11/10 The Blob, snow geese, septic loans, ANWR drilling

Pectiatella magnifica [Peer Scobie/CBC]

The Stanley Park blob is gone. But for how long?
The year of the blob is over. After mystifying visitors to Stanley Park all summer, the gooey, gelatinous colonies of tiny creatures known as bryozoans are dying off in Lost Lagoon. Just like the monster in the classic 1958 B-movie, The Blob, the fatal weakness for these little blobs is the cold. "As the seasons change, as things get wetter and colder, those individual little animals that used to live on the outside are now dying off," Celina Starnes of the Stanley Park Ecology Society told CBC News. (CBC)

Snow geese numbers continue to soar out of control in Fraser Delta
The snow geese are back, and their numbers continue to soar nearly out of control. Sean Boyd, a federal bird biologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said Thursday that last year’s population in the Lower Fraser peaked at about 108,000, the most since he has been involved in photo counts starting in 1987. There is every indication that this year’s numbers are as high or even higher, based on reports of good conditions on the birds’ breeding grounds at Wrangel Island in Russia. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Watershed advocates promote septic loans
A failing septic system is usually an expensive problem, but Mason County residents looking to upgrade their old or deficient septic systems may be eligible for a loan to fix their problem. The Lower Hood Canal Watershed Coalition wants to encourage residents to fix their septic systems, especially in areas that could compromise shellfish and harm water quality. The coalition invited Terry Hull, program manager with the Craft3 Clean Water Loan Program, to a meeting in Belfair earlier this month to talk about the benefits of the loan and to strategize ways the coalition can move more Mason County residents into compliance with their septics. Arla Shephard Bull reports. (Kitsap Sun/Mason County Life)

Murkowski bill calls for at least two major lease sales in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowksi (R-Alaska) released legislation Wednesday that would open Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling for the first time in a generation by calling for at least two major lease sales over the next decade. The budget measure directs federal officials to auction off mineral rights in areas encompassing at least 400,000 acres each in the refuge’s coastal plain, also known as its “1002 area.” The measure requires at least a 16.67 percent royalty rate and dictates that the revenue would be evenly split between the federal government and Alaska. Surface development on the coastal plain must not span more than 2,000 acres, according to the bill. Juliet Eilperin reports. (Washington Post)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  228 AM PST Fri Nov 10 2017  
TODAY  E wind 10 kt or less. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell  6 ft at 9 seconds. A slight chance of showers in the morning.
TONIGHT  SE wind 10 kt or less. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W  swell 4 to 5 ft at 8 seconds. A slight chance of showers.
SAT  SE wind rising to 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves building to 1 to  3 ft. W swell 3 ft at 8 seconds. A chance of rain.   
SAT NIGHT  SE wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 3  to 5 ft at 8 seconds.
SUN  SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5 ft  at 8 seconds.

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