1/19 Elwha, Alki, MLK, Lummi, BC pipes, Gorge spill, Ioco land, BC megathrust, Lynnwood wetland

Eulachon samples (Coastal Watershed Institute)

If you like to watch: Coastal Watershed Institute Elwha Sampling
Anne Shaffer of CWI writes: "At our January long term sampling of the Elwha estuary and lower river we documented-for the first time after looking for over a decade-hundreds of gravid and spent eulachon, Thaleichthys pacificus, and a gravid female long fin smelt, Spirinchus thaleichthys. These   forage fish, which are federally listed along areas of the west coast due to their  precipitous decline, are-literally-the backbone of coastal cultures and nearshore ecosystems…. Within five months of the dam removal ending, these fish are literally flooding the system, feeding dozens of harbor seals and thousands of birds."

If you like to watch: Alki Junkyard - 1/17/2015
Laura James shares some cool underwater views-- and maybe some good news about seastar recovery.

New blog: The 12th Man On MLK Day
"Hard to sit down and compose a Martin Luther King Day blog after watching the end of Sunday’s Seattle Seahawk game. The 12th Man/Woman in houses up and down the neighborhood street yelled himself/herself hoarse. I hope they yell as hard for justice on Monday but race, civil rights, equal opportunity, domestic abuse, gender equality aren’t as simple as a football game, regardless of how much some people might think of sports as a metaphor for life…."

Lummis reject ‘standing offer’ to negotiate approval of Whatcom County coal terminal
The chairman of Lummi Nation said Thursday, Jan. 15, the tribe is not negotiating with the shipping-terminal company that would build a coal-export facility at Cherry Point. Lummi Chairman Tim Ballew sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dated Jan. 5, asking the agency to immediately deny a federal permit for the Gateway Pacific Terminal. The terminal applicant, SSA Marine, responded by asserting its “standing offer” to meet with Lummi officials and work out a deal that would allow the terminal to be built. “Plain and simple, the response is just as the letter to the Corps said,” Ballew said on Thursday, Jan 15. “There is no way to mitigate the damages the proposed project would bring.” Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Kinder Morgan pipeline: Vancouver submits almost 600 more questions
The City of Vancouver has sent Kinder Morgan almost 600 more questions about its proposed pipeline plan in an effort to plug "significant gaps" in the information already provided by the energy giant. Using its status as intervenor, the city says its questions, submitted to the National Energy Board (NEB), have arisen from either a lack of clarity in Kinder Morgan's 15,000 page proposal, or from responses to previous questions. "It is imperative that all of our questions are fully answered by the company this time," the city said in a statement. "In the first round of requests, Kinder Morgan failed to answer nearly 150 of the 394 questions submitted by us." (CBC)

Falling oil prices pose another delay for B.C. pipelines
Energy economists say that a prolonged slump in oil prices will further slow two proposed pipelines already hamstrung by court challenges and community opposition in British Columbia. Federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver has maintained that “the strategic need is still there” for both the Northern Gateway and Trans Mountain pipelines to go through the province. But the slumping price of oil has caused enough “market instability,” as Mr. Oliver put it, to prompt Ottawa to postpone its budget to at least April. Mike Hager reports. (Globe and Mail)

BP oil spill smaller than feared, judge rules
BP faces a fine of up to $13.7bn (£9bn) after a US judge ruled that the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill was smaller than initially feared. His ruling put the spill at 3.2 million barrels - the US government had estimated it at 4.09 million barrels. It shields the oil giant from what could have been a $17.6bn fine. A final figure is expected later this month. (BBC)

Olympia runs short on money for much-needed repairs at Percival Landing
Percival Landing on Olympia’s downtown waterfront would cost millions of dollars to repair, but the city is trying to scrape up enough money for basic maintenance. City parks staff updated the Olympia City Council about the aging park’s condition — and expected costs for repairs — at a study session Jan. 13. Andy Hobbs reports. (Olympian)

Haz-mat crews at work on fuel spill in Gorge Waterway
Animals chewing on copper line coming from a home fuel-oil tank could be the culprits in a 1,000-litre spill into the Gorge Waterway. The spill — at least the third to enter the Gorge in the past year — was discovered about 10 a.m. Friday. It was traced to a broken fuel line at a modular home just off Admirals Road, about 500 metres from where the oil entered the water, said David Rogers of B.C. Hazmat. Jeff Bell report. (Times Colonist)

Metro Vancouver land package including Ioco townsite sold
A new player in Metro Vancouver real estate development — Brilliant Circle Group Investments Ltd — has bought 230 acres of Imperial Oil land in Port Moody and Anmore to develop a master-planned new village. The deal, which closed last week, includes about half of the Ioco townsite as well as the surrounding area, which is forested land in both Port Moody and Anmore. The purchase price was not disclosed. The property includes some heritage buildings and is close to an environmentally sensitive salmon hatchery. Jenny Lee and Brian Morton report. (Vancouver Sun)

Lynnwood rents land for $5, but wetland strings are attached
A small stretch of Highway 99 in Lynnwood is the scene of a quiet, cordial conflict between wetland preservation and business promotion. The disagreement involves two billboards, a 28-year-old document and a 99.8 percent discount on a city contract. Rikki King reports. (Everett Herald)

As waters acidify, Maine looks to Pacific Northwest peers for help
In the icy waters of midcoast Maine, Bill Mook has his eyes on his oysters – and how the waters they need to survive are gradually, but clearly, changing. Down the coast near Portland, the issue is clams and the mud flats that have become inhospitable to their survival. Farther south still, near Cape Cod in Massachusetts, the worry is so-called “sea butterflies,” tiny marine snails that live low on the food chain and are – like the oysters and clams – threatened by a process known as “ocean acidification.” Chris Adams reports. (McClatchy)

B.C. megathrust earthquake will rip earth open like a zipper says expert
Last megathrust earthquake off B.C. coast in 1700 generated a four storey tsunami in Japan nine hours later. A Natural Resources Canada seismologist says the odds of 'big one' occurring in next 50 years are one in 10. Dirk Meissner reports. (The Canadian Press)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 216 AM PST MON JAN 19 2015
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 11 FT AT 12 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 9 FT AT 13 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON.
 SHOWERS LIKELY IN THE MORNING...THEN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
SW WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING S AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 8 FT AT 13 SECONDS.

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