1/21 Ruff, shore fixes, house on fire, Site C Dam waste, snowpack, BC Ferries protest, illegal marinas, plastic ban

Ruff in the rough [Laurie MacBride]

It's Been Ruff Out There
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "Most mornings our six-member deer family gathers on the lawn outside our kitchen window for an hour or so, browsing, ruminating, grooming and relaxing in our dog-free zone (one of very few in our neighbourhood). But for several days this week, something was decidedly wrong. Reddy the fawn was there with his mom, Scarlet, but his twin brother Ruff was missing. Winter is tough on fawns and only about half survive their first year.... (read more)"

Lawmakers urge fish-friendly fixes to seaside properties
One year after Washington state lawmakers stiffened restrictions on shoreline “armor” that drew bitter opposition from the building industry, Democrats have put forward what amounts to a soft sell for softer shores on Puget Sound. Legislation introduced last week would require Sound-side homeowners to consider fish-friendly fixes before rebuilding aging concrete seawalls to protect their land from erosion. While no new penalties or standards would be created by the bill, the proposal has been described as overly restrictive by industry groups already fighting other regulations aimed at seaside property owners. Shoreside concrete walls — “bulkheads” to defenders, “hard armor” to detractors — stifle the flow of sand and gravel from the seaside onto beaches that nourish the tiny fish that are a key part of the food chain. Without that supply of new sand flowing downhill to the shore, the beach beyond a wall grows steadily steeper, shrinking the sandy, cobbled tideland that supports nesting by small fish that feed juvenile chinook salmon. Chinook are the main prey of the endangered orcas that frequent Puget Sound. Levi Pulkkinen reports. (Investigate West)

Greta Thunberg’s Message at Davos Forum: ‘Our House Is Still on Fire’
Greta Thunberg on Tuesday punched a hole in the promises emerging from a forum of the global political and business elite and offered instead an ultimatum: Stop investing in fossil fuels immediately, or explain to your children why you did not protect them from the “climate chaos” you created. “I wonder, what will you tell your children was the reason to fail and leave them facing the climate chaos you knowingly brought upon them?” Ms. Thunberg, 17, said at the annual gathering of the world’s rich and powerful in Davos, a village on the icy reaches of the Swiss Alps. Somini Sengupta reports. (NY Times)

‘A colossal waste’: BC Hydro report hints at cost overruns at Site C dam
The troubled Site C dam project is poised for more cost overruns and schedule delays despite repeated assurances from B.C.’s NDP government that the project will be delivered on time and within its revised budget of $10.7 billion.  Details are found in BC Hydro’s unusually frank quarterly report to the B.C. Utilities Commission, filed on Jan. 15, which reveals significant problems with the publicly funded dam amidst the typically positive project updates. Some of the more serious issues include “significant cost pressures and/or budget increases” since the NDP government approved an additional $2 billion for the project two years ago and a September cost risk analysis showing that the revised Site C dam project budget is already “under pressure.” Sarah Cox reports. (The Narwhal)

Snowpack boosted by storms
Snowstorms last week have boosted snowpack in the North Cascades from 64% of normal at the end of 2019 to 95% Monday. Snowpack is important in the state because as it melts it supplies water for streams and rivers during the summer. Having ample snow in the mountains come spring means a better chance of keeping the flow of rivers, including the Skagit, healthy for fish and robust enough to support communities, farms and industry that rely on the rivers for water. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

BC Ferries sailings delayed after protesters block access to Swartz Bay ferry terminal
The Swartz Bay ferry terminal near Victoria has reopened after a protest blocked access and delayed a number of sailings early Monday. The demonstration began before dawn, delaying 7 a.m. crossings from Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen for more than an hour. The sailing from Tsawwassen eventually left the terminal around 8:10 a.m., but a later crossing was cancelled altogether. A statement from a group, which did not identify itself, said the demonstration is in support of Wet'suwet'en members opposing the Coastal GasLink pipeline in northern B.C. The terminal reopened as the protest ended around 9 a.m., and traffic started flowing again. BC Ferries said all sailings leaving Swartz Bay would be delayed until traffic on Highway 17 has cleared. (CBC)

Out of sight, illegal marinas grow into hazard on Snohomish
They sit in hidden places. Like tucked away north of the U.S. 2 trestle, down a gravel road, behind a locked gate on a property that resembles a junkyard. Signs along the barriers warn “No Trespassing” and “Beware of Dog.” There, illegally stored houseboats, tugs and bayliners float — and sometimes sink, causing headaches for state and local agencies charged with protecting marine life and restoring salmon habitat. Of the dozen or so such marinas identified by the state Department of Natural Resources in recent years, about half were on the Snohomish River, where out-of-the-way estuaries and aging docks provide the ideal camouflage for such operations, department officials say. Joseph Thompson reports. (Everett Herald)

What the plastic bag ban would mean for Seattle, the pulp and paper industry
Washington lawmakers are moving to pass a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags — legislation that would supersede Seattle’s local ban and increase the paper-bag fee to 8 cents. The ban failed to make it through the Legislature last year, but lawmakers are trying again. The Senate passed the bill 30-19 last week, with two Republican lawmakers crossing party lines, and the bill now moves to the state House of Representatives. Currently, 37 jurisdictions in Washington — most west of the Cascades — prohibit retail stores from distributing such bags, according to Sen. Mona Das, D-Kent, the sponsor of Senate Bill 5323. Twelve of these local ordinances were passed just last year, most of them allowing for paper bags for 5- or 10-cent fees at customers’ requests. SB 5323’s 8-cent fee on paper and durable plastic bags is a 2-cent decrease from last year’s proposed legislation. Lawmakers say the fee will act as a partial “cost recovery” for retailers who have to move away from cheaper plastic bags. Claudia Yaw reports. (Seattle Times)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  232 AM PST Tue Jan 21 2020   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON   
TODAY  SE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 11 ft  at 14 seconds building to 13 ft at 16 seconds in the afternoon.  Showers. 
TONIGHT  SW wind 10 to 20 kt becoming 15 to 20 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 15 ft at 13 seconds.  Rain.



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