ustin Trudeau has had a number of careers: schoolteacher, snowboard instructor, and since last year, prime minister of Canada. Now he's an action hero. A new issue of Civil War II from Marvel Comics, being released Aug. 31, has Trudeau facing evil-doers in the halls of Canada's Parliament — and in the boxing ring. The front cover shows Trudeau sitting in the corner of a boxing ring, elbows resting on the ropes. He's wearing boxing shorts, a tank top emblazoned with a large maple leaf and a smile that's a bit difficult to read. Jackie Northam reports. (NPR)
Esquimalt fuel spill leaves fishing, beaches closed nearly 4 months later
Nearly four months after one of the largest fuel spills in recent West Coast history, Esquimalt Harbour remains closed to fishing and local First Nations can't use their beach. As much as 30,000 litres of diesel spilled into Esquimalt Harbour in May after high winds pushed a barge ashore in Plumper Bay. At the time, officials with Western Canada Marine Response Corporation said it was one of the largest spills on the West Coast in decades, but a quick response by clean up crews managed to mop up much of the fuel before it hit the shoreline just west of Victoria. Now, the Coast Guard says clean-up of the beaches and sediment is completed, but diesel is expected to continue to dissipate during storms and changes in the tide over the next few months. Mike Laanela reports. (CBC)
These little fish play a big role in Puget Sound’s health — and Washington’s economy
Congressman Denny Heck, D-Olympia, donned waders and rubber boots Tuesday afternoon to get a closer look at a statewide project that will help protect the health of Puget Sound. Launched in 2014 by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the project targets the spawning habits of species called forage fish. These species, which include the Pacific sand lance and surf smelt, serve as food for larger organisms such as seabirds and salmon. Forage fish play a critical role in the food chain. Their health directly affects the health of salmon — and ultimately the overall economic health of Washington. The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that the annual Puget Sound salmon harvest alone contributes nearly $1 billion to the state’s economy. Andy Hobbs reports. (Olympian)
Richmond fish broker fined $77,500 for selling endangered abalone
A Richmond retailer has been fined $77,500 for possessing abalone, an endangered shellfish whose numbers have been in sharp decline since the 1970s. A provincial court judge fined N G Fung Enterprises earlier this month for violating federal species protection laws that forbid the sale and harvesting of the endangered shellfish, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The company was also convicted of obstructing a fisheries officer. Jane Armstrong reports. (CBC)
Clam hunger
The Pacific razor clam (Siliqua patula) is a meaty, six-inch bivalve common on sandy ocean beaches from California to Alaska. The clam is a cultural and economic touchstone for the Quinault Indian Nation, who co-manage a certified sustainable fishery for the mollusk with the government of Washington State. Last year, when a toxic algal bloom closed the fishery on May 8 — a closure that lasted beyond the end of the year on many beaches — tribal members were left with an estimated $1.8 million less in their pockets. But this wasn’t at all the biggest loss to the tribe, which has about 2,500 members, just over half of whom live on the Quinault Reservation in the southwestern corner of the Olympic Peninsula. “The loss of subsistence and cultural identity cannot be estimated,” says Joe Schumacker, of the Quinault Department of Fisheries. Sarah DeWeerdt reports. (Salish Sea Currents)
Quartermaster Harbor beaches closed for recreational shellfish harvesting
Public-health officials have temporarily closed Vashon-Maury Island’s Quartermaster Harbor to recreational shellfish harvesting because of unsafe levels of paralytic shellfish poison (PSP). The closure, initiated by the state Department of Health, includes harvesting for clams, geoduck, scallops, mussels, oysters, snails and other invertebrates, according to a Public Health – Seattle & King County news release. Commercial harvesting is not affected. Jessica Lee reports. (Seattle Times)
Navy awards $25.6 million contract for Port Angeles pier
A joint-venture bidder from Gig Harbor has won a $25.6 million contract to build a military pier at Ediz Hook that will jut into Port Angeles Harbor, making submarine escort vessels visible from the city’s shoreline. The bid was awarded less than a week after release of the final environmental assessment of the project, which found no significant impacts would result from the pier and its support facilities. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)
Claim that rancher turned out cattle on wolf den untrue, WSU says
Statements by a Washington State University researcher that a rancher turned out his cattle on top of a wolf den were inappropriate and inaccurate and “contributed substantially to the growing anger and confusion about this significant wildlife management issue,” the university said in a statement Wednesday. As state officials work to exterminate a wolf pack, the university apologized and said it disavows the statement made by the researcher, Robert Wielgus, associate professor and director of the Large Carnivore Conservation Lab at WSU, to The Seattle Times. Wielgus “subsequently acknowledged that he had no basis in fact for making such a statement. In actuality, the livestock were released at low elevation on the east side of the Kettle Crest more than four miles from the den site and dispersed throughout the allotment,” the statement asserted. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)
KPLU officially begins broadcasting as KNKX
As of Wednesday morning, after a 10-month struggle, public-radio station KPLU is independent and is broadcasting as KNKX (pronounced “connects”). The saga began in November, when KPLU discovered that Pacific Lutheran University had been in secret negotiations with the University of Washington to fold the station into KUOW, the UW’s station. When news of the impending sale broke, there was public backlash and a fast and furious campaign to raise $7 million so a new nonprofit called Friends of 88.5 could buy the station out of the deal between the two universities. The station says more than 18,000 donors contributed. Brendan Kiley reports. (Seattle Times)
Obama visiting far-flung Midway Atoll in conservation push
The Midway Atoll, a far-flung speck of coral reef halfway between Asia and North America, is the eye-catching backdrop for President Barack Obama’s latest call for environmental protection. Few Americans have ever visited Midway, with its black-footed albatrosses and spinner dolphins — and that’s exactly Obama’s point. As he nears the end of his presidency, he’s creating the world’s largest stretch of protected waters in a legacy-polishing move. Obama has sought to use the wonder of natural treasures to instill his pleas for climate action and conservation with a sense of real-life urgency. Speaking to leaders of Pacific island nations ahead of his trip Thursday, Obama said that 7,000 species live in the waters of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, and he’s increasing protection for the area four-fold. One in four the species there are found nowhere else in the world. Josh Lederman reports. (Associated Press)
Job Posting: Northwest Straits Commission Director
The Northwest Straits Commission Director position manages all aspects of the Northwest Straits Commission including policy, financial, and supervisory responsibilities and works closely with a 13 member board that provides guidance, regional perspective, and funding oversight to carry out projects and tasks of the strategic plan. The Director represents the commission in a variety of high level forums and is highly visible in Clallam, Jefferson, San Juan, Whatcom, Skagit, Island, and Snohomish counties. The Director provides briefings and testimony to legislators and their staff, agency management, tribal leaders and local decision making groups.
Now, your tug weather---
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT THU SEP 1 2016
TODAY SE WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS...BECOMING NW AT 7 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE MORNING...THEN SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT SE WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING S AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 7 SECONDS. SHOWERS IN THE EVENING... THEN SHOWERS LIKELY AFTER MIDNIGHT.
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Love these updates! That wolf kill....it happened already a few years ago, this should not have had to happen again.
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