10/5 Frog danger, BC pipe, Fraser salmon, John Fabian, Carpenter Cr., SJ deer, bag ban, Energy East

African clawed frog Xenopus laevis [Columbia Univ.]

Lacey kills invasive species known as the African clawed frog
This is no innocent frog. The frog, known as the African clawed frog (yes, it has claws) is predatory, invasive, reproduces quickly and tested positive for a virus. And a whole bunch of them had settled into a stormwater pond system near Saint Martin’s University in Lacey. The city of Lacey, which updated Lacey City Council last week on efforts to eradicate the critter, worked with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to come up with a plan to trap, test, contain and eliminate thousands of the amphibians from three ponds at the College Regional Stormwater Facility, which collects stormwater from Saint Martin’s and Lacey’s Woodland District, City Manager Scott Spence said Tuesday. Rolf Boone reports. (Olympian)

Oil vs orcas: Trans Mountain opponents tell federal court tanker traffic endangers whales
Opponents of the $7.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion are in the Federal Court of Appeal arguing that risks to endangered orcas were ignored when the project was approved. The pipeline expansion, which will pump oil from Alberta to B.C. and offer access to global markets, is expected to potentially increase coastal tanker traffic seven-fold, according to Vancouver's mayor. Conservation groups say that could push southern resident orcas — the estimated 76 remaining — to the brink of extinction. Opponents have formed a consortium to fight the project, arguing First Nations and environmental concerns were ignored. Yvette Brend reports. (CBC)

Fraser River salmon impacted by floodgates, according to new SFU study 
Faulty floodgates along the Fraser River are having harmful effects on salmon stocks, according to a new SFU study. "What we've found is a problem," said study co-author Jonathan Moore. "Many of these floodgates just don't open ... and in those locations there were fewer native fish and the water quality was poor. Floodgates are small dams located along tributaries which close in order to protect fields and homes in the area, when water levels rise. Karin Larsen reports. (CBC)

John Fabian wins Eleanor Stopps award for Hood Canal Coalition work
Retired astronaut turned activist John Fabian of Port Ludlow was awarded the Eleanor Stopps Environmental Leadership Award from the Port Townsend Marine Science Center for his efforts to protect Hood Canal. Fabian is the co-founder of the Hood Canal Coalition, a citizens group that rallied in 2002 to fight a proposal known by many as the “pit-to-pier project.” The proposed project from Thorndyke Resources was to build a 4-mile conveyor belt and 1,000-foot pier that would move gravel from the former Fred Hill Materials Shine pit to barges in Hood Canal. Cydney McFarland reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Carpenter Creek culvert is gone, as bridge work pushes to meet schedule
An old five-foot culvert where Carpenter Creek passes under West Kingston Road is now down to its last bit of concrete plus a wedge dirt, with final removal awaiting completion of a new 150-foot-long bridge.... Massive amounts of earthen fill and have been removed since the project started about six months ago. All that remains is the wedge of dirt that still supports pipes and utilities, which will be attached to the bridge during construction. After that, the last fill material will be removed, leaving a wide-open estuary flowing under the bridge. Chris Dunagan reports. (Watching Our Water Ways)

San Juan Islands are overrun by deer
If you’re familiar at all with the San Juan Islands, you’re aware that there is no lack of small black-tail deer bounding around, or standing dangerously close to the side of the road…. In the decades since settlers eliminated the predator population to help protect livestock, the deer population has grown an estimated 10 times larger than it was then…. Cougars, wolves and bears once provided a balance to the deer, but by the late 1800s, predators no longer roamed the archipelago…. WDFW regulates hunting in the state, and hunting as a means of population control is usually the first thought that humans have…. One reason the state doesn’t allow unlimited hunting by a landowner on their own land is because legally, deer are public property regardless of where they may be standing.  Mandi Johnson reports. (Islands Weekly)

Saanich moves closer to banning plastic bags 
Saanich has taken a step toward banning plastic bags, a move being considered by several B.C. municipalities in an effort to reduce pollution in the ocean and waterways. Council expressed unanimous support Monday night for a bylaw that would ban single-use plastic bags, but the issue will be considered by two committees and go through public consultation before being made law. Retailers would be required to charge for plastic bags to encourage shoppers to switch to reusable cloth shopping bags or paper bags. Katie DeRosa reports. (Times Colonist)

TransCanada won't proceed with Energy East pipeline
ransCanada says it won't proceed with its Energy East pipeline and Eastern Mainline proposals. Russ Girling, the Calgary-based energy company's CEO and president, said in a statement that National Energy Board and Quebec officials will be informed TransCanada won't go forward with the applications…. The proposed Energy East project would have carried more than one million barrels of oil every day from Alberta and Saskatchewan across the country to be refined in New Brunswick. It would have added 1,500 kilometres worth of new oil pipelines to an existing network of more than 3,000 kilometres, which would have been converted from carrying natural gas, to carrying oil. (Canadian Press)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  254 AM PDT Thu Oct 5 2017  
TODAY  Light wind. Wind waves less than 1 ft. W swell 3 ft at  11 seconds.
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  5 ft at 13 seconds.

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