2/21 Quillback, BC LNG, 'unlawful' search, net-farm phase out, WA parks training, farming for climate, WA DNR climate plan, Jordan Cove delay, snow and ice

Quillback rockfish [Alchetron]

Quillback rockfish Sebastes maliger
Quillback rockfish range from the Kenai Peninsula in the Gulf of Alaska to Anacapa Passage in southern California. They can be found from subtidal waters to depths of 274 m (900 ft). Juveniles are usually shallower than adults and can be found on bull kelp-covered rocky outcrops, while adults tend to live in deeper water as solitary individuals. They are bottom dwellers that prefer high-relief, broken rock with flat-bladed kelps. In Puget Sound animals living on high relief areas have a very limited home range and have a high fidelity to their home sites. Quillback rockfish can grow up to 61 cm (24 in) in length. Maximum age is 95 years old. (WDFW)

'Not an option': B.C. premier rejects calls to halt or cancel Coastal GasLink pipeline
B.C.'s premier has categorically put to rest any notion of pulling provincial support for the Coastal GasLink pipeline. "That's not an option, no," John Horgan answered when asked point-blank about calls to halt or cancel the natural gas project altogether. It was his shortest response during Thursday's press conference at the B.C. Legislature as he took question after question about the ongoing tensions in northwestern B.C. surrounding hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation who oppose construction of a natural gas pipeline to feed a liquefied natural gas plant on the coast. Tanya Fletcher reports. (CBC)

Report finds stop checks, searches of protesters ’unlawful’: Watchdog
A civilian police watchdog has released what Indigenous advocates in support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs are calling an “explosive” letter condemning RCMP actions against Indigenous protesters. The B.C. Civil Liberties Association filed a complaint with the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP alleging Mounties unlawfully restricted access to a remote logging road in northern British Columbia before they enforced an injunction this month on behalf of Coastal GasLink. (Canadian Press)

Trudeau government backpedals on election promise to phase out B.C. open net salmon farms by 2025
Following an outcry from the salmon farming industry, the Trudeau government has backed away from its election campaign commitment to phase out open net pen salmon farming on B.C.’s West Coast by 2025. Jane Deeks, press secretary for Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, confirmed in an email to The Narwhal that a transition plan will be developed by 2025 but open net pen salmon farms will not be removed by that date.  Sarah Cox reports. (The Narwhal)

Navy proposes special operations training in area State Parks
State Parks is reviewing a proposal from the Navy to expand its use of parks in Western Washington for special operations training from five locations to 29. Public comments are being accepted and a public meeting will be held May 6 in Port Townsend. Staff will provide a report to the State Parks Commission on March 12 during a meeting in Chelan, which will be streamed online. The Navy has its sights set on parks in seven counties, including Skagit. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Farming to help the climate: Two bills in Olympia promote “regenerative agriculture”
Agriculture and deforestation are responsible for nearly a quarter of global emissions of greenhouses gases that are unnaturally warming the planet. “We need to be doing more to allow the landscape to absorb carbon we’ve already emitted into the atmosphere,” says Adam Maxwell, head of government relations for the environmental group Audubon Washington.  Farming could play a starring role. Two bills currently under consideration in the Washington Legislature would fund additional soil research and provide grants to farmers who try new methods to sequester carbon or cut greenhouse gas emissions. Katherine Long reports. (Investigate West)

Washington state agency releases climate-change plan, with calls for more renewable projects
Saying her agency was “on the front lines of climate change,” Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz this week outlined the Department of Natural Resources’ plan to mitigate climate change and prepare for a warmer future. The department published its “Plan for Climate Resilience” this week in a 96-page document long on ambition but short on specifics in some areas. Evan Bush reports. (Seattle Times)

Jordan Cove Decision Delayed By Feds After Oregon Denies Key Permit
Federal energy regulators have once again delayed their decision on the proposed Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas terminal and pipeline project. At a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission meeting Thursday morning, commissioners voted 2-1 not to move the project forward. The delay followed a decision Wednesday by the state of Oregon to deny a permit that state officials say is necessary for the project to move forward. Kimberly Freda and Jes Burns report. (OPB)

Alia Khan’s Global Quest for Snow and Ice
Each week between the end of February and Earth Day in late April, Western [Washington University] will reveal a new story about how its faculty, staff and students are working to combat global climate change, from the peaks of the world’s highest mountains to the vast expanses of the open ocean. This week's story: Alia Khan, an assistant professor of Environmental Sciences in Western Washington University’s Huxley College of the Environment, is on a mission to find the whitest snow and ice on the planet. John Thompson reports. (Western Today)


Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  225 AM PST Fri Feb 21 2020   
TODAY  Light wind becoming W to 10 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 6 ft at 13 seconds. 
TONIGHT  SW wind 5 to 15 kt becoming S 15 to 25 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft after  midnight. W swell 6 ft at 12 seconds. A slight chance of rain in  the evening then a chance of rain after midnight. 
SAT  W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 8 ft at 13 seconds building to  10 ft at 14 seconds in the afternoon. A chance of rain in the  morning then a slight chance of rain in the afternoon. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind to 10 kt becoming SE 15 to 25 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft after  midnight. W swell 9 ft at 14 seconds. 
SUN  S wind 15 to 25 kt becoming SW 20 to 30 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. W swell 8 ft at 14 seconds  building to 12 ft at 11 seconds in the afternoon.



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