11/13 Mushrooms, orca ideas, orca noise, Wiley Slough, Canada's Chinook, ancient trees

[PHOTO: Laurie MacBride]

Worth a Closer Look
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "Fungi are flourishing here this fall. Each day brings unexpected appearances in places I don’t remember any having been the day before. Some new arrivals stick around for a few weeks while others are more ethereal, disappearing after only a day or two. I find myself constantly looking down as I walk our forest trails, to spot the latest pop-ups and check out the shape, size and colour variations of these mysterious life forms that are neither plant nor animal. The mushrooms are so profuse and ubiquitous that I can’t help but imagine vast, branching underground mycelia spanning the length and breadth or our property and beyond, spreading their filaments through the entire neighbourhood...."

Orca Task Force Ideas Include Temporary Ban On Whale Watching Tours, Readiness For Dam Removal
The state’s Orca Recovery Task Force will deliver its final recommendations to Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday. Among the controversial items on the list is a last-minute proposal for a temporary ban on whale watching tours near the endangered Southern Resident orcas. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife suggested it as an alternative to a no-go zone west of San Juan Island. It’s proposed to last three to five years.   But some whale-watch companies are concerned it would create false impressions about their industry. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

For orcas, the ocean is like a super loud upstairs neighbor
Imagine you lived in an apartment where your upstairs neighbor blasted music 60 to 97 percent of the time, making it impossible for you to have a conversation, think, sleep, or listen to KUOW.  Southern resident killer whales live with this situation: Boat noise drowns out 60 to 97 percent of their attempts to communicate with each other and find food.  That’s because traffic isn't bad just on land in the Puget Sound area; it's bad at sea as well. Cargo ships, tankers, ferries, fishing boats, pleasure boats—they all make a lot of noise. Cargo ships and tankers are the worst offenders.   The governor's Orca Task Force is looking at slowing boats down to try to reduce the noise they make. But some scientists say that's not the best solution. Eilis O'Neill reports. (KUOW)

WDFW seeks to save farmer support for fish projects
Farmer support for salmon recovery in north Puget Sound will be jeopardized if a troubled fish project isn’t fixed, according to the Department of Fish of Wildlife. The department and two tribes removed a section of a dike and let Wiley Slough flood 157 acres of farmland and hunting grounds in the Skagit River delta a decade ago. A new dike was built farther inland to protect other farmland on Fir Island. The dike, however, has proven too short. Water ran over the top during a storm in March 2016. The levee is damaged and saltwater seeps through. If not fixed, the dike eventually will fail, according to Fish and Wildlife. The failure would flood some of the best farmland in Washington and harm community support for estuary restoration, according to the department. “Wiley Slough is really about doing the right thing by farmers,” said Amy Windrope, Fish and Wildlife’s North Puget Sound director. Don Jenkins reports. (Capital Press)

Canada's salmon hold the key to saving its killer whales
Desperate efforts to save the whales – and the Chinook salmon on which they depend – risk fishing communities losing a way of life... The unfolding tragedy of the southern resident killer whales – and the government response – has exposed a complex ecosystem in crisis. Chinook salmon, the whale’s main prey, are also disappearing. In an area heavily reliant on tourism and fishing, an impending collapse of the two species has led to feuding over how to stave off an ecological disaster. (The Guardian)

Money trees
The struggle over what’s ancient, giant, valuable and dwindling in B.C.’s coastal forests. Chad Pawson reports. (CBC)


Now, your tug weather--



West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  237 AM PST Tue Nov 13 2018   

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT   

TODAY  E wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. SW swell 3 ft  at 12 seconds. A chance of rain in the morning then rain likely in  the afternoon. 

TONIGHT  S wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 5 ft  at 11 seconds building to 7 ft at 10 seconds after midnight.  Rain.


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