3/31 Well water, ship noise, dead whale, Vic sewer, Longview coal, BCLNG, coal suit, KXL suit

[Randy Roberts/BirdNote]

If you like to listen: Spring, The Sky Rippled with Geese
Birds provide a lot of inspiration for composer Maria Schneider, whose album titled Winter Morning Walks won three Grammy awards in 2014. One song from that album, “Spring, The Sky Rippled With Geese,” features Ted Kooser’s poem of the same title. Here’s what Maria says about spring: “That’s my favorite time of year! When you feel the geese coming north and just the littlest buds coming out . . . It’s so magical.” (BirdNote)

New blog: Had Enough Yet Of Trumpalooza?
It’s now been two months of the Trump Administration barrage of executive orders, nominations and appointments claiming to bring about a new social, political and economic order. “When will there be good news again?” one news reader asks. “I can’t stand what I read every day,” another said, “but I can’t help but read the news every day.” Frankly, I don’t think it will get any easier…. (read more)

Bill aimed at helping rural land owners fails to pass key committee
A bill aimed at rewriting Washington state’s water law to help homebuilders in rural Whatcom County and elsewhere failed to pass a key House Committee Wednesday, but lawmakers say the fight is not over. Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, said the effort to save household wells in the state will continue, despite a decision by the House Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee to take no action on the bill. The legislation would roll back last year’s state Supreme Court decision that effectively prevented many rural landowners from getting rights to drill a well. Jim Donaldson reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Animation shows boats make 'acoustic hell' for orcas
An expert on how boat noise affects whales is showing off his new computer animation in Seattle. It shows what he calls "acoustic hell" for orcas. Dr. Chris Clark, a bioacoustic engineer at Cornell University, has developed a moving visualization of what he calls noise smog created by whale watching boats in Puget Sound. Allison Morrow reports. (KING)

A key to quieter seas: half of ship noise comes from 15% of the fleet
Underwater noise pollution from ships is a chronic, global stressor impacting a wide range of marine species. Ambient ocean noise levels nearly doubled each decade from 1963-2007 in low-frequency bands attributed to shipping, inspiring a pledge from the International Maritime Organization to reduce ship noise and a call from the International Whaling Commission for member nations to halve ship noise within a decade. Our analysis of data from 1,582 ships reveals that half of the total power radiated by a modern fleet comes from just 15% of the ships…. Scott Veirs and other authors write.

Humpback whale found dead on southern Puget Sound island
A female humpback whale has been found dead on the southernmost island in Puget Sound. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a news release Thursday that the yearling humpback stranded on Anderson Island, Washington on Tuesday. Officials say an initial necropsy on the 29.5 foot whale showed the animal was emaciated with no obvious signs of an underlying disease. Officials believe the whale may be the same animal seen a week earlier off Whidbey Island and Edmonds. (Associated Press)

Residents rankled by McLoughlin sewage-plant disruptions
About 140 people packed a meeting room at the Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel on Thursday night to show their concern about the sewage-treatment plant going in at McLoughlin Point. John Gunton, a panellist, said the $765-million project is a foregone conclusion but people can still voice their opinions…. Gunton said the project has been 10 years in the making but he has questions about the overall design. He said there hasn’t been enough consideration given to the communities that will be affected. Jeff Bell reports. (Times Colonist)

Judge says environmental groups can intervene in Millennium dispute
Three environmental groups will have a seat at the table in a lawsuit over whether Millennium can get state clearance to build a dock for its $680 million Longview coal terminal. Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Stephen Warning approved of the groups’ request to formally join the lawsuit as intervenors in support of the state Department of Natural Resources. Warning’s decision Wednesday means that Columbia Riverkeeper, the Washington Environmental Council and the Sierra Club will now be listed as parties in the case who can file briefs, motions, appeals and other actions. Marissa Luck reports. (Daily News of Longview)

B.C. signs LNG benefit agreements with Kitselas First Nation
The Kitselas First Nation on British Columbia’s north coast, on Thursday, signed benefit agreements with the province worth up to $13 million and a 1,227-hectares land grant in exchange for backing liquefied-natural-gas export projects in the region. Benefits under the agreements will be triggered by progress in development of the Pacific NorthWest LNG proposal at Prince Rupert, which remains mired in lawsuits and controversy over potential environmental impacts, and the LNG Canada proposal at Kitimat. Derrick Penner reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Native American Tribe Files Lawsuit Against Trump Administration
On Wednesday, a Native American tribe in the state of Montana filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump's administration, challenging a White House decision to lift a ban on coal leases on public land without consulting tribal leaders. In its filing, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe says that Trump's Administration lifted the ban without hearing concerns from the group about the impact the coal leases has on tribe members and the land itself. Tribal Chairman Jace Killsback said this week, "It is alarming and unacceptable for the United States to sign up for many decades of harmful coal mining near and around our homeland without first consulting with our Nation." (SF Gate)

Trump's Keystone XL pipeline plan faces legal challenge
Environmental groups in the US have begun a legal challenge to President Donald Trump's approval of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline. The 1,180-mile (1,900km) pipeline will carry tar sands oil from Canada to refineries on the Texas coast. A lawsuit filed in Montana by a coalition of groups says more environmental scrutiny is required. They - and some landowners - are concerned about potential contamination of ground and surface water. (BBC)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  246 AM PDT FRI MAR 31 2017  

TODAY  SW WIND TO 10 KT BECOMING NW IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND  WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT AT 13 SECONDS. A SLIGHT CHANCE  OF RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT  NW WIND 5 TO 15 KT BECOMING NE AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND  WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 12 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN  IN THE EVENING THEN RAIN LIKELY AFTER MIDNIGHT.
SAT  S WIND 10 TO 20 KT BECOMING W IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES  1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE  MORNING THEN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
SAT NIGHT  W WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL  8 FT AT 20 SECONDS BUILDING TO 11 FT AT 19 SECONDS AFTER  MIDNIGHT.
SUN  NW WIND 5 TO 15 KT BECOMING W 10 TO 20 KT IN THE  AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS BUILDING TO 1 TO 3 FT IN THE  AFTERNOON. W SWELL 12 FT AT 16 SECONDS.

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