9/26 J52 death, extinction, BC Atlantics, Pt Gamble sewer, Coastal Cleanup, Chetzemoka Park, PSE

J52 in 2016 [Capt. Heather MacIntyre/Maya's Legacy Whale Watching]

Malnutrition suspected in death of young killer whale 
Researchers say a young member of an endangered killer whale population living off British Columbia's coast has died. The Washington state-based Center for Whale Research says J52, a male southern resident killer whale, was last spotted near the Strait of Juan de Fuca south of Vancouver Island on Sept. 15. The two-and-a-half-year-old whale appeared lethargic and was barely surfacing, with photos showing signs he was malnourished. Researchers with the centre say the Chinook salmon the orcas eat have been in short supply this year. J52 was not spotted when his pod was observed in Puget Sound off Washington state on Sept. 19 and the centre says he presumably died of malnutrition hours after he was last seen. The scientists say there were 78 southern resident killer whales as of last December, and the centre has warned that noise, toxic contamination, and a lack of food threaten their long-term survival. (Canadian Press)

Orca’s death raises fears of extinction
The death of a juvenile orca that had been showing signs of malnutrition has killer-whale researchers despairing about the long-term viability of the southern residents. “I would say we are already in a very dangerous situation,” said Lance Barrett-Lennard, senior marine mammal researcher at the Vancouver Aquarium. “If this trajectory continues and we lose two or three more, from deaths or unsuccessful birth, we will be in a real spiral.” Richard Watts reports. (Times Colonist)

Gov’t tried dozens of times to establish Atlantic salmon on West Coast
More than eight million Atlantic salmon have been intentionally released into B.C. rivers and lakes, beginning more than a century ago. With the support of the federal government, dozens of attempts were made to establish viable Atlantic salmon populations on the West Coast between 1905 and 1935. The experiments are documented in studies of salmonid distribution dating to the 1950s and as recently as 2002, which concluded that no spawning populations had survived. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

New sewage plant helps bring Port Gamble 'back to life'
With a comically large pair of golden scissors, Olympic Property Group President Jon Rose snipped a ribbon and opened Port Gamble’s new sewage treatment plant Monday morning. Perhaps, he said, a ceremonial “first flush” would have been more appropriate. With the $5.3 million project to open the new facility completed, an outfall from the town’s old treatment facility that had discharged treated effluent into Hood Canal has been closed. That wastewater from around Port Gamble now runs through the new Carver Drive facility, which is owned and operated by the Kitsap Public Utility District. Nathan Pilling reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Seahurst Park sets record for worldwide International Coastal Cleanup
…The Environmental Science Center hosts two cleanups a year at Seahurst Park through sponsorship by the City of Burien…. Burien set its own record this year with a crowd of 135 committed volunteers, an increase of five times the amount of participation as last year. Scott Schaefer reports. (B-Town Blog) See also: Cleanup removes some 6 tons of debris from Pacific, Strait beaches  Leah Leach reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Chetzemoka Park rain garden aims to keep pollutants out of Port Townsend Bay
A collaborative project on dry land aims to help keep pollutants out of Port Townsend Bay. Work from several parties, including by some 45 students, on a 25-foot-by-25-foot rain garden in Chetzemoka Park was finished Friday. “It took the partnership,” said Bob Simmons, associate professor with Washington State University Extension, who designed the garden. Leah Leach reports (Peninsula Daily News)

Environmental groups protest Bellevue-based Puget Sound Energy
About 50 environmentalists stormed Puget Sound Energy headquarters in Bellevue Thursday. The group was among hundreds of other protesters who rallied against the company’s 13 facilities across Western Washington in a movement called “Keep It in the Ground.” Members of the Sierra Club, a newly-formed Eastside chapter of 350.org, CENSE and Protectors of the Salish Sea delivered an official letter and 5,000 signatures on a petition that demanded the utility company stop pushing fracked gas, abandon its liquefied natural gas facility in Tacoma plans and shutdown the Colstrip coal plant in Montana, which, they claim, is the dirtiest in the United States. Instead, they requested Puget Sound Energy switch to 100 percent renewable energy. Raechel Dawson reports. (Bellevue Reporter)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  245 AM PDT Tue Sep 26 2017  
TODAY  SE wind to 10 kt becoming E in the afternoon. Wind waves  1 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 10 seconds. Patchy fog in the  morning.
TONIGHT  Light wind. Wind waves less than 1 ft. W swell 4 ft at  10 seconds. Patchy fog after midnight.

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