8/29 Frog ESA, Lulu & Indigo, transient orcas, Mukilteo terminal, Shell drill, sockeye, GBH

(PHOTO: Vince Patton/OPB)

Oregon Spotted Frog Listed Under Endangered Species Act
The Oregon spotted frog, once abundant in the Northwest, now lives in a few scattered wetlands across the region. Over the years, it’s lost up to 90 percent of its habitat. Now, the frog will receive protection under the Endangered Species Act as a threatened species. Courtney Flatt reports. (EarthFix)

From Orca Network: "We're saddened to report that the Center for Whale Research has announced that two Southern Resident orcas, L53 Lulu and L100 Indigo, have not been seen with their families in 2014 and are presumed deceased. 37-year-old female L53 lost her mother, L7, in 2010, and had no siblings. L100, a 13-year-old male, was born to L54 Ino and had two siblings, L108, an 8-year-old brother, and L117, born in 2010, gender still unknown. This brings the Southern Residents' overall population down to 78, the same number that led to their listing as endangered under the ESA. No newborns have been seen since August, 2012."

Transient orca sightings hit all-time high in Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca
It’s been a record summer for whale watching as the “transient” orca’s have been hanging out and putting on quit the show here in the Puget Sound region. “Never in recorded history has there been more sightings of transient orcas in the Sound and Strait,” the Pacific Whale Watch Association reported Thursday. The transient orcas are “marine mammal-eating transient orcas, also known as Bigg’s orcas” the association explains in it news release. And, our resident friends are the “fish-eating Southern Resident orcas of the Salish Sea.” Jake Ellison reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

New Mukilteo ferry terminal clears key hurdle
A key federal agency has given its blessing to the building of a new ferry terminal in Mukilteo. Washington State Ferries announced Thursday it had received a “record of decision” from the Federal Transit Administration that signals completion of the lengthy environmental review process for the $129 million project. The decision, issued Aug. 22, represents the last major bureaucratic hurdle the state needed to clear in order to move ahead with final design and construction of the new terminal roughly one-third mile east of the existing one. Jerry Cornfield reports. (Everett Herald)

Warm waters send millions of salmon to Canada, not Wash.
Unusually warm water off the Washington coast is sending the vast majority of the sockeye-salmon run to Canadian waters, leaving Puget Sound fishermen with nearly empty nets. (Associated Press)

Shell submits a plan for new Alaskan Arctic oil exploration
After years of legal and logistical setbacks and dogged opposition from environmentalists, Royal Dutch Shell submitted a plan to the federal government Thursday, Aug. 28, to try once again to explore for oil in the Alaskan Arctic. The company emphasized that it had not made a final decision on whether to drill or not next summer but that the filing with the Interior Department preserved its options. Shell says the program consists of two drilling rigs working simultaneously in the Chukchi Sea, which has the potential to produce more than 400,000 barrels of oil a day. Clifford Krause reports. (NY Times)

Sound Salmon Solutions, a local nonprofit dedicated to salmon recovery efforts, invites you to join in the Citizen Action Training School (CATS) in Everett, a 12-week training program in watershed and Puget Sound ecology. CATS also, focuses on civic engagement in the legal and regulatory  processes that affect resource management. Apply by Sept. 5 at www.pugetsoundcats.org.

Olympia coalition spearheads effort to protect great blue herons and West Bay
A new nonprofit organization was established this month to help protect Olympia’s lone colony of great blue herons. The Olympia Coalition for Ecosystems Preservation also launched an online petition titled Save the West Bay Woods. As of Thursday afternoon, 143 people had signed the petition, which calls on the city to conserve the West Bay woods and Schneider Creek basin. The coalition formed in response to the proposed Wells Townhomes on the city’s west side. The development has attracted opposition Andy Hobbs reports. (Olympian)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
 WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 247 AM PDT FRI AUG 29 2014
TODAY
SW WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING NW IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 9 SECONDS. SLIGHT CHANCE OF
 SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING S AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS. SLIGHT CHANCE OF
 SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
SAT
SW WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. A
 CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING SW 5 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
SUN
SW WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
SUN NIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
MON
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT.

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