3/31 Orca baby, herring protest, hatcheries, creosote removal, oil tank cars, Pt Roberts eagles

(Jeanne Hyde, Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching/KIRO)

New baby orca born to Puget Sound J-Pod
A new baby orca was born to the Puget Sound J-Pod over the weekend, confirmed officials with the Center for Whale Research. This is the fourth calf born in three months.  Naturalist and researcher Jeanne Hyde of Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching captured images of the newborn calf near Active Pass in British Columbia Monday afternoon. (KIRO) See also: Orca pod off Cape Disappointment Monday (Chinook Observer)

Heiltsuk Nation members occupy DFO office to protest herring fishery
Members of the Heiltsuk Nation have begun occupying a federal government office to protest a herring fishery on B.C.’s Central Coast. The lockdown began at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans office near Bella Bella, according to a press release issued by the First Nation. “We will be here until DFO announces that Area 7 is closed to a gillnet fishery,” Chief Councillor Marilyn Slett said in the release. Bethany Lindsay reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Hatcheries flow on despite the evidence they harm salmon recovery
So, why are hatcheries still an issue? Because, decades after they gained notoriety as one of the factors that threaten salmon recovery,  people still catch salmon for fun and profit, and for most of them, catching a hatchery fish is just as much fun and just as profitable as catching one that didn’t start life in a concrete tank. Besides, to the uninformed eye, there’s not much difference. Daniel Jack Chasan reports. (Crosscut)

Another 50 tons hauled away in ongoing campaign against creosote
Over the past month, restoration crews from the Washington Department of Natural Resources removed more than 50 tons of toxic creosote-treated wood from public and private beaches on Lopez, Orcas and San Juan islands. Special thanks to the Puget Sound Conservation Corps members who did the hard work and to the concerned individuals who reported creosote debris to Friends of the San Juans for their support of improved beach conditions for people, fish and wildlife. (San Juan Journal)

Fixing railroad tank cars gains traction after recent derailments
While some government and industry officials have repeatedly said there’s no silver bullet to improve the safety of oil trains, a persistent problem runs through every new derailment: the tank cars…. Railroads have already spent heavily in recent years to improve their track for all kinds of freight and have pledged to spend more. Meanwhile, the companies that own and lease tank cars for transporting oil and other flammable liquids have been waiting for regulators to approve a more robust design to account for the exponential increase in energy traffic on the rails before they invest an additional cent. Curtis Tate reports. (McClatchy) See also: Railroad wants to talk in private to fire chiefs about oil cars  The BNSF Railroad has pumped cold water on Washington Fire Chiefs request that it hand over worst-case scenarios and comprehensive emergency response plans for dealing with an oil train accident. The railroad has offered a private talk and an “overview” of its plans. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

Environmental Policy Fail For Eagles
In the case of Seabright Farms in Point Roberts, Washington, the SEPA application was so poorly written as to deliberately leave out most of the wildlife that uses the property, including leaving out an active eagles nest.  It’s all part of the development game where the property owner leaves out information that he knows will cost him time and money to deal with. (Eagle i Report)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT TUE MAR 31 2015
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 13 SECONDS. SHOWERS. A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 8 FT AT 13 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY.
--
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