7/25 Poppy, BC pipe bid, salmon return, whale protection, gray whales, goat move, heat wave, sewage spill

California poppy [Wikipedia]

California poppy Eschscholzia californica
Occurs sporadically in spring-moist meadows and grassy openings at low elevations from southeastern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, south to California. The genus is named for Johann Fredric Eschscholtz (1793-1831), a Russian scientist with Kotzebue's visit to California in 1816. 'Poppy' is from the Latin name for many poppies, Papaver. (Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast)

Indigenous-led group submits unsolicited bid to buy Trans Mountain pipeline
Indigenous-led group Project Reconciliation has submitted a preliminary proposal to the federal government to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline. A federal government official confirmed to CBC News that the proposal has been received, but the government is not yet accepting formal bids. Project Reconciliation was founded by Delbert Wapass, a former chief of the Thunderchild First Nation in Saskatchewan. The group is based in Calgary, and is proposing ownership of the pipeline be shared among participating Indigenous communities in Western Canada.  Sarah Rieger reports. (CBC)

Baker Lake sockeye returns lower than expected
The number of sockeye salmon swimming up the Skagit River toward Baker Lake is lower than expected, and lower than at least the past five years. The unexpected low returns became clear in mid-July, as the number of fish counted in a trap at the base of the Lower Baker Dam in Concrete remained in the hundreds each day, rather than thousands, and only one day exceeded 1,000, according to state Department of Fish & Wildlife data. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald) See also: Salmon catch airlift to spawning grounds after rock slide blocks their way Canadian officials have started airlifting salmon past a rockslide that has largely blocked the fishes’ path up British Columbia’s Fraser River. John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

SFU researchers developing warning system to protect killer whales from marine traffic
SFU researchers have teamed with regional partners to conduct critical research they hope will save and enhance the remaining 76 Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs) in B.C.’s Salish Sea. Their initial study, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, highlights the potential benefit of slowing marine vessels to protect the SRKW population from collisions and underwater noise. The SRKWs have protective status under Canada’s Species at Risk Act... They found that reducing underwater noise in and adjacent to the shipping lanes benefited the whales in regions that overlapped with foraging hotspots. Diane Mar-Nicolle writes. (Simon Fraser University News) See also: Oregon Aims To Avoid Whale Entanglements With Proposed Changes To Fishing Rules  (Associated Press)

Recent Birch Bay gray whale sightings worry wildlife experts
For about a month from mid-June to mid-July, at least one gray whale explored Birch Bay, feeding in the muddy, shallow waters. While the visit was exciting for those who spotted the whale breaching in the bay, it may be an ominous sign for the eastern North Pacific gray whale population... The whale that appeared in Birch Bay was likely trying to find more food before continuing its migration north, said Victoria Souze, principal investigator for the Whatcom Marine Mammal Stranding Network (WWMSN)...The whale may have left Birch Bay – as of July 23, no one had reported a sighting in three days, but Souze cautioned that whales in the Salish Sea this late in the year are stressed and should be given plenty of space. Oliver Lazenby reports. (Northern Light) See also: Examination of gray whale deaths could answer bigger questions about the environment  John Calambokidis, a biologist who co-founded Olympia-based Cascadia Research Institute, has been trying to understand the whale strandings in Washington state. Kirsten Kendrick and Ariel Van Cleave report. (KNKX)

76 Mountain Goats In Olympic National Park Relocated In July
Officials say 76 mountain goats were successfully moved from Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest to the Cascade Mountains in July. Olympic National Park officials say 174 of the nonnative mammals have been rounded up and moved to the Cascades, where they belong, since September. Officials say five other goats died during capture efforts, three were euthanized because they were unfit for relocation, and one animal died in transit. Officials say four animals that could not be captured safely also were killed. (Associated Press)

Climate change: Current heating 'unparalleled' in 2,000 years 
The speed and extent of current global warming exceeds any similar event in the past 2,000 years, researchers say. They show that famous historic events like the "Little Ice Age" don't compare with the scale of warming seen over the last century. The research suggests that the current warming rate is higher than any observed previously. The scientists say it shows many of the arguments used by climate sceptics are no longer valid. Matt McGrath reports. (BBC)

King County Board of Health to examine recent sewage spill that closed beaches around Puget Sound 
After a 3-million-gallon sewage spill shut down five beaches around Puget Sound last week, King County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles is calling for a briefing to the county Board of Health, which she chairs. The board is planning to discuss the spill at its next meeting, Sept. 19, Kohl-Welles said Wednesday afternoon. She especially wants to hear more from Seattle City Light, as officials say the spill came as a result of a power failure at the West Point Treatment Plant. Elise Takahama reports. (Seattle Times)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  244 AM PDT Thu Jul 25 2019   
TODAY  Light wind becoming NW 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 2 ft or less. W swell 2 ft at 11 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  4 ft at 8 seconds.



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