8/26 Beach rules, Decker Glacier, dolphin flips, train traffic, Kimberly-Clark, free Elwha

(PHOTO: Laurie MacBride)

Golden Hour Geese
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: '“Golden Hour” ends early on midsummer mornings, and I’m not the morning person I used to be (especially during vacation). So when we’re off boating, the embarrassing reality is that by the time I’m ready to set out in my kayak or dinghy for a paddling excursion or a walk ashore, I’ve usually missed those glorious opportunities to capture nature in the soft light of early morning….'

Waterfront development: Will new rules harm fish, Puget Sound?
Rewriting rules of the beach, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife is at odds with citizen watchdogs. But the department's "customers" may be happy. Bob Simmons reports. (Crosscut)

Decker Glacier lake at Whistler a sign of melt to come
Anyone hiking in the Coast Mountains off the B.C. coast this summer may have noticed some dramatic changes to the landscape. Last weekend, for instance, B.C. lawyer Jason Krupa hiked back to a spot near Blackcomb Mountain where he snapped a view of the Decker Glacier eight years ago. What was cold white in 2006 is now a stunning blue." (CBC)

If you like to watch: Boaters wowed by dolphin’s backward backflips in Puget Sound
TACOMA, Wash — Some boaters were treated to feats of dolphin acrobatics over the weekend near Point Defiance…. The Puget Sound is home to the Harbor porpoise, Dall’s porpoise and the Pacific white-sided dolphin. (KCPQ)

S-W resists coal train option
Sedro-Woolley officials are not pleased with BNSF Railway’s announcement that more trains may be routed their way as northbound rail transport increases, with or without the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point north of Bellingham. The fact that the trains may be coal trains isn’t the issue, they say. Trains move slowly through the city, which means more traffic delays and emergency response holdups. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald) See also: Acme residents: Coal trains expected but not welcome in south fork  Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Everett sues Kimberly-Clark over condition of mill site
The city has filed a lawsuit against Kimberly-Clark Corp. over the company's failure to cover its former waterfront pulp-mill site with topsoil. When the company shut down the mill in 2012 and received a permit to demolish buildings on the site, it was with the stipulation that the rubble be covered with topsoil and that grass be planted to contain pollution on the site, the city says. Chris Winters reports. (Everett Herald)

Glines Canyon Dam's final blast scheduled for today
The final blast at Glines Canyon Dam is expected to take place today, Olympic National Park has announced. Crews with Barnard Construction Inc. of Bozeman, Mont., will place the explosives today and set off what may be the last blast of the $325 million Elwha River restoration project, Barb Maynes, spokeswoman for the national park, said Monday. (Peninsula Daily News) See also: Rafting The Dam-Free Elwha  Ashley Ahearn reports. (EarthFix)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 254 AM PDT TUE AUG 26 2014
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG IN THE MORNING.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS. AREAS OF FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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