 |
| Asian mud snail [Mary Jo Adams] |
Although not native to the Pacific Northwest, this 2 inch (5 cm.) snail is present in large numbers along some Washington shorelines including Skagit County’s Padilla and Samish Bays. Look for it in high and middle intertidal zones of muddy bays where large populations of up to 1000 individuals /square meter are possible. The snail is gray in color with brown beading and has 8-9 whorls. It feeds on diatoms. This species has also been known under the scientific names Batillaria cumingi, and B. zonalis. Other common names include screw shell, false cerith snail, zoned cerith, and tall-spired shell. (Mary Jo Adams/Sound Water Stewards)
Readers: Salish Sea News and Weather will take a Labor Day break and return on Tuesday. Goodbye, summer; hello, fall.
‘Affront to human rights’ or ‘step in right direction’? LNG fight rages one more time
Compared with October’s LNG hearing, this one was a little more heated, and not just outside the venue. Those opposed, and, to a smaller extent, in favor of Puget Sound Energy’s liquefied natural gas facility on the Tacoma Tideflats spent a warm, sunny afternoon inside the Rialto Theater. The two sides were gathered for Tuesday’s hearing held by Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. The agency is considering an approval order for the LNG project’s facility construction permit. Debbie Cockrell reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)
Thriving transient orca population cause for concern off Vancouver Island: experts
Transient killer whales are thriving off Vancouver Island and human encounters with the majestic mammals are becoming increasingly common. A Campbell River man was kayaking on Aug. 19 near Sayward and Telegraph Cove when he was surprised by a transient whale swimming right beside him... Marine experts and whale researchers are stopping short of warning people that the whales will attack, but they are saying it's better to be safe than sorry...There are 350 whales in the transient population and that number has been growing by an average of 4.1 per cent per year since 2012. Alanna Kelly reports. (CTV)
Lummi Nation mourns lost Southern Resident orcas, renames those remaining
Earlier this summer, the Lummi Nation came to Seattle and launched a campaign to protect and revitalize the Salish Sea. The tribe is based near Bellingham, at the heart of that body of water, which extends from Puget Sound to Desolation Sound in Canada and out past Vancouver Island into the Pacific Ocean. The Salish Sea also is home to the region’s endangered Southern Resident killer whales, whom the Lummi view as family. A formal ceremony to honor the spirits of the three orcas, who scientists recently identified as missing and presumed dead, was the latest step in the Salish Sea campaign. Lummi leaders also held a naming ceremony for the remaining 73. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)
Pender Harbour residents step up to remove derelict boats because ‘no one else would’
Abandoned boats off B.C.’s coast can be environmental and navigational hazards, and they can also be particularly tricky to remove — just ask the Pender Harbour and Area Residents Association. For years, Pender Harbour residents, and boaters, have watched as a pair of abandoned trawlers in the area fell further and further into disrepair. One, the Lulu Island, is now submerged in nearly 10 metres of water in Gerrans Bay. The other, the Kwatna, is beached nearby on the shoreline of Dusenbury Island...In a bid to prevent further trouble, the association recently decided to step in and clean up the problem. But to do so, it first had to take ownership of the abandoned vessels, and liability for them. The small group of volunteers did so because, as association president Alan Stewart put it: “No one else would take it on.” Matt Robinson reports. (Vancouver Sun)
A salt marsh in recovery is gobbling carbon, gaining ground
From atop the dike at Port Susan, emerald farmland stretches to the left. To the right, a mosaic of greens and browns make up a coastal wetland. At points along the dike, the marsh looks slightly higher in elevation than the agricultural land across the mound. That slight difference is a success for scientists and conservationists working to restore former farmland back to estuarine habitat. Since removing a seafront dike in 2012, a 150-acre project area has gained about 8 inches in elevation and is capturing and storing twice the amount of carbon as surrounding marshes. The potato-shaped swath of land is just north of where the Stillaguamish River meets the sea. It lies in a 4,122-acre nature preserve, which The Nature Conservancy bought from a farmer in 2001. Julia-Grace Sanders reports. (Everett Herald)
First Nations renew legal fight against Site C dam after talks end with B.C. government
The West Moberly First Nations are moving forward with legal action aimed at stopping the Site C hydroelectric dam project after ending talks with the B.C. government. In February, the provincial Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation entered confidential discussions with BC Hydro, West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations. The talks were aimed at avoiding litigation, said Tim Thielmann, legal counsel for the West Moberly First Nations located in the northeastern corner of B.C. Nicole Our reports. (CBC)
Leviathans in the Harbor
...Recent research has also found that cruise travel makes an outsized contribution to climate change—and it begins before the ship leaves port. A single passenger flying from New York to Vancouver or Seattle (the two busiest departure ports for Alaska cruises) produces about a tonne of carbon dioxide. Double that if you’re flying round trip. Once on board the cruise ship, the climate cost soars. The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), a nonprofit research group with offices around the globe, found even the most efficient cruise ships emit three to four times more carbon dioxide per passenger kilometers than a jet. Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union, a German NGO, found that a mid-sized cruise ship burns up to 150 tonnes of fuel per day, which releases as much particulate matter into the atmosphere as one million automobiles. Brian Payton reports. (Hakai Magazine)
Trump pushes to allow new logging in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest
President Trump has instructed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to exempt Alaska’s 16.7-million-acre Tongass National Forest from logging restrictions imposed nearly 20 years ago, according to three people briefed on the issue, after privately discussing the matter with the state’s governor aboard Air Force One. The move would affect more than half of the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest, opening it to potential logging, energy and mining projects. It would undercut a sweeping Clinton administration policy known as the “roadless rule,” which has survived a decades-long legal assault. Trump has taken a personal interest in “forest management,” a term he told a group of lawmakers last year he has “redefined” since taking office. Juliet Eilperin and Josh Dawsey report. (Washington Post)
If you like to watch: Tsunami's devastating impact on Washington after potential 9.0 quake
Someday, a massive 9.0 earthquake will rupture off our coast, and when it does, it will unleash a massive tsunami into Washington -- both along the coastal and inland waters, new simulations show. Seismologists have for years been studying the Cascadia Subduction Zone and believe a quake along the lines of 9.0 magnitude happen every 300-600 years. This week, scientists with the Department of Natural Resources released new computer simulations that show the calculated height, speed and impacts of the ensuing tsunami along the coast, as well as zoomed in simulations for Bellingham Bay and the San Juan Islands. Scott Sistek reports. (KOMO)
Oil giant BP to pull out of Alaska as sells business for $5bn
BP will no longer have any operations in Alaska after it agreed to sell its entire remaining business there to a private oil and gas firm. Hilcorp will pay $5.6bn (£4.5bn) to buy all of BP's interests in the US state. The firm has faced pressure from environmental groups to stop drilling in the area, but BP said its decision was not connected to this. (BBC)
Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- 252 AM PDT Wed Aug 28 2019
TODAY E wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 9 seconds.
TONIGHT E wind to 10 kt becoming S after midnight. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 8 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
thats really nice! Bewertungskauf.com
ReplyDelete