11/19 Trumpeter swan, Shell oil spill, Klamath Basin tribal water, trash to treasure, Starrett's Pond

Trumpeter swans [Joseph V Higbee/BirdWeb]

Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinator
The largest of the North American native waterfowl and one of our heaviest flying birds, the Trumpeter Swan is large and white. It holds its long neck straight up, often with a kink at the base. The bill is black, and there is no coloration in front of the eyes. The juvenile is dusky-gray, with a mottled dark-and-light bill that is black at the base. The juvenile plumage persists until at least spring migration, which helps distinguish the Trumpeter Swan from the Tundra Swan. (Seattle Audubon BirdWeb) Also: Swans return to the Skagit Valley  Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Refinery oil spill cleanup complete
Cleanup of an oil spill at Shell Puget Sound Refinery was completed as of 8:30 a.m. Sunday, according to an announcement from the spill response team. The spill occurred about 11:30 p.m. Friday during the transfer of crude oil from Alaska's Northern Slope from a barge to the refinery. The spill response team reported Saturday that about 20 gallons of crude spilled due to problems with a pressure release valve. Five of those gallons made it into Fidalgo Bay, but were successfully contained within a boom system and removed from the water, according to the response team. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Federal Court: Klamath Basin Tribal Water Rights Outrank Farmers' Rights
A federal appeals court has found that the water rights of Klamath Basin tribes take priority over those of farmers who sued the federal government in 2001 for reducing their irrigation water supply after a dry year. The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is a key step forward toward the tribes’ goals of restoring the Klamath Basin ecosystem and saving chinook and coho salmon, the Yurok tribe said Sunday in a statement. The federal appeals court made its decision public on Nov. 16 in a lawsuit that’s been in the courts for two decades. The irrigators have not decided if they will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Times Standard reported. (Associated Press)

Revolutionary recycling? A new technology turns everyday trash into plastic treasure.
Eight tons of trash are piled high at the entrance of a small factory in this tree-lined kibbutz — rotting food mixed with plastic bags, dirty paper, castoff bottles and containers, even broken toys. But nothing is headed for a landfill. Instead, what’s next is a process that could revolutionize recycling. Within hours, the mound will be sorted, ground, chopped, shredded, cleaned and heated into a sort of garbage caramel, then resurrected as tiny pseudo-plastic pellets that can be made into everyday items like trays and packing crates. “The magic that we’re doing is we’re taking everything — the chicken bones, the banana peels,” says Jack “Tato” Bigio, the chief executive at UBQ Materials. “We take this waste, and we convert it.” Jim Morrison and Shoshana Kordova report. (Washington Post)

Starrett’s Pond in Hope to become healthy salmon habitat
A pond in Hope that was a salmon trap for decades will soon be a valuable extension of the local river system. Starrett Pond, at the old Tom Berry Gravel Pit, gathers water in the spring freshet when the Fraser River rises. The waters spill over the ledge, and with that spillage comes young salmon. Then the water recedes and the salmon are stuck in the shallow, warm and unprotected waters. They never reach the ocean, or the orcas who feed on them. The pit was created in the 1980s when the provincial government was building the TransCanada Highway. The pond is the result of years of water washing over the banks. Now, the Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition (FVWC) is about to restore connectivity to the Fraser River, while making the pond a more salmon-friendly environment. They were in Hope on Saturday, working with a group of about 20 volunteers who showed up eager to help. Jessica Peters reports. (Hope Standard)


Now, your tug weather--West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  231 AM PST Tue Nov 19 2019   
TODAY  NW wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  6 ft at 11 seconds building to 8 ft at 11 seconds in the  afternoon. 
TONIGHT  SE wind to 10 kt rising to 5 to 15 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 7 ft at 10 seconds.



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