2/15 Elwha, methanol, BC LNG, octo nooky, Jericho land, herring, Vic boats, RR rules, war training, US monuments

Elwha River (Steve Ringman/Seattle Times)

Elwha: Roaring back to life
The Elwha watershed is booming with new life, after the world’s largest dam removal. The first concrete went flying in September 2011, and Elwha Dam was out the following March. Glines Canyon Dam upriver tumbled for good in September 2014. Today the river roars through the tight rock canyon once plugged by Elwha Dam, and surges past the bald, rocky hill where the powerhouse stood. The hum of the generators is replaced by the river singing in full voice, shrugging off a century of confinement like it never happened. Nature’s resurgence is visible everywhere. Lynda Mapes reports, Steve Ringman photographs and videos. (Seattle Times)

Tacoma reschedules meeting on proposed methanol plant
The city of Tacoma, anticipating another large crowd wanting to comment on a contentious proposal to build a methanol plant on the Tideflats, has rescheduled Tuesday’s meeting and moved it to a larger venue. Originally booked for a 200-seat space at Meeker Middle School, the meeting now will be Feb. 24 at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Province to set up prosperity fund despite LNG delays
The B.C. government will announce the creation of its long-awaited liquefied natural gas prosperity fund in Tuesday's budget, and kick-start the account with a deposit of up to $100 million, The Vancouver Sun has learned. British Columbia Premier Christy Clark’s remarks at a recent B.C. Liberal fundraiser included that despite all the setbacks, B.C. was not ready to ‘wave the white flag’ on LNG. Rob Shaw reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Seattle Aquarium cancels octopus sex act due to cannibalism concerns
The octopus at the Seattle Aquarium won't be getting any love this Valentine's Day. Each Valentine's Day the Aquarium invites people to watch the sea creatures mate, but this year the chance to watch some 8-armed nooky has been called off. Aquarium staff say they're afraid that their male octopus - a 70-pound cephalopod named Kong - is too big for the females who are 30 to 40 pounds, and he may eat them. So much for romance! Instead of mating, Kong will be released back into the Puget Sound Monday at noon. (KOMO)

3 B.C. First Nations plan to buy Jericho land parcel
Three B.C. First Nations have announced their intention to purchase a 38.8-acre parcel of land in West Point Grey, the province announced Friday. A letter of intent has been signed by the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, which permits them to begin working with their communities to come to an agreement with the government. The land in question is a provincial Crown land parcel, which is located next to the existing federal Jericho lands. (CBC)

Herring saviours wrap toxic dock pilings to increase spawn
Herring are getting a little help in False Creek, south of Vancouver's downtown peninsula, where conservationists say creosote-treated pilings have wreaked havoc with hatchlings. "The herring are not intelligent enough to realize that creosote pilings are deadly toxic," said Jonn Matsen of Squamish Streamkeepers Society. "They see a nice clean smooth surface and lay their eggs on there ...virtually all of them die." Matsen has had success with rejuvenating herring stock in Howe Sound and hopes to do the same for the False Creek population. (CBC)

Victoria hopes to turf Gorge boats by fall
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps has unveiled the city’s plans to rid the Gorge Waterway of derelict and abandoned vessels. The city hopes to clear the Gorge Waterway of floating wharves and vessels by September, but it requires changes to zoning regulations. Helps revealed the plan to about 100 people during a public meeting in Vic West on Friday. Many of them said they supported the plan. But Mike Taylor, who said he has three boats in the area, was not impressed. Cindy Harnett reports. (Times Colonist)

Washington asks if railroads could afford $700M oil train spill
Railroads that haul oil trains through Washington state will need to report whether they could afford around $700 million to pay for a derailment and spill, under a recently finalized state rule. As announced Feb. 9, the requirement is one of three oil train safety rules the state Utilities and Transportation Commission crafted as required under legislation that state lawmakers passed in 2015. The new rules… take effect March 11. Samantha Wohlfeil reports. (Bellingham Herald)

On all fronts: Army and Navy forge ahead with training plans for Northwest forests despite loud opposition
…. A review of a decade’s worth of special use permits shows federal and state officials have a long tradition of granting military requests to use public forests for unusual training events. Usually, no one notices. But that run of uncontested training is coming to an end as the military simultaneously pursues three high-profile requests to use land for events that have the potential to put much more hardware on the ground in remote places. Adam Ashton reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

With 3 California Sites, Obama Nearly Doubles Public Land He’s Protected
President Obama on Friday designated three new national monuments in the California desert, a 1.8-million-acre landscape of mountain ranges, lava flows, Joshua trees and sand dunes that nearly doubles the amount of public land he has protected as president. The designations were a project of Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California. She asked Mr. Obama last summer to use his powers under the Antiquities Act, a 110-year-old law, to create the monuments after legislation to protect the lands was thwarted by feuding between environmentalists, mining companies and hunters. Mark Landler and Julie Turkewitz report. (NY Times)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  300 AM PST MON FEB 15 2016  

TODAY  W WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING SE 10 TO 20 KT IN THE  AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS. RAIN.

TONIGHT  SW WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING W 5 TO 15 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT OR LESS AFTER  MIDNIGHT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 10 SECONDS. RAIN.

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