9/26 Sea comb, Trump's ESA, Protectors of the Salish Sea, plastic ban fight, old 'Blob' relief, Skagit steelhead, electric BC Ferries, BC logging trucks

Sea comb [Jan Holmes]

Sea comb Plocamium cartilagineum
This beautiful red seaweed is profusely branched with the last order of branches resembling tiny combs (see close-ups).  Several stems, about 2mm wide, arise from a discoid holdfast and grow to a length of about 20 cm (8in).  Sea comb is found in the low intertidal and subtidal or in tide pools in exposed and semi-exposed areas. Jan Holmes writes.(Sound Water Stewards)

17 States Sue Feds Over Endangered Species Act Rules
Seventeen states sued the Trump administration Wednesday to block rules weakening the Endangered Species Act, saying the changes would make it tougher to protect wildlife even in the midst of a global extinction crisis. The lawsuit, in federal court in San Francisco, follows a similar challenge filed last month by several environmental groups, including the Humane Society and the Sierra Club. The new rules begin taking effect Thursday. They for the first time allow officials to consider how much it would cost to save a species. They also remove blanket protections for animals newly listed as threatened and make it easier for creatures to be removed from the protected list...The states challenging Trump's rules are California, Massachusetts, Maryland, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. The District of Columbia and New York City were also named as plaintiffs. Gene Johnson report. (Associated Press)

Indigenous-led group says it won’t leave the Capitol until Gov. Inslee meets 4 demands
Protectors of the Salish Sea, an indigenous-led group that walked 46 miles to the Capitol from the Tacoma area, has had a presence outside the Washington state Legislative Building since Tuesday to make their voices heard on environmental issues. An encounter with law enforcement overnight Tuesday resulted in one arrest, according to Washington State Patrol. Saanich tribal member Paul Chiyokten Wagner said Wednesday afternoon the group will not leave until Gov. Jay Inslee meets its four demands:
    That Gov. Inslee declare a climate emergency in Washington state;
    That he issue an executive order to stop fossil fuel expansion projects in the state ⁠— such as the liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility being built at the Port of Tacoma;
    That he convene a special legislative counsel; and
    That he honor the treaties by meeting these demands. (Sara Gentzler reports. (Olympian)

Victoria wants to take plastic bag ban fight all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada
The mayor of Victoria says her city will seek a Supreme Court of Canada challenge as the next step in its effort to ban single-use plastic bags. Lisa Helps was speaking at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Vancouver. In July, the B.C. Court of Appeal quashed a lower court decision that allowed Victoria to enact a plastic bag ban. The court said the ban was based on environmental concerns and therefore fell under the jurisdiction of the province and the Ministry of the Environment. Karin Larsen reports. (CBC)

Fisheries disaster money after 'Blob' just now being disbursed as new marine heatwave looms
The marine heatwave known as “The Blob” wreaked havoc on Northwest fisheries during 2015 and 2016, Ron Warren, fish policy director for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, told a Senate committee Wednesday. And before the federal government could even provide disaster relief for that event, another marine heatwave loomed, he said. The Blob stoked marine temperatures nearly 7 degrees higher than normal, according to his testimony. Fewer coho salmon returned. Those that did return were smaller. Fisheries had to be closed. Gov. Jay Inslee and representatives of several tribal governments in 2016 requested millions of dollars in federal fishing disaster funds to help offset the losses to fishing communities. Now, more than three years later, the fishing disaster money has only just arrived from the feds, Warren told senators. Evan Bush and Hal Bernton report. (Seattle Times)

Skagit steelhead fishery needs funding to keep going
The Skagit River catch-and-release steelhead fishery that was reopened in 2018 is at risk of being discontinued. The fishery is listed as part of a $26 million funding request the state Department of Fish & Wildlife submitted last week to the Legislature. According to Fish & Wildlife, if it doesn’t receive the funding it needs — including $2.5 million for monitoring salmon and steelhead fisheries during the Skagit River catch-and-release steelhead season — it will have to cut programs in 2021. The Skagit River steelhead fishery is one of the potential cuts. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

BC Ferries launching first wave of hybrid electric vessels
BC Ferries passengers travelling on shorter island routes could be riding on hybrid electric boats as early as next year. The six new vessels, known as Island Class ferries, use diesel fuel to generate electricity that is stored in batteries on board and they are all expected to be in operation by 2022, with the first two expected to be in service in 2020. The first two boats to launch will run between Powell River and Texada Island and from Port McNeill to Alert Bay and Malcolm Island. The next four will be in the water by 2022 and will run between Campbell River and Quadra Island and between Nanaimo and Gabriola Island. (CBC)

Convoy drives home message about dire state of forestry in B.C.
A convoy of logging trucks gained some attention as protesting drivers blew their horns while winding their big rigs through Vancouver streets on Wednesday. As many as 200 logging trucks left Merritt, nearly 300 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, Wednesday morning in a demonstration by owners and drivers to highlight the effects of dozens of mill closures and thousands of layoffs in B.C.’s forest industry. Dozens of trucks lined up for the chance to pass by the Vancouver Convention Centre, where local and provincial politicians are gathered for the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention. (Canadian Press)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  245 AM PDT Thu Sep 26 2019   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING   
TODAY  W wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 9 ft  at 11 seconds. A slight chance of rain in the morning. 
TONIGHT  NW wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 10 to 20 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 11 ft at 9 seconds.



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