1/20 Waxwing, Whale Trail, stream health, oil train, who's Native, Issaquah Press, Vashon, Storming the Sound

Bohemian waxwing, 1/9 [Joe Meche/Bellingham Herald]

Rare visitor from northern Canada returns for second year
A short-tailed songbird that’s rarely seen locally is visiting Whatcom County for the second winter in a row. Local birder Joe Meche posted a photo of a Bohemian waxwing on a birding-oriented social media page after encountering a small flock of them as he was observing shorebirds at Semiahmoo recently…. A second flock of about 20 birds is hanging around Little Squalicum Park, Meche said. Bohemian waxwings are similar in shape to the cedar waxwing but are larger and have different coloration, said Meche... He said habitat loss and other environmental changes have turned the Bohemian waxwing into more of an Eastern Washington bird, where it visits from the boreal forests of Canada. Robert Mittendorf reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Preserve, Protect, and Defend
As Trump takes office, there is every reason to be on guard against a President whose attachment to constitutional norms seems episodic at best. David Remnick writes. (The New Yorker)


Whale Trail Awarded Grant To Expand Public Engagement
The Whale Trail has been awarded $50,000 from the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation Ernest F. Hollings Ocean Awareness grant. “The Whale Trail Northern California” will add interpretive signage on the northern California coast focusing on the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale. These interpretive signs will highlight orcas in the coastal areas near northern and central California sanctuaries, extending the trail of signage already found in the area around Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.  Complementary educational materials and events will help engage the public in understanding the plight of Southern Resident Killer Whales and what people can do to aid in the recovery of this species. (National Marine Sanctuary Foundation)
 
Healthy stream, healthy bugs
Many groups have been formed around the goal of saving salmon, but few people talk about a concerted effort to save microscopic creatures. Whether or not a pro-bug movement catches on, future strategies to save salmon are likely to incorporate ideas for restoring streambound creatures known as benthic invertebrates. Chris Dunagan reports. (Salish Sea Currents)

Half of Washington’s crude-by-rail went through Whatcom County last quarter
Half of the crude oil that moved through Washington state by train went to or through Whatcom County last quarter, according to a new report state officials released Thursday. Whatcom County refineries got about 273.4 million gallons of light crude from North Dakota from October through December 2016, according to data in the report. That’s about 91 trains, if they were each hauling 105 tank cars. Another 35.9 million gallons of heavy and medium crude oil from Alberta passed through Whatcom County on its way to Skagit County refineries, which means Whatcom County rails saw half the state’s nearly 618 million gallons of crude-by-rail reported that quarter. Samantha Wohlfeil reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Who Decides Who Counts as Native American?
Four years ago, the Nooksack in Washington State announced that they were expelling hundreds of members, setting off a bitter debate over tribal identity. Brooke Jarvis reports. (NY Times)

Issaquah Press shutting down in February 
The Issaquah Press will print its final issue next month, ending the Eastside newspaper’s 117-year run and bringing the latest wave of job cuts to Seattle-area news outlets. The Sammamish Review, the SnoValley Star and the Newcastle News will also cease publication in February. All are owned by the Issaquah Press Group, a subsidiary of The Seattle Times. Matt Day reports. (Seattle Times)

Storming the Sound
The 18th regional gathering of environmental educators takes place January 26 from 9 AM to 4:30 PM at Maple Hall in La Conner. The annual event brings together 120 NW Washington environmental educators, K-12 teachers and students for a day to learn about classroom resources, programs and opportunities for collaboration. Keynote speaker is Dr. John Stein, recently retired Director of the NW Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries. Register here.

A new president, a new predator and a liberal island worried about its way of life
Shortly after Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination for president last summer, a cougar swam across a salt-water channel to this island oasis amid Seattle and its suburbs. At the time, many people here viewed the candidate and the big cat as interlopers, soon to be exposed and expelled. But both are still around — and one is clearly causing more concern than the other on this increasingly anxious island…. If Seattle is the predictably Democratic capital of the Pacific Northwest, Vashon, just 20 minutes away by ferry, is one of the region’s experimental laboratories, a place where new strains of environmentalism and progressivism flourish, unencumbered by mainland reality. It presents an increasingly rare constituency: rural but not red. William Yardley reports. (LA Times)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  300 AM PST FRI JAN 20 2017  

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON  
TODAY  E WIND 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. W SWELL 14 FT AT  16 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 12 FT AT 16 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. A  CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TONIGHT  E WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 11 FT  AT 16 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
SAT  SE WIND 10 TO 20 KT...RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE  AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. SW SWELL 15 FT AT 18 SECONDS.  SHOWERS LIKELY.
SAT NIGHT  E WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 20 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 14 FT AT 16 SECONDS.
SUN  E WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 11 FT AT  14 SECONDS.

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