10/28 Save Our Sound, ND pipe protest, Malheur standoff, Mary Polak, NW rainfall, little fish tales

Giant house spider (spider.us)

Giant House Spider (Eratigena atria)
The leg span of this large funnel weaver can reach 4 inches or more! Native to Europe, the “Giant House Spider” is now well-established in the Pacific Northwest. The webs can be found in dark corners of rooms, garages, sheds, under rocks and logs, etc. May be mistaken for a Hobo Spider on occasion.
This species is native to Europe but was introduced to southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia in the early 20th century, and has since spread to mainland British Columbia as well as Washington and Oregon (Vetter 2003).  (From Spiders of Washington)

New blog: Whoa! Are We Going To Save Puget Sound— Again?
Headlines screamed last week: “White House, Washington state and federal leaders announce major new initiatives for Puget Sound recovery;” “New federal task force to identify Puget Sound’s top issues;” “The Obama administration steps up to the plate on cleaning up Puget Sound.” Are we done with the Puget Sound Partnership effort and its laboriously-derived Action Agenda?… (more)

Pepper spray, chaos as N.D. pipeline protesters cleared from private land
Protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline grew significantly more volatile Thursday, as law enforcement using pepper spray and concussion grenades forced protesters off private land on the pipeline route. At least 141 people were arrested. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Jury acquits leaders of Malheur wildlife refuge standoff
In a thorough defeat for federal prosecutors, jurors Thursday acquitted the leaders of a standoff at a national wildlife refuge in Oregon that brought new attention to a long-running dispute over control of federal lands in the U.S. West…. The jury found brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy not guilty of possessing a firearm in a federal facility and conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs during the 41-day takeover that ended Feb. 11 at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, 300 miles southeast of Portland. (Associated Press/Seattle Times)

B.C. Green Party leader calls on environment minister to resign
Green Party MLA Andrew Weaver is calling on Environment Minister Mary Polak to resign immediately. Weaver said British Columbians have ended up going to court too often to fight the government over environmental issues, like the Mt. Polley mine and the Shawnigan contaminated soil facility. He said it's likely that will happen again with the Bella Bella diesel spill. Richard Zussman reports. (CBC)

Soggy Northwest Breaks October Rainfall Records
The Pacific Northwest is certainly known for its rain, but the amount of rain that has fallen in October is one for the record books in more than a dozen Northwest cities -- and counting. There are still a few days days left in the month, but October is already the wettest on record in cities across Washington such as Seattle, Olympia, Colville, Pullman and Ephrata. Same for Kellogg and Priest River in northern Idaho. In Western Oregon, several airport weather stations such as Corvallis and Portland are on the verge of monthly rainfall records. Tom Banse reports. (KNKX)

Little Fish Tales: Micro Fishers Focus On The Species, Not Size
Catching the biggest fish usually comes with the biggest bragging rights, but now there's a new breed of anglers working to hook those at the other end of the spectrum, and while the catch might not be as big, the bragging rights are. As the owner of Tombstone Tackle bait shop in Columbia, Mo., Adam Wolf has a lot of ways catch fish. "Night crawlers, minnows, shiners, goldfish, and the frozen bait like chicken liver, turkey liver, shad guts, shad sides, skipjack herring, vacuum seal whole shad," says Wolf as his list of lures goes on…. As Wolf's list shows, there are many options for fishers looking for bait that the big fish will bite on, but when anglers are looking to land fish closer to the size of the bait in Wolf's shop a new sport rises. It's called micro fishing and it's growing in popularity. It's a hobby where instead of trying to catch the biggest fish, you target the smallest fish and the largest number of species, a process known as life-listing. It's like what birders do, but for fish caught with a rod and a reel.  Sebastián Martinez reports. (KBIA-FM/KNKX)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  300 AM PDT FRI OCT 28 2016  

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON  
TODAY  E WIND 5 TO 15 KT BECOMING SE 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.  WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. SW SWELL 5 FT AT 10  SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY IN THE MORNING...THEN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN  THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT  SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT  AT 15 SECONDS BUILDING TO 9 FT AT 15 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN  THE EVENING...THEN A CHANCE OF RAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT.
SAT  SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 9 FT AT  14 SECONDS. RAIN IN THE MORNING...THEN SHOWERS LIKELY IN THE  AFTERNOON.
SAT NIGHT  SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7  FT AT 13 SECONDS.
SUN  SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT  12 SECONDS.

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