9/29 Beach sex, Fraser sockeye, Langford ladder, quake retrofits, tsunami debris, Trump's climate

California grunion [Cabrillo Marine Aquarium]

If you like to watch: These Fish Are All About Sex on the Beach
During the highest tides, California grunion stampede out of the ocean to mate on the beach. When the party's over, thousands of tiny eggs are left stranded up in the sand. How will their lost babies make it back to the sea? (PBS Deep Look) [Thanks to Anne Shaffer, Coastal Watershed Institute, for the heads up on this fine short video.]

Fraser sockeye returns stay low while feds say they're amping up protections
The federal government says it has implemented most recommendations from a 2012 report aimed at revitalizing British Columbia's Fraser River sockeye salmon run but the outlook for the species remains murky. The Cohen commission was launched by the federal government after the near disappearance of the sockeye salmon run in the Fraser River system in 2009. Former B.C. Supreme Court judge Bruce Cohen made 75 suggestions for change, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada said Thursday it has acted on 64 of the recommendations. Despite these efforts, officials say only 1.5 million salmon have returned to the Fraser River this year, well below the 4.4 million forecasted. (Canadian Press)

Upstream, downstream: Fish get a step up in Langford
Some Langford residents could have salmon spawning near their backyards once a habitat-enhancement project goes ahead in Millstream Creek.  The Millstream Creek Fishway Project aims to give fish a boost into an additional eight kilometres of creek habitat suitable for spawning. For now, fish can’t get past an Atkins Road culvert that is close to 3.7 metres in diameter. Volunteers have carried out considerable work over the past 20 years to help fish get through four smaller impediments along the creek, said Ian Bruce, project manager and executive co-ordinator of the Peninsula Streams Society. Jeff Bell reports. (Times Colonist)

Northwest States Reluctant To Force Retrofits For Buildings That Could Kill In Big Quake
Last week’s earthquake in Mexico provided another reminder about the risks of poorly reinforced buildings. According to government studies, there are literally thousands of older brick and concrete buildings in Oregon and Washington that could collapse in a strong earthquake. Seismic retrofits would likely save lives—maybe even yours. But until now city and state governments in the Northwest have been reluctant to require that of property owners. The focus here is on brick or stone buildings built before 1945, roughly speaking. The construction style is called unreinforced masonry (URM). This category of earthquake-vulnerable structures includes thousands of schools, churches and apartment buildings. Tom Banse reports. (NW Public Radio/KUOW)

'Very impressive' marine life enters North America on debris from Japanese tsunami
Debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami that landed in North America has delivered marine life never seen in the region. A magnitude 9.1 undersea earthquake created a massive tsunami off the coast of Honshu, Japan's main island, that travelled as far as 10 kilometres inland. Thousands of people were killed, and the rushing water tore apart wooden buildings and homes. Eventually the flood  pulled the floating debris into the Pacific Ocean. Scientists knew some debris could make it the approximately 7,500 kilometres east to the western shores of North America, but they had no idea how much. (CBC)

Trump Wants to Repeal Obama’s Climate Plan. The Next Fight: Its Replacement.
President Trump failed again this week to fulfill his promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature health plan. Now he is taking aim at Mr. Obama’s central environmental legacy, the Clean Power Plan. The administration has made clear its desire to repeal the Obama energy plan. But what would take its place remains a mystery. The Environmental Protection Agency is expected in the coming days to reveal its strategy for reversing the Clean Power Plan, which was intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants across the country. Yet while Mr. Trump has declared the Obama-era plan dead — “Did you see what I did to that? Boom, gone,” he told a cheering crowd in Alabama recently — industry executives say they expect that utilities could still be subject to some restrictions on carbon emissions. Lisa Friedman reports. (NY Times)

In response to yesterday's item about red alder, Herbert wrote: "Re Red Alder... a 50 year life cycle is kinda short. I think that, in the places where it's happiest and where it was mostly found- before clear-cuts- it can live far longer. In 1996 a big one at the mouth of a canyon behind our house came down in a storm. It had a solid center, and I counted rings-- 127 years old. My neighbor & I talked about it a little, and, a few weeks later 3 guys from the Daybreak Star Center in Seattle showed up to see if they could take some of it back to their workshop, to make ceremonial vessels (& maybe masks) out of this alder. We said "sure"... and they broke out some 4'-5' pieces with a fro and packed it off. They said that these old alder were the ones they used, historically, for ceremonial "bowls" (or more like a long hollow platter-- like a mini-dugout canoe). Anyhow, there are other old alder here & there... and 50 years is not giving them time to really mature."

Note in reply: Thanks for the comment. I should go out and cut down the red alder below the orchard and count its rings. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coasts says, "Red alder is an aggressive, fast-growing, but short-lived hardwood (old at 50 years)..." So I should not have said 'it lives to 50 years.' My mistake, thanks for correcting. But let me know if you get sick: "Alder bark is highly valued for its medicinal qualities. A solution of the bark was used against tuberculosis and other respiratory ailments and as a tonic, and it has been credited with saving many lives. It was also used as a wash for skin infections and wounds, and is known to have strong antibiotic properties."

Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  300 AM PDT Fri Sep 29 2017  
TODAY  E wind to 10 kt becoming W 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 10 seconds. Rain in the  morning then a chance of rain in the afternoon.
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SW to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 6 ft at 9 seconds. A chance of  showers.
SAT  W wind to 10 kt rising to 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft. W swell 4 ft at 9 seconds.  A chance of showers in the morning then showers likely in the  afternoon.
SAT NIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5  ft at 9 seconds.
SUN  NW wind to 10 kt becoming W 15 to 25 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft. W swell 6 ft at 8  seconds.

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