2/24 Jervis Inlet, BC LNG, Dept of Ecology, fed dams EIS, new fish rules, Teck quits, Appalachian Trail pipe, derelict vessels, Skagit potatoes, 'anti-Greta'

Jervis Inlet [Laurie MacBride]

Never the Same Twice
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "Most of my travels over the years have been by boat, with the bulk of them here on BC’s south coast – relatively close to home. Yet even though I’ve been to some places over and over again, they’ve had something different to offer every time. Take, for example, the view in the photo above, looking up Prince of Wales Reach, the first of three long reaches that make up Jervis Inlet, which extends deep into the Pacific Ranges of BC’s Coast Mountains..."

Coastal GasLink sent back to the table with Indigenous leaders
Coastal GasLink must consult further with Indigenous communities along a stretch of its pipeline route at the heart of the Wet'suwet'en conflict, say B.C. officials.  Until then, construction cannot take place along the key, 18-kilometre portion. The company has been given 30 days by the province's Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) to hold those talks before resubmitting its final report for approval. Tanya Fletcher reports. (CBC) Trudeau says time for blockades to end, Indigenous leaders to work with government  Teresa Wright reports. (National Post)

Feb. 23, 1970 Governor signs the bill establishing the new agency into law
50 years ago, February 23, Governor Dan Evans signed a bill into law to create the Department of Ecology. We opened for business on July 1, 1970, several months before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did likewise on December 2. The Department of Ecology bill was part of a package of environmental legislation and other bills Gov. Evans acted on that day. All came out of a 32-day special session that he convened on Jan. 12, devoted to environmental issues. Larry Altose writes. (Dept of Ecology)

Impact statement draft will usher in next chapter of how to save Northwest’s fisheries 
A significant step in the long debate over how best to save and recover Snake River salmon and steelhead populations will begin to play out in the near future. The Army Corps of Engineers, Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation are set to release their draft environmental impact statement looking at the operation of 14 federal dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers and how they impact threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead runs. Eric Barker reports. (Lewiston Tribune)

New fishing rules increase limits on warm-water fish to indirectly help orcas
In an effort to protect young salmon from predation, new fishing rules will allow anglers to double their catch of some warm-water predatory fish found in 77 lakes across Washington state. Reducing the population of salmon-eating bass, catfish and walleye is one of many ideas promoted by the governor’s Southern Resident Orca Task Force, which considered various strategies for increasing the number of Chinook salmon. Declining numbers of Chinook — a primary prey of the endangered orcas — is considered a leading cause of the dwindling population of southern resident orcas. Chris Dunagan reports. (Puget Sound Institute)

Vancouver-based Teck withdraws application for Frontier mine in Alberta
Teck Resources Ltd. says it’s withdrawing its application for a massive oilsands mining project just days ahead of an expected government decision, citing the political discourse over climate change. The company says it will take a $1.13 billion writedown on the Frontier project in Alberta...In a letter to the federal environment minister, Teck CEO and President Don Lindsay says investors and customers increasingly want jurisdictions to have a framework in place that reconciles resource development and climate change. He says that “does not yet exist here today,” and that the growing debate around the issue has placed Frontier and the company “squarely at the nexus of much broader issues that need to be resolved.” The proposed $20.6 billion project was expected to create an estimated 7,000 construction jobs, 2,500 operating jobs and about $12 billion in federal income and capital taxes, but was also expected to produce about four million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year over 40 years. (Canadian Press)

U.S. Supreme Court to decide winner in case of gas pipeline vs. Appalachian Trail
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline begins in West Virginia and is planned to cross some of the most mountainous scenery in central Virginia before completing its 600-mile path in North Carolina. Work in Virginia has been halted for more than a year as the builders contend with a host of setbacks handed down by federal courts. None is more crucial than the question of whether the U.S. Forest Service has authority to grant the pipeline right of way under the Appalachian Trail in the George Washington National Forest. Gregory S. Schneider and Robert Barnes report. (Washington Post)

Group continues to pull sunken, abandoned wrecks from Salish Sea
Two more boats that were destined to sink or end up on abandoned on the beach were pulled out of Salt Spring Island waters on Monday. That brings the total number of derelict, abandoned and wrecked boats taken out of waters in the Capital Regional District into the 70s. The latest came from Ganges harbour and Montague (Galiano). Travis Paterson reports. (Vancouver Island Free Daily)

Skagit County potato farmers recovering from losses
Potato farmers in Skagit County suffered big losses last fall after they were unable to harvest some of their crops as a result of early and heavy rainfall. An estimated 2,000 acres of potatoes — valued at $3,000 to $5,000 an acre — went unharvested this season, said Don McMoran, director of the Washington State University Skagit County Extension. He estimates farmers’ losses added up to between $5 million and $10 million. Jacqueline Allison reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

The anti-Greta: A conservative think tank takes on the global phenomenon
For climate skeptics, it’s hard to compete with the youthful appeal of global phenomenon Greta Thunberg. But one U.S. think tank hopes it’s found an answer: the anti-Greta. Naomi Seibt is a 19-year-old German who, like Greta, is blond, eloquent and European. But Naomi denounces “climate alarmism,” calls climate consciousness “a despicably anti-human ideology,” and has even deployed Greta’s now famous “How dare you?” line to take on the mainstream German media. Desmond Butler and Juliet Eilperin report. (Washington Post)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  255 AM PST Mon Feb 24 2020   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM PST THIS MORNING  THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON   
TODAY  W wind 25 to 35 kt becoming W 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 4  to 6 ft subsiding to 1 to 3 ft. W swell 14 ft at 13 seconds  subsiding to 11 ft at 12 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind to 10 kt becoming SE after midnight. Wind waves  1 ft or less. W swell 8 ft at 11 seconds. A slight chance of rain  after midnight.



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