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| Morning Glory [Laurie MacBride] |
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "Over the past four summers we’ve focused our boating adventures on waters close to home, here on the south coast of British Columbia – unlike in previous years, when our younger, adventurous spirits were lured north by the promise of wilder, more remote destinations. The south coast holds most of BC’s population, and it’s where my husband and I have lived and boated most of our lives. So in setting off these past few summers, we had some concerns. One was whether we’d find safe, quiet spots to anchor – places where we could be, if not totally alone, at least not cheek-to-jowl with other boaters. Another was whether we’d miss that sense of adventure we’d felt when cruising up north…. (read more)
Guest Blog-- Pete Haase: Hello? Puget Sound Partnership?
Do you suppose you could take a little break from meetings and planning and strategizing and round up some ammunition to send my way? I am a volunteer, a “Salish Sea Steward.” I’m just one of probably thousands like me, all over the greater Puget Sound region, on the very front lines of the daily battle for the protection and betterment of our special environment…. (read more)
Return To The Salish Sea: SeaDoc Society Senior Scientist Joe Gaydos
The Salish Sea is home to more than three thousand species. Among them are 253 fish, 172 birds, 38 mammals and two reptiles. “Believe it or not we’re actually within the range for green and Pacific leatherback sea turtles,” Joe Gaydos tells me in an email. A large-animal vet by training, Gaydos is the Science Director at the SeaDoc Society on Orcas Island and a wealth of information about the flora and fauna of the region. He co-authored of a glossy coffee table book called The Salish Sea – Jewel of the Pacific, which contains those statistics along with hundreds of color photos. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)
Kinder Morgan erects razor wire fence around Trans Mountain terminal in Burrard Inlet
Bob Putnam was going for one of his routine kayaks when he noticed crews setting up a long fence around Kinder Morgan's marine oil terminal in Burnaby, B.C…. "It's about 10 feet high, heavy-duty chain-link fence, industrial strength, with razor wire on top," he told CBC News. "It's quite a substantial structure." According to a Kinder Morgan spokesperson, the fencing is called a construction safety boom. It's meant to enclose the facility as construction crews work to expand the facility as part of the proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. The boom, which was set up just days after kayakers staged a protest flotilla outside the facility, will shelter workers from marine wildlife and boat traffic, according to the oil company. (CBC)
Blob is gone, but not forgotten for scientists studying decline in B.C. fish stocks
The “blob” is gone, but it’s left a troubling legacy on B.C.’s Pacific coast. The blob is the popular name for a huge patch of warm water that featured record temperatures — in some cases, three to four degrees Celsius above normal — in the Northeast Pacific starting in 2013 and running through late 2015 and early 2016. Scientists are now concerned that young fish feeding at sea during the blob’s presence did not have enough nutritious food to eat — and that could translate into reduced adult fish to harvest going forward. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun)
Salmon-farming operations face protests, occupations in B.C., legislative scrutiny in Washington state
A showdown is brewing over Atlantic salmon net-pen farming on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border. Marine Harvest, a major producer of farmed Atlantic salmon in British Columbia, is seeking a court order to evict First Nations women who have occupied one of its fish farms, an order it intends to enforce by police action if necessary, said Ian Roberts, spokesman for the company. Marine Harvest operates 11 open-water Atlantic salmon net-pen farms in the Broughton Archipelago alone, at the northeast end of Vancouver Island…. Meanwhile, in Washington state, lawmakers will hold their first work session Wednesday in Olympia to discuss the collapse of Cooke Aquaculture’s Atlantic salmon net-pen farm at Cypress Island last August. Sure to be discussed is not only the ongoing state investigation of the loss of more than 100,000 Atlantics into Puget Sound, but a possible move by several lawmakers to end net pen farming of Atlantics in Puget Sound. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times) See also: Protesters vow to continue B.C. fish farm protest amid court action (Canadian Press)
Gulf Island beavers temporarily saved from euthanization
A death sentence has been temporarily suspended for a colony of beavers living in the Gulf Islands after a group of concerned citizens threatened to take action. Residents of South Pender Island, where the beavers have been busy building dams in Greenburn Lake, had planned a blockade to save their long-toothed friends. Parks Canada administers the area as part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. It was planning to euthanize the rodents, whose work is threatening an earthen dam. Wendy Scholefield, a South Pender Island Trustee opposed to the cull, said she got an email from Parks Canada saying the decision has been put off — for now. (CBC)
Port of Tacoma could ban fossil fuel export projects on its property
For more than a year, Port of Tacoma commissioners have said they won’t allow any international fossil fuel exporting projects on its publicly owned land. The statements came after criticism from residents following the failed effort to place a methanol manufacturing plant at the port, but nothing was adopted as official policy. Now the commission is poised to formalize its position before the end of the year, in a policy document called the “Comprehensive Scheme for Harbor Improvements.” Kate Martin reports. (News Tribune of Tacoma)
Democrats holding interior nominees ‘hostage,’ Zinke says
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says Senate Democrats are holding the department’s nominees “hostage” to a political agenda that includes opposition to his review of presidentially designated monuments. In a sharply worded letter to Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, Zinke said it’s unfortunate that Democrats have placed holds on four Interior nominees, including the department’s top lawyer and budget chief. The nominees “have nothing to do with this monument review, yet they have been forced to sit on the sidelines” for months, Zinke wrote Thursday. “As a former Navy SEAL, this is not the type of hostage situation I am accustomed to.” (Associated Press)
EPA proposes reversing stricter pollution rules for heavy-duty trucks with older engines
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule Thursday to repeal tighter emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks with older engines, an Obama-era regulation aimed at controlling soot and other pollutants along with greenhouse-gas emissions linked to climate change. Major trucking groups and engine manufacturers supported the 2016 rule, which was set to take full effect in January. But it was fiercely opposed by a handful of companies that manufacture truck components called gliders and trailers. A glider, or body, is the front of a truck, including the cab, which fits over the engine. Trailers are the storage components that make up most of the length of a truck. Juliet Eilperin reports. (Washington Post)
The heat is on over Site C, says Horgan, as consultations begin
The fate of the largest public project in British Columbia’s history, the Site C hydroelectric dam, will be the focus of intense scrutiny this week as provincial cabinet ministers travel north for last-minute consultations. The New Democrats promised to decide Site C’s fate by the end of the year after a review by the B.C. Utilities Commission, the province’s independent energy regulator, concluded the dam is over budget and behind schedule. Dirk Meissner reports. (Canadian Press)
Port Angeles council discusses idea of plastic bag ban
The Port Angeles City Council may consider banning plastic bags next year to help protect the environment. Five of the seven council members agreed Tuesday to discuss at a future meeting a prohibition of plastic bags at stores in the city. The discussion was prompted by two young girls who raised concerns about plastic bags during the public comment portion of the meeting. Rob Ollikainen reports. (Peninsula Daily News)
Why Vancouver Island rocks are building big projects and freeways in Los Angeles
Traffic, shipping costs and the quality of rock and sand available in the northern reaches of British Columbia’s Vancouver Island have made it economical to ship the construction materials nearly 1,500 oceangoing miles to feed L.A.’s construction needs. James Rufus Koren reports. (LA Times)
Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- 236 AM PST Mon Nov 13 2017
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING
TODAY S wind 30 to 40 kt easing to 25 to 35 kt in the afternoon. Combined seas 8 to 11 ft with a dominant period of 9 seconds building to 15 to 16 ft with a dominant period of 12 seconds in the afternoon. Rain.
TONIGHT SW wind 30 to 40 kt becoming S 15 to 25 kt after midnight. Combined seas 15 to 16 ft with a dominant period of 13 seconds subsiding to 11 to 12 ft with a dominant period of 12 seconds after midnight. Showers.
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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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