5/17 Monument responses, oil spill land plan, Seatttle seawall, fin whale, birds & climate

Spot shrimp [WDFW]

Spot Shrimp Pandalus platyceros
Spot shrimp have a deep pink/red or pink/orange body with white lines on the head and two pairs of white spots on the tail end. Spot shrimp are most common in Hood Canal, the San Juan Islands, and northern and central Puget Sound. This is one of the most important shrimp species for both sport and commercial harvesters. Shrimp are found primarily on or near the bottom, but make daily migrations through the water column in search of food. They have been found at depths greater than 1,000 feet, but are most frequently captured at depths of 30 to 300 feet. (WDFW)

Trump's Review Of National Monuments Panned In Public Comments
The Trump administration’s review process for 29 national monuments, including the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, is sparking some outrage. The official public comment period began Friday, and more than 15,000 comments about the proposal flooded into the federal government within the first four days. Letters are running more than 100 to 1 against making any changes in use or boundaries of the 29 sites, all of which had previously been declared historically or environmentally significant. Kirstin Downey reports. (Civil Beat) See also: Save our monuments! Trump getting mail from Washington state on that and other topics  State Sen. Kevin Ranker’s letter, co-signed by hundreds and urging President Donald Trump not to roll back any of America’s national monuments, is only the latest of many letters sent from Washington state over Trump administration actions. Joseph O' Sullivan reports. (Seattle Times)

State plan would help prepare for train, pipeline oil spills along Sumas River
State officials released plans Tuesday for how best to respond to oil spills along several train routes and pipelines in Washington state, including along the Sumas River. Five out of 11 new draft plans in Western Washington will address areas of potential spills from pipelines and railroads. Six other plans will cover areas on the east side of the mountains along oil train routes. The 79-page Sumas plan plan covers 53 square miles in Whatcom County, including the cities of Everson and Nooksack, and is the only such designated route here. (Bellingham Herald)

Can Seattle’s Seawall Defend The City And Protect Salmon, Too?
Thousands of tourists migrate to Seattle’s waterfront each year to experience the ferry rides, kitschy stores and sweeping views of Elliott Bay. Jeff Cordell says they’re overlooking something that makes the waterfront even more special: filamentous microalgae…. The brown scum is growing on Seattle’s newly constructed seawall, a $410 million infrastructure project that’s doubling as a massive science experiment. Cordell is testing whether coastal cities can better coexist with fish by building marine habitat into their shoreline defenses. (KCTS/EarthFix)

Helpin' Out Volunteers Aid Orcas and Salmon at Native Plant Nursery
Join Whale Scout volunteers to care for native plants this Saturday at the Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group Native Plant Nursery in Burlington from 10 AM to 1 PM. These plants will create rearing habitat in the Skagit River for juvenile salmon, a key food source for resident orca populations. For more info, go to Whale Scouts. Click here to RSVP.
 
Fin whale was searching for krill feast but met cargo ship before washing up in Commencement Bay
The fin whale that washed up in Commencement Bay after being impaled by a cargo ship was young, healthy and feeding when it was killed, according to a necropsy report. Officials performed the necropsy Saturday, a day after the 52-foot-long endangered whale was found dead and a cargo ship captain reported the bow of his ship might be to blame. The whale was feeding on krill in the Strait of Juan de Fuca when it was hit by the underwater bow of the ship, KIRO reported. Stacia Glenn reports. (News Tribune of Tacoma)

Climate change alters the start of springtime, and these birds can't keep up
In 1962, Rachel Carson warned that pesticides, particularly DDT, would lead to springs without birdsong, as she wrote in her book “Silent Spring.” Carson's forecast kick-started an environmental movement and was instrumental in the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to ban the pesticides 10 years later, so her descriptions of deathly quiet did not come to pass. But the danger of a silent spring, according to ecologists who study birds, did not evaporate with DDT. The looming threat is not chemical but a changing climate, in which spring begins increasingly earlier — or in rare cases, later — each year.  Ben Guarino reports. Washington Post)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  233 AM PDT WED MAY 17 2017  

TODAY  SW WIND TO 10 KT BECOMING W 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.  WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT  W WIND 5 TO 15 KT BECOMING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.  WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS.

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