3/30 Kinglet, orca visit, egg mass survey, relaxing enviro rules, ban reusable bags, bad flushing, Tulip Town, River's Edge, Montana power buy, Lk Sammamish trespass, "Survive the Sound"

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet [Alan Fritzberg]

Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
Ruby-crowned Kinglets are fast-moving but quiet little birds that you might overlook at first. If you’re scanning roadside bushes or watching a flock of warblers, you might see one dart into view and keep moving through the foliage, almost too fast for you to keep up. The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a tiny bird that lays a very large clutch of eggs—there can be up to 12 in a single nest. Although the eggs themselves weigh only about a fiftieth of an ounce, an entire clutch can weigh as much as the female herself. (All About Birds)


*EDITOR'S NOTE: Access updates on the COVID-19 virus at national and regional print publications like the CBC, the Seattle Times, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.
 

Pod of killer whales spotted in Indian Arm near Metro Vancouver's North Shore
Jim Hanson was stacking wood with his 24 year-old son early Friday evening in the northern part of Indian Arm northeast of Vancouver, B.C. when he heard what he thought was "the puff of a whale." He disregarded it, thinking there was no chance he was really hearing the sound of whales exhaling on the surface of the water. In his 59 years visiting the area, he'd never once seen a whale in the fjord — until his son alerted him. "We ran down to the water ... it was a mother and a father and two juveniles," said Hanson. Cathy Kearney reports. (CBC)

Annual egg mass surveys reveal frogs, salamanders
Heads down, eyes trained on the water and walking sticks in hand, Hal Lee and Jim Johnson made their way one sunny March morning along an old side channel of the Skagit River...The two are among 16 volunteers surveying amphibian egg masses this spring on eight Skagit Land Trust properties throughout Skagit County. “We’re looking for amphibian eggs basically because they are an indicator species,” Lee said. Indicator species are particularly sensitive to changes in the environment, so they can be used to gauge the health of the environment. Tracking amphibians can also reveal ways the land trust could improve habitat on its properties, and improve knowledge of invasive species. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

E.P.A., Citing Coronavirus, Drastically Relaxes Rules for Polluters
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced a sweeping relaxation of environmental rules in response to the coronavirus pandemic, allowing power plants, factories and other facilities to determine for themselves if they are able to meet legal requirements on reporting air and water pollution. The move comes amid an influx of requests from businesses for a relaxation of regulations as they face layoffs, personnel restrictions and other problems related to the coronavirus outbreak. Lisa Friedman reports. (NY Times)

No reusable bags, say B.C. health officials in advice to grocery stores amid COVID-19
Grocery stores and other food retailers shouldn't allow customers to use their own reusable bags or boxes, according to new guidance from the B.C. Ministry of Health on how retailers should help curb the spread of COVID-19. That's part of three pages of guidance released by the ministry, along with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, to food retailers. In particular, a ministry statement said, there have been a lot of questions from the sector about whether Dr. Bonnie Henry's order prohibiting more than 50 people from gathering applies to grocery stores. (CBC)

Stop flushing wipes, facial tissue, paper towels, cities beg
People swept shelves of disinfectant wipes and toilet paper as the COVID-19 outbreak spread. When those ran out, they reached for other sanitary wipes, napkins and paper towels. But only toilet paper is meant to be flushed. Everything else can wreak havoc on sewer and wastewater systems, a problem now playing out across Snohomish County. Ben Watanabe reports. (Everett Herald)

As coronavirus wilts the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, a farm adapts
Faced with massive financial loss, Tulip Town makes a play for virtual strolling. Agueda Pacheco Flores reports. (Crosscut)

River’s Edge purchase step in Dungeness River preservation project
While dozens of projects throughout the region have been postponed, a collaborative push to conserve more than 100 acres of farmland in Sequim was completed this March. On March 20, North Olympic Land Trust and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe purchased 104 total acres of farmland and habitat — dubbed “River’s Edge” — adjacent to the Dungeness River and Dungeness Valley Creamery. The Land Trust now owns 64 acres of farmland along Towne Road, and the tribe 40 owns acres of riverbank, as the groups look to preserve farmland and restore floodplain habitat. In total the project cost an estimated $1.4 million, with the tribe securing state grants for its portion of the purchase. Michael Dashiell and Matthew Nash report. (Peninsula Daiy News)

Washington utility to buy power from Montana tribal group Washington utility to buy power from Montana tribal group
A Washington state electric utility signed a contract to purchase hydroelectric power from a Montana tribal company. Puget Sound Energy Inc. signed the 15-year contract to draw power from a project operated by Energy Keepers Inc., owned by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana, The Billings Gazette reports. The Selis Ksanka Qlispe hydroelectric project, which includes a Flathead River dam, will provide 40 megawatts of power to Puget. (Associated Press)

'They're telling us we're trespassers': King County vs. longtime Lake Sammamish waterfront homeowners
King County has asked nearly 150 homeowners to remove their personal property from a rail corridor along Lake Washington so the Sammamish River Trail construction can begin next year. The pending lawsuit says eight owners of other properties along the lake had taken “without permission” an abandoned railway line in front of their homes. This wasn’t their land, the county says. The lawsuit says “docks, boat lifts, cabanas, decks, walkways, landscaping, fences and other structures” should be “ejected and payments made for remediation and restoration of the public lands, along with the payment of back rents.” The property owners disagree.Eric Lacitis reports. (Seattle Times)

Time to play "Survive the Sound"
Pick your fish! Long Live the Kings has transformed real fish tracking data into a fun competition to raise awareness about salmon and steelhead populations in peril around the Pacific Northwest. Play "Survive the Sound"  and after a 5-day  migration (May 4-8), the team with the most surviving fish wins bragging rights.



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  310 AM PDT Mon Mar 30 2020   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON   
TODAY  SW wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. SW swell 8 ft  at 8 seconds building to W 10 ft at 9 seconds in the afternoon.  Rain likely and a slight chance of tstms. 
TONIGHT  SW wind 10 to 20 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 10 ft at 11 seconds.  Showers likely in the evening. A slight chance of tstms. A chance  of showers after midnight.




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