11/3 Elwha, warm ocean, oil-train meet, hydraulics code, Burnaby protest, Taylor geoduck, Beaconsfield bluff, Shawn Atleo, septic fee, Gabriola bridge

Elwha (Tom Roorda/Peninsula Daily News)

Elwha River mouth grows as sediment creates new habitat, estuaries
Sediment once locked behind two dams has built some 70 acres of new estuary at the mouth of the Elwha River since 2011, according to the Coastal Watershed Institute. That has created new habitat that fish are flocking to use, said Anne Shaffer, a biologist who is executive director of the Coastal Watershed Institute based in Port Angeles. Leah Leach reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Bizarre sea-life visitors arrive with North Pacific’s historic warmth
Ocean waters off the coast of the Pacific Northwest, Canada and Alaska appear this year to be warmer than they’ve ever been, prompting the arrival of some very unusual visitors. Craig Welch reports. (Seattle Times)

More than 750 people turn out for meeting on oil-train study
State officials are proposing more funding and more regulatory authority to step up oversight of the surging numbers of oil trains carrying crude through Washington, and to better prepare for any possible spills. The proposals are included in the preliminary findings of a state Department of Ecology study, which was reviewed at a Thursday evening meeting that drew more than 750 people, the vast majority of whom are opposed to increased oil train traffic in the state.  Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

Fish & Wildlife commission updating hydraulics
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider approving an update of the state’s hydraulic code rules and will conduct a public hearing on a proposed Willapa Bay salmon-management plan at a meeting scheduled Nov. 7-8 in Olympia. The commission, a nine-member panel that sets policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), will convene at 8:30 a.m. both days in Room 172 of the Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington St ., on the state Capitol Campus. An agenda for the meeting is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/. (Wahkiakum County Eagle)

Burnaby protesters win time to respond to Kinder Morgan injunction
Lawyers for Trans Mountain pipeline will be back in B.C. Supreme Court Nov. 5 to seek an injunction against protesters who have blocked survey work in a Burnaby Mountain conservation area. The subsidiary of energy giant Kinder Morgan filed two separate court actions against protesters after demonstrators confronted Trans Mountain crews Wednesday. Kevin Drews and Vivian Luk report. (Canadian Press)

Hearings and appeals follow Taylor Shellfish’s permit request for geoduck farm
The issue of geoduck aquaculture is back front and center on the Key Peninsula. Geoduck farming elicits strong feelings. Neighbors are concerned about aesthetics, debris and noise. Environmentalists raise concerns about the effects on water, biodiversity and beach structure. Those in the industry note that shellfish farming has been a highly renewable crop that benefits the economy. Taylor Shellfish has applied for a permit to establish a geoduck farm on the west shoreline of the Key Peninsula and east shoreline of Case Inlet, approximately ¾ mile south of Dutcher’s Cove, leasing 11 acres of tideland from the Haley family. Sara Thompson reports. (Key Peninsula News)

Restoration of Beaconsfield Feeder Bluff to begin soon
The Beaconsfield Feeder Bluff, a 1,000-foot, 5.5-acre stretch of shoreline in Normandy Park, will be restored soon at a cost of $4.4 million dollars as part of a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The purpose of the project is to “restore and protect one of the last undeveloped and restorable feeder bluffs in Central Puget Sound,” according to a statement. The Beaconsfield Feeder Bluff is located north of Marine View Park. The bluff restoration site is composed of several narrow residential parcels along 1,000 feet of shoreline. About 80 percent contains intermittent concrete vertical bulkheads and rock revetment armoring. This armoring blocks sand and gravel movement necessary to sustain beach structure and function. The proposed project should provide a sediment source to the degraded drift cell by restoring a connection between the feeder bluff and beach. (Normandy Park Blog)

B.C.’s Clark appoints Shawn Atleo to help improve dialogue with First Nations
Shawn Atleo has listened to grandmothers in the Arctic, heard the concerns of the youth in his home village of Ahousaht on the West Coast of Vancouver Island and felt Ottawa’s cold winters and its harsh politics, making him ideal for the new British Columbia position of Shqwi qwal. A Shqwi qwal, pronounced she-qwall, is a West Coast aboriginal name given to a community leader who helps build new paths and relations. B.C. Premier Christy Clark said that there is no better connected, respected or qualified aboriginal communicator in Canada as she appointed Atleo as Canada’s first Shqwi qwal at a ceremony at Vancouver Island University on Thursday. Dirk Meissner reports. (Globe and Mail)

State committee suggests fee to finance septic maintenance
A state Septic Finance Project advisory committee recommends charging septic system owners in the Puget Sound area an annual fee to support county management programs and setting aside state and federal money for a maintenance loan program. As one of 12 counties in the Puget Sound region, the proposed program changes would apply to the 13,500 homeowners with septic systems in Skagit County if approved. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Gabriola Island Bridge project prompts new opposition from residents
A group of Gabriola Island residents called 'Bridge-Free Salish Sea' is planning to mount a petition campaign to gauge concerns over how a new bridge to Gabriola Island could change life in the remote B.C. community. Last month, Transportation Minister Todd Stone announced a provincial study to look at the idea of building a bridge to Gabriola Island to replace BC Ferries' service to the Southern Gulf Island. (CBC)

Now, your tug weather--
 WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST MON NOV 3 2014
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THIS LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
TODAY
S WIND 5 TO 15 KT...RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS...BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT IN THE
 AFTERNOON. W SWELL 7 FT AT 13 SECONDS. RAIN.
TONIGHT
S WIND 25 TO 35 KT...BECOMING SW 10 TO 20 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. SEAS 8 TO 10 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 13 SECONDS.
 RAIN.

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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