7/19 Strawberry, canoe journey, shaming, state of emergency, hottest June, tiny toads, chlorpyrifos, ag tour

Coastal strawberry [Portland Nursery]

Coastal Strawberry Fragaria chiloensis
Haida people say that the coastal strawberries used to be much more plentiful before deer were introduced to the Queen Charlotte Islands... The Saanich and Mainland Comox steeped the fresh leaves to make a sweet tea. The Mainland Comox often added fresh thimbleberry and trailing wild blackberry leaves to this tea. The Quilcene chewed the leaves and applies them as a poultice on burns. The Skokomish made tea from the entire plant for diarrhea. The Haida used coastal strawberry leaves as an ingredient in a female tonic. Strawberry leaves are well known for their use in anti-diarrhea medicines, especially for children. (Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast)

Northwest tribes land at Alki during annual canoe journey
The water was nearly calm as the canoes rounded Alki Point and came into view. “The canoes are coming!” a young girl cried from the crowd of onlookers. “They’re right there!” The 20-odd canoes approached Alki Beach  just before noon Thursday as part of the “Paddle to Lummi” — or Sqweshenet Tse Schelangen (“honoring our way of life”) — a journey through the Salish Sea toward the Lummi Nation, this year’s host. During the annual Tribal Canoe Journey, tribes and nations from throughout the Pacific Northwest join up with one another on the way toward Lummi, starting from different points but picking up new canoes along the way.  Brian Contreras reports. (Seattle Times)

First Nation places ads in Texas newspaper shaming company for tugboat fuel spill
Residents of Houston, Texas had likely never heard of the Heiltsuk Nation until they read their morning paper Thursday. The First Nation, located on B.C.'s Central Coast, placed ads in the Houston Chronicle shaming Houston-based Kirby Offshore Marine Corp. after the company pleaded guilty to a fuel spill from a tugboat that sank in Heiltsuk fishing territories in October 2016. Kirby Corp. was fined $2.9 million in penalties on Tuesday in provincial court, but the nation has also filed a civil suit and launched a public relations campaign that included the ads on Kirby's home turf. Bridgette Watson reports. (CBC) See also: ‘We’re in a state of emergency,’ Lummi Nation secretary says of dispute with Canada  The Lummi Nation announced in a press release Thursday, July 18, that it has requested a meeting with Candian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss an international dispute over Canadian projects Lummi says is harming its territory in the Salish Sea. David Rasbach reports. (Bellingham Herald)

World experienced hottest June on record in 2019, says US agency
The world experienced its hottest June on record last month, with an average temperature worldwide of 61.6F (16.4C), according to new data. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the average global temperature was 1.7F warmer than the 20th Century average. The heat was most notable in parts of Europe, Russia, Canada and South America, it said. (BBC)

40,000 tiny toads on the move in annual Whistler migration
An annual migration involving tens of thousands of creatures is underway in Whistler, B.C., but observers could miss it if they don’t look down. Up to 40,000 tiny western toadlets are climbing out of Whistler’s Lost Lake where they hatched as tadpoles and are moving into the surrounding forest. The dime-sized toads, which are native to British Columbia and listed as a species of special concern, grow to full size in wooded areas before returning to the lake to breed. (Canadian Press) See also: Bear sightings on the rise in the Lower Mainland, officials say  (CBC)

E.P.A. Won’t Ban Chlorpyrifos, Pesticide Tied to Children’s Health Problems
The Trump administration took a major step to weaken the regulation of toxic chemicals on Thursday when the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would not ban a widely used pesticide that its own experts have linked to serious health problems in children. The decision by Andrew R. Wheeler, the E.P.A. administrator, represents a victory for the chemical industry and for farmers who have lobbied to continue using the substance, chlorpyrifos, arguing it is necessary to protect crops. Lisa Friedman reports. (NY Times)

Seattle senator who angered ag tours farms 
State Sen. Rebecca Saldana, who has introduced bills reviled by farm groups, toured Lewis County farms Wednesday and asked a dairyman what policymakers could do for him. Ross McMahan didn't hesitate. "I don't feel as policymakers you can do anything. The marketplace is bigger than all of us," he said. As Saldana and others on the tour left his milking barn, McMahan said he hoped they took away "some understanding of the position we're in." "We have to be able to succeed on our own and not by them helping us," he said. Later, Saldana talked about her reaction to McMahan's answer. "I'm like, 'That's an honest thing,'" she said. But as for government not intervening as a rule, Saldana said, "I'm definitely not someone willing for that to be the truth." Saldana, a Seattle Democrat, was one of five state lawmakers who accepted an invitation from the Lewis County Farm Bureau to spend several hours on a bus and visit four farms. Don Jenkins reports. (Capital Press)


Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  257 AM PDT Fri Jul 19 2019   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt rising to 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft in the afternoon. W  swell 5 ft at 9 seconds. A slight chance of showers in the  morning. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  5 ft at 9 seconds. 
SAT  NW wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at  9 seconds. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  4 ft at 9 seconds. 
SUN  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming NW 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 4 ft at 9 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