5/1 Trillium, gas fight, pipeline protester, wildfires, Fraser salmon, moving Hamilton, dam projects, food and climate, anti-Semitic rise

Western trillium [Walter Siegmund]

Western trillium Trillium ovatum
Genus and common names come from the Latin trillium meaning 'in 3s,' referring to the leaves, petals, sepals and stigmas. The flower blooms early in the spring (March to May), just as the robins appear or 'wake up,' giving rise to the alternative common name 'wake-robin.' (Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast)

B.C. ready for court battle as Alberta proclaims turn-off-the-taps law
Alberta has proclaimed a law that allows it to slow the flow of oil and gas to B.C. For its part, the B.C. government says it is ready to fight in court right away. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s new cabinet was sworn in Tuesday and immediately held its first meeting. Kenney, in an opinion piece addressed specifically to British Columbians in Wednesday’s Vancouver Sun, said cabinet at that meeting proclaimed into law Bill 12, the Preserving Canada’s Economic Prosperity Act.  The law gives the Alberta government the power to impose licences on companies exporting petroleum products and place restrictions on licence holders. It gives the province the power to limit the allowable daily quantities of petroleum products shipped, the method of shipment and point of export, and length of time a licence is in effect. Nick Eagland reports. (Vancouver Sun)   

Pipeline protesting grandpa arrested after climbing down tree
Ontario grandfather Terry Christenson, who climbed a tree Monday to protest the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, ended his protest Tuesday and was promptly arrested by Burnaby RCMP. It’s not the first arrest for the 71-year-old man who was arrested last year for camping in a tree at Burnaby’s Westridge Marine Terminal to protest the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion. Christenson camped out in the tree inside the Westridge terminal for 34 hours. A court-ordered injunction remains in place against the protesters. Tiffany Crawford reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Snow melts, anxiety soars: Wildfire season is here
Dry conditions this spring have put many people in north central Washington on edge. As wildfires become more frequent and intense, the disappearance of snow now ushers in a season of higher anxiety for those who have experienced the destruction of wildfire. And this spring feels particularly ominous, with water levels in ponds and lakes already exposing bathtub rings of pale earth that wouldn’t normally be visible until the end of the dry summer months. Ashley Ahearn reports. (KUOW)

How scientists are giving Fraser River salmon a fresh chance
A subtle transformation to a century-old jetty is giving new hope to recovery efforts for the fish and their No. 1 predator, the endangered southern resident killer whale Judith Lavoie reports. (The Narwhal)


Town of Hamilton in Skagit County to be relocated -- for salmon and safety
The center of the historic town of Hamilton in the Skagit Valley is soon to be moved out of the river's way, so its residents will not have to dig out of periodic floods and salmon can use the meandering river and slough to grow up before going to sea. "The rivers were how people and goods were moved around," said Joan Cromley, mayor of Hamilton, explaining how her town was settled in the 19th Century. "After a flood, we dig out and move forward." But, Cromley worried Tuesday, "Hamilton is slowly dying, and the next flood could wipe us out." The town has found a benefactor in Forterra, the land/culture conservancy which has protected places from the Olympic Coast to downtown Tukwila to hills in the Kittitas Valley. Forterra has used a $1 million bequest to help Hamilton move, buying dry ground above the flood plain for a new town center. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI)

Dam projects on Washington rivers will restore miles of salmon habitat
Hundreds of miles of river habitat are cut off to salmon because of dams and culverts around western Washington. Dealing with fish passage is a focus for Washington officials trying to produce more Chinook salmon for Southern Resident killer whales. Removing a dam on the middle fork of the Nooksack River is personal for Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville. "My dad was a commercial fisherman who ended up owning a fish processing plant up in Blaine," Linville said. The dam, built to divert the river for Bellingham's drinking water, cuts off salmon habitat. Alison Morrow reports. (KING)

Your Questions About Food and Climate Change, Answered
How to shop, cook and eat in a warming world. Julia Moskin, Brad Plumer, Rebecca Lieberman and Eden Weingart report. (NY Times)

Graffiti, slurs, swastikas — anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise in WA
Anti-Semitic incidents in Washington state have increased by 60 percent over last year, according to a report released Tuesday by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Lilly Fowler reports. (Crosscut) See also: Audit shows anti-Semitism skyrocketing in B.C.  There were 165 antisemitic incidents in B.C. in 2017. The total has ballooned to 374 in 2018. Mike Raptis reports. (Vancouver Sun)




Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  314 AM PDT Wed May 1 2019   
TODAY  SW wind 5 to 15 kt becoming W 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves less than 1 ft becoming 1 to 3 ft in the  afternoon. W swell 3 ft at 7 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  3 ft at 9 seconds.

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