5/31 Killdeer, BC pipe, oil transit, crab pots, ocean acid, eagle nests, bag ban

Killdeer [All About Birds]

Killdeer Charadrius vociferous
Widespread, common, and conspicuous, the Killdeer calls its name as it flies over farmland and other open country. Like other members of the plover family, this species is often found at the water's edge, but it also lives in pastures and fields far from water. At times, it nests on gravel roofs or on lawns. Many a person has been fooled by the bird's "broken-wing" act, in which it flutters along the ground in a show of injury, luring intruders away from its nest. (Audubon Field Guide)

Washington tribes vow to fight Canadian pipeline with "brothers and sisters in the north"
Tribal leaders on both sides of the border said Canada's purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline would not weaken their opposition to the pipeline's planned expansion. The project would triple the amount of oil flowing from Alberta tar sands through British Columbia and increase oil tanker traffic to refineries on Puget Sound. "We'll keep fighting with our brothers and sisters to the north," Swinomish tribal chair and fisherman Brian Cladoosby said from a boat on the Skagit River. “This is a huge mistake for our area.” John Ryan reports. (KUOW) See also: Canada cannot profess to be a climate leader if it's buying pipelines, say environmentalists  Liam Britten reports. (CBC) Corrected link: Inslee calls Canada pipeline 'profoundly damaging,' fears for orcas in surprise deal  Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Massive pipeline protest march scheduled for Thursday night in Victoria
Hundreds of protesters are anticipated tomorrow for a march against the Kinder Morgan pipeline. The “No Kinder Morgan Bailout! March from the Inner Harbour” is a joint venture between the Salish Sea Organizing Collective, the Protect the Inlet, Greenpeace Victoria, Rise and Resist Kinder Morgan, the Council of Canadians Victoria Chapter, Wilderness Committee, Dogwood BC, and Sierra Club BC....The protest starts with a rally in front of the Visitor Information Centre at 5:30 p.m., followed by a raucous march to Centennial Square. Nicole Crescenzi reports. (Goldstream Gazette)

Assessing Changes in U.S. Crude Oil Exports for West Coast
You could call it a black gold rush. Technological advances like hydraulic fracking have made harvesting oil profitable in the U.S. again and changed the global petroleum market. For decades, the U.S. was dependent on oil imports and banned crude oil exports to protect domestic reserves. This changed in 2015, when the U.S. lifted the 40-year export embargo on crude oil and gave the oil industry access to the global crude oil market. Just three years later, the U.S. is now the third largest crude oil exporter. Much attention has been given to the economic implications of this massive shift, without much thought to potential changes in oil transportation. Our question is this, how has crude oil transportation changed since the crude oil export ban was lifted in 2015? Valerie Cleland and Ian Hanna report. (UW School of Marine Affairs)

Thousands of derelict crab pots litter bottom of Puget Sound
Some boaters spent Tuesday, fishing in Guemes Channel, off the shores of Anacortes, not for fish but for derelict crab pots. Thousands of lost crab pots have littered the bottom of Puget Sound, posing dangers to crabs and other marine life. "It's probably about the highest density we've seen. It's a quite a big number," said Jason Morgan from the Northwest Straits Foundation. Michelle Esteban reports. (KOMO)

Ocean acidification may be twice as extreme in Puget Sound’s seagrass habitats, threatening Dungeness crabs
Ocean acidification could be up to twice as severe in fragile seagrass habitats as it is in the open ocean, according to a study published last April in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The conditions may threaten Dungeness crabs by 2050 and will be especially pronounced in the winter, the study says. (Salish Sea Currents)

Eagles Deck Out Their Nest With Kelp
Biologist Erin Rechsteiner braved the waters of Queens Sound in a small aluminum boat heading for Gosling Rocks, a remote archipelago on British Columbia’s central coast. It was February 2015 and she had come to study sea otters, a top marine predator in the region. But when she arrived, something else caught her attention—a bald eagle nest on top of a wind-stunted spruce about 2.5 meters high. Christopher Pollon reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Another Kitsap County city considers plastic bag ban
Kitsap County is weighing the appetite of city government officials to join its proposed ban on single-use plastic bags. The city of Port Orchard on Tuesday hosted a town hall forum to get the conversation started.... About 15 city residents attended the forum, where county solid waste officials fielded questions and comments from the public and city council members. South Kitsap Commissioner Charlotte Garrido attended. Chris Henry reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  300 AM PDT Thu May 31 2018   

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM PDT THIS EVENING   

TODAY  W wind to 10 kt becoming NW 15 to 25 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft in the  afternoon. W swell 4 ft at 8 seconds. A slight chance of showers  in the afternoon. 

TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 4 ft at 11 seconds. A slight chance  of showers in the evening.

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