12/7 Orca calf, giant tree, Vic sewer, Rhapsody, JeffCo water, steelhead, naming places, Arctic climate

L-123 born to L-103 (PHOTO: Mark Malleson)

Orca baby boom: 7th calf born to endangered southern resident population
The Center for Whale Research says yet another orca calf has been spotted swimming with the southern resident killer whale population.  This is the seventh new calf born to the endangered population of cetaceans in the last 12 months. The young orca was photographed in November, but due to poor visibility and unfavourable sea conditions, it took several weeks to confirm that there was indeed a new calf in L pod.  It has been designated L-123 and is believed to be the first offspring of 12-year-old orca L-103. (CBC)

New blog: Guns Are Not Outlawed; Outlaws Have Guns
“It’s been an awful couple of weeks of shootings, people killing and wounding lots of other people. Guns, long guns, rifles, assault weapons, and thoughts and prayers have been top of mind and top of the news. Two news items amidst the guns, long guns, rifles, assault weapons and thoughts and prayers I’ve been chewing on this past week....”

'Tolkien Giant' tree at root of B.C. climate change appeal
Conservationists who want the government to take action on climate change by protecting B.C.'s old-growth forests say they've measured a near-record-sized red cedar in Vancouver Island's central Walbran Valley. The Ancient Forest Alliance said the tree that it calls the Tolkien Giant is the ninth-widest western red cedar in the province, according to a list compiled by the University of B.C.'s forestry faculty. It said the tree has a circumference of 14.4 metres, or 47 feet, stands 42 metres high and lies within a protected reserve. (Canadian Press)

High cost will force limited sewage solution, mayors say
Prohibitive costs for multiple sewage-treatment plants in the capital region will force a single-plant solution, even if that might not be appropriate, mayors say. The Capital Regional District is about to go to the public for feedback on five options for sewage treatment: a secondary treatment plant at Victoria’s Rock Bay, a tertiary treatment plant at Rock Bay, or two, four, or seven plants around the region. Preliminary cost estimates run between $1 billion and $1.3 billion, according to a report before Capital Regional District directors. Cindy Harnett reports. (Times Colonist)

Orca Lost: Remembering Rhapsody
A year ago today (12/4), off the shores of British Columbia, a pregnant orca whale washed up dead. We don't know exactly what killed her, but we do know that Rhapsody was starving….. Rhapsody was born in 1996 to J20 (aka Ewok), one of the few females of J Pod. Ewok died two years later, leaving Rhapsody in the care of her extended family. Her family banded together to raise her, as orcas often do, and she was frequently seen in the company of her Uncle J18 (Everett), and Aunt J22 (Oreo). Regular observers of J Pod took note of Rhapsody's apparent glee at breaching the water, calling her "exuberant," "vivacious," "the embodiment of joy." Giulia C.S. Good Stefani blogs. (NRDC Switchboard)

Results of Jefferson County water quality study to be detailed at meetings starting Thursday on Marrowstone Island
The results of a three-year water quality study are to be presented at two public meetings this month, with the first set for Thursday. “We hope people will come away with an understanding of the overall water quality in the northwest portion of the Quimper Peninsula,” said Michael Dawson, Jefferson County water quality manager…. The test area included Cape George, Port Townsend, Port Hadlock, Marrowstone Island and Oak Bay, with samples taken along 40 miles of shoreline and tested for E. coli bacteria. The project included sampling Port Townsend stormwater, comparing the water quality of Marrowstone Island and Indian Island, and discovering a major source of pollution in Irondale. Dawson said Irondale Creek was the most polluted area tested, attributable to a number of failed or failing septic systems in its proximity. Charlie Bermant reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Skagit River steelhead at crossroads
The future of Skagit River steelhead is at a crossroads. In the year since the Marblemount Fish Hatchery’s steelhead program was shut down because of a lawsuit, the state Department of Fish & Wildlife has been weighing options for steelhead management. The agency is considering two options: designating the Skagit River as a wild steelhead gene bank or re-establishing a hatchery program using wild fish. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Did you just say ‘The’ Puget Sound?
Place names shape what Reuben Rose-Redwood — an associate professor of Geography at the University of Victoria in British Columbia — calls our “geographic imagination.” They are sometimes political, personal, aspirational — or just pure marketing. Knute Berger reports. (Crosscut)

ArcticNet in Vancouver discussing 'unsettling speed' of climate change
Top Arctic scientists will gather in Vancouver this week to discuss everything from caribou populations to the high cost of food — but underlying it all is the unsettling speed with which the northern climate is changing. Bob Weber reports. (Canadian Press)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 251 AM PST MON DEC 7 2015
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM PST TUESDAY
TODAY
SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 18 FT AT 16 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 14 FT AT 15 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING 10 TO 20 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 12 FT AT 13 SECONDS. RAIN.
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