4/1 Herring, Arctic ban, dry Spring, Tacoma LNG, Jordan Cove, oil train safety, Fraser sturgeon, Lushootseed, burial mounds, rock mine

Herring hatch [Dave Parks & CWI]

Herring hatch
Anne Shaffer of Coastal Watershed Institute writes: "The herring engine starts. Herring hatching 28 March 2019 east Denman Island BC. The eyed larvae are now hatching-they swim rapidly to the surface in translucent clouds *almost* invisible except for their comical large eyes (how many eye 'dots' you see?). Hordes of young cnidarian medusa (almost the same size) and mysids immediately begin devouring them. The sheer volume of herring eggs and larvae is incredible-but needed for the challenges that face them. We'll see a small fraction of these young fish in three months or so along the central Strait of Juan de Fuca. They'll have tripled in size and provide the food for juvenile outmigrating salmon as they continue on their adventure. An incredible cycle that is extremely challenging to photograph, but important to celebrate."

Judge restores Obama-era drilling ban in Arctic
President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he reversed bans on offshore drilling in vast parts of the Arctic Ocean and dozens of canyons in the Atlantic Ocean, a U.S. judge said in a ruling that restored the Obama-era restrictions. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason in a decision late Friday threw out Trump’s executive order that overturned the bans that comprised a key part of Obama’s environmental legacy. Presidents have the power under a federal law to remove certain lands from development but cannot revoke those removals, Gleason said. Sudhin Thanawala reports. (Associated Press)

So it’s supposed to be a warm, dry spring — what does that mean for salmon and farms?
Northwest Washington is officially in an abnormally dry period, meteorologists say, a precursor to drought that’s prompting worry among salmon experts, farmers and officials who manage water supplies. And Ferndale is moving quickly to set up a rationing schedule amid fears of another hot, dry spring and summer. With nearly four months of below-normal rainfall — and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predictions for a warm, dry spring — water managers fear that what’s left of the winter snowpack will melt before summer when it’s needed the most. Robert Mittendorf reports. (Bellingham Herald) See also: B.C. weather in 2019 has been just plain weird Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

LNG site resumes permit process after new report backs findings of earlier review
After months of review, two public hearings and thousands of public comments, the final version of a report prepared for the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency will do little to calm the fight over a liquified natural gas plant being constructed on Tacoma’s Tideflats. More than a year after calling for an environmental review of Puget Sound Energy’s planned facility, Puget Sound Clean Air Agency released the final report Friday. Similar to the draft review released in early October, the final supplemental environmental impact statement listed three major conclusions that echo the first round of findings, with minor tweaks.... Debbie Cockrell reports. (News Tribune of Tacoma)

Controversial Southern Oregon Energy Project Jordan Cove Clears Big Hurdle
A federal environmental review has given a preliminary green light to a fiercely contested proposal to build a natural gas pipeline and export terminal in southern Oregon. A draft environmental impact statement released Friday lists more than 130 conditions the Jordan Cove Energy Project would have to meet to minimize its negative effects. As long as those conditions are observed, the report says, the project would not have significant environmental impact. The Jordan Cove project would pipe natural gas from Klamath County near the California border, more than 200 miles to a new liquefied natural gas export facility in Coos Bay on the Oregon coast. Liam Moriarty reports. (Jefferson Public Radio)

North Dakota opposes oil train restriction proposed in Washington state
Legislators in Washington state are considering new regulations to reduce the volatility of Bakken crude oil shipped by rail. But North Dakota’s top oil regulator says the proposal is not backed by science and he’s requested state dollars to sue the state of Washington if the legislation advances. The Washington Senate voted last month to require a lower vapor pressure limit for Bakken crude shipped through the state by rail, a measure aimed at protecting communities from fiery derailments. Amy Dalrymple reports. (Bismarck Tribune)

Fraser River sturgeon decline prompts fishing closures
Struggling sturgeon populations have prompted several fishing closures in an area that's often dubbed "the heart of the Fraser River." Three spawning channels between Chilliwack and Hope, including one that runs along Herrling Island, are closed until the end of July in what the province is calling a "precautionary measure" to ensure the health of white sturgeon populations. Channels along Jesperson and Seabird Island are also closed. Anglers and conservationists have raised alarms over Herrling Island in particular, where commercial farming and logging are said to have had a destructive impact on the surrounding river ecosystem. Jon Hernandez reports. (CBC)

Lushootseed, the endangered oral language of the coast Salish peoples, gets its own font
About a decade ago, Juliet Shen took on dream project. Shen, a typeface designer and artist, was commissioned by the Tulalip Tribes to create a new font specifically for Lushootseed, the now endangered language used by most of the coast Salish tribes. Shen isn’t Native American, but she often thought about the disconnect between Western typeface design and indigenous cultures. Hans Anderson reports. (KNKX)

Discovery of ancient burial mounds traps landowners in bureaucratic 'bottomless pit of hell'
When Beau and Dian Sutton bought a wooded half-acre near B.C.'s Chilliwack River in 2014, they intended to build their dream home. That dream soon turned into a bureaucratic nightmare, one that has yet to end. When they started clearing land on Winona Road, large hills were revealed throughout the lot, which an archaeologist neighbour advised them might be Indigenous gravesites.... The chief of the local First Nation — the Ts'elxwéyeqw Tribe — was called in. When David Jimmie first saw the mounds, he immediately felt his ancestors were buried there and that he had a responsibility to protect them.... "You can't blame them [the Suttons] for wanting to build here," Jimmie says. "That's a hard conversation to have, to go and tell them 'I'm sorry. This is our sacred site … we don't want to see any development here.'" But it's an unfortunately common conversation in British Columbia, where heritage conservation laws have repeatedly pitted unwitting landowners against First Nations that are trying to stop their burial sites from being bulldozed. Duncan McCue reports. (CBC)

Residents raise concerns about proposed mine
Residents in the Marblemount area say a proposed rock mine would be a threat to safety and their way of life. About 50 residents gathered at one home March 23 to share what they had gleaned about the project based on Skagit County’s public notice in mid-March and the project documents on file. They also shared their growing concerns about the proposal.... Seven people gathered again Friday at the gate of the proposed mine entrance, looking up at the steep rock slope that international company Kiewit Infrastructure Co. would blast apart in order to provide the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with rock used for jetty repairs along the region’s coast. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)




Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  218 AM PDT Mon Apr 1 2019   
TODAY  SE wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 5 ft  at 17 seconds. 
TONIGHT  NW wind to 10 kt becoming SE after midnight. Wind  waves 1 to 2 ft. W swell 5 ft at 15 seconds.



--
"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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter. 

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told