4/6 Restoration, green transport, Vic sewer, Skagit water, save KPLU, Burnaby Cr salmon, Black oil

Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanum)

'In the ancient days, they say, there was no salmon. The Indians had nothing to eat save roots and leaves. Principal among these was the skunk-cabbage. Finally the spring salmon came for the first time. As they passed up the river, a person stood upon the shore and shouted: "Here come our relatives whose bodies are full of eggs! If it had not been for me all the people would have starved. "Who speaks to us?" asked the salmon. "Your uncle, Skunk Cabbage," was the reply. Then the salmon went ashore to see him, and as a reward for having fed the people he was given an elk-skin blanket and a war-club, and was set in the rich, soft soil near the river.' (Kathlamet story related in Haskins 1934, Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast)

Nature Unbound: Restoration on the banks of the Snoqualmie River outside of Seattle
One of the most important rivers in the fertile Snoqualmie Valley, east of Seattle, is the Snoqualmie River. The river once boasted record salmon runs for the Snoqualmie and Native American tribes who first lived here. But climate change and population growth have negatively impacted the river's ability to be sustainable. Today restoration is underway along its banks to ensure its healthy for salmon, farmland and generations to come. Martha Baskin reports. (Green Acre Radio/PRX)

Morse Creek's restoration raises questions on salmon, property
A presentation on the North Olympic Salmon Coalition's work in restoring Morse Creek salmon habitat turned into an informal debate between those focused on restoration and those concerned that restoration results in the loss of private property. “We have a 200 percent increase in fish use [of Morse Creek],” Kim Clark, project manager for the Salmon Coalition, told about 30 members of the Port Angeles Business Association at Tuesday's breakfast meeting at Joshua's Restaurant. Morse Creek was restored in 2010 and now runs as it existed in about 1930 prior to the installation of a dike…. However, logjams and a creek freed to meander and flood triggered concerns among members of the business association. Arwyn Rice reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Greening Up Transportation, The Northwest's Biggest Source Of Climate Pollution
Many of the West Coast’s top transportation innovators and policy experts are convening in Tacoma this week for the Green Transportation Summit and Expo. They’re looking at ways to cut back on emissions that harm public health and cause climate change. They're also showing off some of the newest equipment and alternative fuel technologies. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KPLU)

Esquimalt puts off approval of new sewage plan
Esquimalt wants assurances it will get some respect when sewage treatment within its municipality is considered, Mayor Barb Desjardins says. “Esquimalt wants to participate,” Desjardins said Tuesday. “But we want to do it in a manner that we have some sense that our participation will be meaningful and we’ll be listened to.” On Monday, a long and raucous meeting erupted at Esquimalt council when bureaucrats from the Capital Regional District, which is chaired by Desjardins, asked Esquimalt for “conditional approval” on a plan for sewage treatment. After a lengthy discussion, including input from the public, Esquimalt councillors tabled the idea to a future date. Richard Watts reports. (Times Colonist)

Inslee signs water study bill
A bill commissioning a study on water storage in the Skagit River basin was signed into law Friday by Gov. Jay Inslee. Senate Bill 6589, sponsored by state Sen. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, directs the Department of Ecology and other state and local agencies to study the possibility of storing water at the heads of Skagit River tributaries so streams can be recharged when they fall below a certain level. (Skagit Valley Herald)

The Save KPLU Campaign Reaches Halfway Point With More Than $3.5M!
Friends of 88.5 FM writes: "The SAVE KPLU campaign is now halfway to its goal of raising $7 million by June 30, thanks to the generosity of over 9,000 donors—including a recent $500K listener challenge that was met in just nine days.  As of the morning of April 5, the campaign has raised $3,525,746!  SAVE KPLU is on track to raising the money needed for 88.5 FM to become an independent, community-licensed station…."

Salmon released into recently restored Burnaby creek
A group of daycare children joined Mark Angelo the chair emeritus of the BCIT Rivers Institute to release thousands of juvenile salmon into Burnaby's Guichon Creek Tuesday, demonstrating how successful creek restoration efforts have been in recent decades. "This creek was severely damaged a few decades ago. It could not sustain any fish, but there's been a real effort to bring it back," said Angelo. "That we can release salmon today, back into this creek, I think that highlights the fact that we can, in fact, restore a waterway if there's a will." Rafferty Baker reports. (CBC)

How media mogul David Black is pushing to keep his $22-billion oil refinery plan in play
Far from being worried about the setbacks faced by proposed energy projects in British Columbia, David Black is growing more optimistic his $22 billion refinery/rail plan will be the only one left standing. The Victoria-based newspaper publisher has been saying it for years. His challenge remains to convince the Alberta-based oil community that they don’t have a monopoly on good ideas, including that refining their oil on the West Coast beats building bitumen pipelines and shipping it on tankers. Claudia Cattaneo reports. (Financial Post)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  258 AM PDT WED APR 6 2016  

TODAY  S WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING NE TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.  WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 8 FT AT 12 SECONDS.

TONIGHT  NW WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING SE 10 TO 20 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS...BUILDING TO 1 TO 3 FT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 12 SECONDS.

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