8/24 Salmon spill, Bears Ears, seabird suit, eagle raids, EFSEC, food rescue, Brennon resort, Redline Tacoma

Iceberg Pt [Flickr/chimera20007]

Iceberg Point
Dave Tucker in Northwest Geology Field Trips writes: "Iceberg Point protrudes westward from the south end of Lopez Island in the San Juan Islands. The isolated point is part of the San Juan Islands National Monument. The geology consists of young glacial deposits lying above slightly metamorphosed and sheared sandstone and mudstone. The point is a great destination for a part-day hike, with dramatic views across the water, windswept trees, and good rock exposures. You can spend a lot of time looking at details in the rock cliffs…."

Note: Salish Sea News will take a week's break to enjoy the end of summer  and return next Friday. You enjoy, too.

Spill of farmed Atlantic salmon into waters near San Juans bigger than initial estimates
The fish spill from an Atlantic salmon farm near Cypress Island is much bigger than initially thought, after the entire farm was destroyed over the weekend…. The company initially said Saturday that 4,000 to 5,000 of the nearly 2-year-old fish, weighing from 8 to 10 pounds, had escaped several damaged net pens in the farm. The farm held a total of more than 300,000 fish weighing some 3 million pounds. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Are they safe to eat? Debate continues over escaped Atlantic salmon
A Bellingham seafood company and other advocacy groups are warning people not to eat Atlantic salmon that escaped a fish farm Saturday after a net pen collapsed in the San Juan Islands. But the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife has declared open season on the non-native salmon to prevent them from entering local rivers, saying the fish are safe to eat. A crew of anglers and videographers with Lummi Island Wild headed to Cypress Island Wednesday morning to document the damage to the Cooke Aquaculture net pens, which the company said held about 305,000 salmon before they collapsed Aug. 19. Jim Donaldson reports. (Bellingham Herald) See also: Collapsed fish farm that released thousands of Atlantic salmon had structural problems last month  The Washington state fish farm that collapsed allowing many thousands of Atlantic salmon to escape into the Pacific showed signs of trouble last month, and was slated for upgrades. Lisa Johnson reports. (CBC) And also: Cooke Aquaculture's standards questioned after salmon escape near B.C.  Shaina Luck reports. (CBC)

Parts of National Monument in Utah May Lose Federal Protection
Parts of this sprawling region of red-rock canyons, towering mesas and ancient Native American sites in southeastern Utah could lose their strict federal protection as a national monument, under a recommendation that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is expected to issue on Thursday. Shrinking the Bears Ears National Monument and reopening much of the land for possible mining and drilling would be widely seen as a direct blow to former President Barack Obama’s environmental legacy, and the first major test of a century-old conservation law. Julie Turkewitz and Lisa Friedman report. (NY Times) See also: Groups Make Last-Minute Push To Save National Monument Areas   Brady McCombs reports. (Associated Press)

Earthjustice files suit over DOT lights, imperiled seabirds
Conservation groups filed a lawsuit against the state [of Hawaii] today claiming it’s failing to address the harm to imperiled seabirds caused by bright lighting at its facilities in violation of the Endangered Species Act. Earthjustice said in a press release that the state Department of Transportation has failed to address injuries and deaths of three species of seabirds — the threatened Newell’s shearwater and the endangered Hawaiian petrels and band-rumped storm petrels — at state-operated airports and harbors on Kauai, Maui and Lanai. Nina Wu reports. (Star Advertiser)

Eagle raids blamed for sharp drop in Stanley Park heron survival
Biologists searching for the cause of a sharp drop in the survival rate of heron chicks in Stanley Park say the city's booming population of urban eagles may be to blame. Over the past ten years, the number of chicks surviving to the fledgling stage in the colony on the edge of Vancouver's West End has dropped from 258 in 2007 to just 61 this year. Mike Laanela reports. (CBC)

Tensions With Wash. AG May Have Led To EFSEC Chair's Resignation
At a time when the Washington state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council is set to release a decision on the controversial oil terminal planned for Vancouver, the agency will soon be without a leader. Last week, EFSEC chair Bill Lynch announced he would be stepping down from his position at the end of September. Tensions between the council and the Washington Attorney General’s Office could be to blame, according to Lynch’s resignation letter submitted to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. Molly Solomon reports.(OPB)

Food in motion: rescuing food - a moral win and a climate win for the planet  
It's no secret that food loss and food waste are big problems. At least 1.3 billion tons of food are lost or wasted every year – at restaurants and markets, in storage, in fields and during transport in industrialized and developed countries alike. Food waste that ends up in the landfill releases methane, a greenhouse gas that's 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. A non-profit in Seattle is doing its part to rescue food for those living on the streets. Last year they rescued over 900,000 pounds of food alone – a moral win and a climate win for the planet. Martha Baskin reports.

Jefferson County awaits final draft paperwork on development proposed in Brinnon
Jefferson County commissioners are awaiting final draft paperwork on the proposed Pleasant Harbor Resort in Brinnon, the county administrator said. The 252-acre resort was proposed in 2006 for Black Point, 2 miles south of Brinnon. The plan has been controversial for the past decade. Cydney McFarland reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Environmental group RedLine Tacoma says it will change its name after charges of racism
Last week, an organizer for the environmental group RedLine Tacoma shared a post to the group’s Facebook page denouncing white supremacy, racism and the violence that had taken place in Charlottesville, Virginia, the previous weekend…. The post didn’t sit well with some members of the Tacoma community, instead stirring up a lingering resentment about the environmental group’s name. Some Tacoma residents, including many people of color, say it evokes a racist, discriminatory past and needs to be changed. Candace Ruud reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  243 AM PDT Thu Aug 24 2017  
TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 6 ft  at 11 seconds.
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5  ft at 10 seconds.

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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