores, Port Angeles landfill

Photo: Darin Ziegler

Listen to this: Yikes! What's that bird doing, pounding on my house? Flicker Attack

An old-growth forest, close to Cathedral Grove and formerly protected as a critical wildlife corridor, is ringed with logging tape and conservation groups fear harvesting is imminent. The marked 40-hectare cutblock, part of Island Timberlands private lands that government agreed could be removed from a tree farm licence in 2004, is about 300 metres from the boundary of MacMillan Provincial Park on the Alberni Highway. It is one of Vancouver Island’s most popular tourist attractions because of giant Douglas firs. Judith Lavoie reports. Old growth near Cathedral Grove set for imminent logging: activists

If you like to watch: Gray whales are back in Puget Sound and whale watchers are already getting some solid views.  Captain Carl Williams of the Island Adventures whale watching fleet was the first to spot a whale spout on Thursday’s tour near Everett. It was just the beginning. Within minutes passengers were shouting out locations of other whale spouts, backs and tails. It’s on. Gary Chittim reports. Gray whales return to Puget Sound

Eight new interpretive signs have been installed along the walkway at the Edmonds Marsh, one of the few urban saltwater estuaries remaining in the Puget Sound area. The marsh, between the city's waterfront and Edmonds Way, is home to numerous species of wildlife, and is also a rest stop for migrating birds. The new interpretive signs aim to give visitors a much better idea of the ecological importance of the marsh and the processes that are occurring there. Jim Davis reports. Signs tell Edmonds Marsh tale

A request for qualifications has been issued for the McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant Project. The document invites interested parties to submit their qualifications to design and construct the wastewater treatment plant. The closing date is May 10. The Capital Regional District expects to shortlist three proponents by June and will invite them to submit proposals. A preferred proponent is expected to be chosen by the end of the year, with construction to begin by spring 2014. Cindy Harnett reports. Sewage project moves forward

The fate of Admiralty Point at Belcarra Regional Park is in limbo following the expiration of a 99-year lease with Metro Vancouver that puts the waterfront parcel at risk of First Nations land claims. The federal government, which owns the land, has dubbed the 75-hectare parcel at the junction of Indian Arm, Port Moody Arm and Burrard Inlet as “surplus park lands” after its lease with Metro Vancouver expired in 2011. Kelly Sinoski reports. Fate of popular point in limbo after lease expires

An Australian coal company has asked for more time to answer questions from the State of Oregon about its plans for a coal port in Boardman. Ambre Energy hopes to move coal from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana to Asia through a facility at the Columbia River Port of Morrow in Boardman. Courtney Flatt reports. Ambre Energy Asks for Coal Export Permit Delay

U.S. Sen. John McCain has thrown together a list of “egregious pork-barrel projects” found in the Democrats’ proposed spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. To my surprise, his list is topped by funding to restore Northwest salmon runs. In a news release, McCain said he couldn’t understand why such funding wasn’t cut from the proposed continuing resolution to fund the government until the end of the fiscal year. Chris Dunagan blogs. Saving salmon tops McCain’s list of wasteful projects

About 200 shoreline homeowners and supporters marched to Bainbridge Island City Hall Wednesday evening carrying signs and chanting, “nonconforming, not fair!” The homeowners were demonstrating against several provisions in the city’s draft Shoreline Master Program, a state-mandated code update still under review. Drawing particular ire was the use of the word “nonconforming” to describe existing structures that don’t meet new requirements in the new shoreline plan. Many worried the term would hurt property values and stigmatize their homes. The owners wanted the council to reverse an earlier decision and term those structures “conforming” in the new document. Hours later, they got what they’d come for, at least in part. The council voted 5-2 to change the term “nonconforming structures” to “existing development” in the draft shoreline plan. The decision won’t be final until the shoreline plan is approved. Tad Scoter reports. Shoreline homeowners crowd Bainbridge meeting, force semantic change

An advisory committee has recommended an additional $1.2 million be applied to designing a solution for the city's precarious landfill. City Utility Advisory Committee members have recommended that the City Council approve a $1.2 million contract amendment with Seattle-based Herrera Environmental Consultants to begin designing a way to fix the city's unstable and closed dump. The amendment, recommended for approval Tuesday at the committee's regular meeting, would increase the city's professional services agreement with Herrera to $1.56 million. The project is intended to prevent a severely eroding, 135-foot-tall bluff in west Port Angeles from breaking through and releasing tons of garbage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Paul Gottlieb reports Cost of fixing leaky Port Angeles landfill might increase by $1.2 million


Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 PM PDT THU MAR 14 2013
FRI
SW WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING SE IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. SW SWELL 5 FT AT 14 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE MORNING...THEN SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
FRI NIGHT
SW WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. SW SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY.
SAT
SW WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. SW SWELL 5 FT AT 6 SECONDS.
SUN
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
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