3/4 Elwha, SB 5805, green lawns, summer pinks, sewage, Eagle Harbor, tsunami dock, Ancient Forest, wild Camano, Keystone XL, John Spellman, junk food birds

Elwha untamed (Photo: Tom Roorda)

The removal of two dams has freed the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula, but the most dramatic changes are being observed in the mass movement of silts, sands and gravels entrapped for decades behind the dams. Researchers are scrambling to measure the remarkable changes, including the sudden appearance and disappearance of gravel bars along much of the riverbed. And, over the past two months, a new sandy beach has begun to form at the mouth of the Elwha, transforming a rocky moonscape into what could become prime shellfish habitat. Chris Dunagan reports. Dramatic changes following Elwha Dam removal    See also: New beaches form along the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Elwha River dam removals  

Backers of a Washington state Senate bill calling for faster regulatory review of "basic commodity transportation" projects insist the measure has nothing to do with the Gateway Pacific Terminal coal export pier proposed for Whatcom County's Cherry Point. State Sen. Kevin Ranker is convinced otherwise. The bill, SB 5805, would amend language in an existing law meant to encourage "projects of statewide significance for economic development and transportation." Among other things, the amendments add language making "basic commodity transportation" projects eligible for faster regulatory review. Language in existing law orders local governments to cooperate with state officials and project proponents to speed up the regulatory process for qualifying economic development proposals. On Friday, Ranker and other Democratic senators filed several amendments meant to remove its potential impact on the coal terminal. The bill and the amendments are expected to be the subject of debate on the Senate floor the week of March 4. John Stark reports. Ranker battles bill that could smooth Cherry Point coal terminal's path

Doctors and nurses want British Columbians to think about whether a green lawn and bug-free plants are worth the risk of cancer, birth defects or neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s diseases. A campaign, starting next week and led by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, is asking the B.C. government to reconsider its decision not to ban cosmetic pesticides. Advertisements, signed by more than 100 doctors and nurses and supported by the David Suzuki Foundation and Environmental Defence, urge the government “to enact a provincewide ban on the use and sale of non-essential pesticides.” Judith Lavoie reports. Green lawns not worth the health risks: doctors

State Fish and Wildlife released salmon forecasts Friday (March 1), and the big news is the 6.2-million forecast of pink salmon returning to Puget Sound this summer. This includes places like the Nisqually River where 764,000 pinks are expected, and a forecast didn’t even exist from them just two two years ago. Fisheries biologists are finding that the resilient pinks are showing up in places as far south as the Columbia River. Mark Yuasa blogs. Huge Puget Sound pink salmon run of 6.2-million is just a part of what should be a blissful summer fishing season  

A sewage spill has shut down part of the beach near a popular West Seattle park. The health threat came on a spring-like Sunday that drew a lot of families to the waterfront - their outing spoiled by raw sewage. The Barton pump station, right next to the Fauntleroy ferry dock, blew a cap on Saturday night. King County crews don't yet know how much sewage spilled into Puget Sound. 'Don't touch the water': Sewage spill shuts popular Seattle beach  

A $2.2 million sewer project is under way to replace cracked and ill-fitting pipes running along Division Avenue in Suquamish. County engineers have been eyeing the problem area, which is focused primarily on pipes in the Division area, for the past few years, according to capital projects engineer Barbara Zaroff. The Suquamish Treatment Plant is 40 years old, and accumulated sediment has worn out the pipes. Amy Phan reports. $2.2 million sewer rehab project planned for Suquamish  

Eagle Harbor is about to get a little more green as the Army Corps of Engineers continue a project to restore the shoreline to its natural glory. Ferry commuters may have noticed large barges at the mouth of Eagle Harbor in recent months. They’re part of a restoration effort around Bill Point and have been filling in old wounds along the island’s shoreline. The Corps of Engineers has overseen the construction of a new underwater bed near the shoreline. Old dredges have been filled in, and new eelgrass will soon be planted. Richard Oxley reports. Corps to plant eelgrass to help restore Eagle Harbor  

A Port Townsend company hired to remove a 185-ton chunk of Japanese tsunami debris that washed ashore on a remote Washington beach in December hopes to complete the removal by the end of March. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration selected The Undersea Company to do the work. The 65-foot-long dock is located on a beach within the boundaries of both Olympic National Park and NOAA's Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Contractor hired to remove tsunami dock from beach

An area of rainforest near Prince George is so unique that it should be designated as a provincial park and protected as a United Nations World Heritage Site, says a new study by the University of Northern B.C. The area, called the Ancient Forest, contains massive stands of giant red cedars usually associated with wet coastal forests, as well as rare plants and lichens.  Unique Prince George area-forest should be World Heritage Site, says study

Whidbey Camano Land Trust is making more progress conserving special spaces for future generations. Thirty-one acres on Camano Island adjacent to Cama Beach State Park will remain wild forever, thanks to a conservation easement recently donated to the Whidbey Camano Land Trust by Joe and Cathy Holton and their family. The Holtons, who have four children and a number of grandchildren, have owned the property since the 1990s.  Land Trust, family, assure ‘forever wild’ on Camano Island  And: Mutiny Bay beach donation approved  

The State Department issued a long-awaited environmental review of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline that concludes it would have a minimal impact on the environment, increasing the chances that the project might be approved in the coming months. The State Department underscored that the supplemental environmental impact statement is only a draft and does not offer recommendations for action on the $7-billion project, which would bring petroleum from the oil sands of Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Nonetheless, the review says “the analyses of potential impacts associated with construction and normal operation of the proposed project suggest that there would be no significant impacts to most resources along the proposed project route.” Neela Banerjee reports. State Dept.: Minimal environmental impact from Keystone pipeline    And see: After Keystone Review, Environmentalists Vow To Continue Fight  

A new biography details a remarkable story of how plans to put an oil pipeline under Puget Sound ran into an unlikely antagonist, a mild-mannered Republican determined to follow the law and protect the Sound. John Spellman's rendezvous with Puget Sound's destiny  

An unhealthy addiction is seriously fouling up the water of DeCoursey Pond in Puyallup as well-meaning people feed the ducks and geese there too much junk food. The resulting high levels of waterfowl poop are ultimately jeopardizing the water and a fish hatchery downstream. Meanwhile, the ducks and geese of DeCoursey Pond have developed a taste for the refined things in life - refined sugar, refined flour, refined carbs. Tricia Manning-Smith reports. Junk food addiction endangering Puyallup waterfowl

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST MON MAR 4 2013
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT
TODAY
E WIND 5 TO 15 KT RISING TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT BUILDING TO 4 FT.  W SWELL 8 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
E WIND 25 KT. WIND WAVES 4 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 18 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN.
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