9/27 Duwamish cleanup, shoreline erosion, royal snub

[Photo: Laurie MacBride]

Riding the Kelp 
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "In summer, kelp forests grow profusely on reefs and rocky shores all along the BC coast. Normally when we’re travelling on our boat, we treat kelp as a warning sign. After all, those floating bulbs and blades mark the location of reefs, with “boat-eating rocks” often lurking just below the surface – so we carefully avoid getting too close. But when we’re in our kayaks, it’s a different story: reefs are a magnet, and there’s nothing we like better than drifting through the kelp forests, looking down to see if we can spot schools of small fish or invertebrates such as hermit crabs amid this rich habitat…."

Seattle buys restoration credits for Duwamish cleanup
The City of Seattle has agreed to pay a company to restore natural resources as a way to settle its liability for pollution in the Lower Duwamish Waterway. The Duwamish Superfund Site is one of the largest in Washington state and includes the stretch of the Duwamish River that flows into Elliott Bay. Over the years, industrial and municipal operations have polluted the site with hazardous substances. On Thursday, Justice Department announced that Seattle agreed to resolve its liability by purchasing about $3.5 million worth of restoration credits from Bluefield Holdings, a company that develops restoration projects. (Associated Press)

Retreat Or Fight? Erosion Chews Away Southwest Washington Coast
The Washington State Department of Ecology says the fastest erosion on the West Coast is happening at aptly named Washaway Beach -- located between the southwest Washington towns of Grayland and Tokeland. Most places threatened by erosion try to fight back. But the erosion at Washaway Beach is so rapid, the question now is to fight -- or retreat. First the ocean took a clam cannery. Then a lighthouse, a Coast Guard station and homes slipped into the waves. Then the ocean washed away the cove that gave the community of North Cove its name. The coastal erosion at this spot has been unstoppable for decades. The school succumbed. Then the Grange hall, a post office and more and more homes. Tom Banse reports. (NW News Network)

Stephen Hume: The history behind the royal snub
Talking the talk of reconciliation with First Nations is easy. Walking the walk requires that meaningful actions take precedence over politically advantageous theatre. The venerable Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs — it’s now been holding government to account over First Nations policy issues for almost 50 years — called the province on this profoundly important distinction Monday. It dropped a protocol bombshell just as Prince William and Premier Christy Clark headed off to Bella Bella and the Great Bear Rainforest where, ironically, the province had earlier snubbed the Central Coast Regional District, one of the few elected non-First Nations governments in Canada boasting 80 per cent of its council elected from First Nations, by refusing it an invitation. (Vancouver Sun)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  214 AM PDT TUE SEP 27 2016  

TODAY  NW WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 6 FT  AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT  W WIND 15 TO 25 KT IN THE EVENING BECOMING LIGHT  OVERNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT IN THE EVENING. W SWELL 5 FT AT 9  SECONDS.

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