4/13 Tulips, Earth Day 50th, grey whale research, killer whales, BC travel ban, goat kill, moth spray, snowpack, auto trucks

[PHOTO: Jacqueline Allison]

Tulips showing full color
Skagit Valley's tulips have reached full bloom. Both Tulip Town and RoozenGaarde's fields are closed to the public due to Gov. Jay Inslee's stay-at-home order. However, both tulip growers are posting digital tulip content on social media platforms such as Facebook for the public to view. Jacqueline Allison reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)


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


50 years ago, the global Earth Day movement was born — and so was WWU’s Huxley College, both shaping national environmental conversation
On April 22, 1970, environmentalists marching on the first Earth Day shook the nation out of what had become a long, pollution-riddled slumber — the ugly byproduct of the Industrial Age. Earth Day One, organized by Camas-reared solar advocate and Bullitt Foundation CEO Denis Hayes, has since grown into one of the largest secular observances on the planet, celebrated by an estimated 1 billion people in 192 nations. The half-century since, of course, is less than a blip on the scale of planetary evolution — but, in human terms, it qualifies as middle age, and the new overlay of the threat of global climate change has turned the founding focus upside-down, prompting a difficult question: Given the looming threat of previously unimagined environmental peril, do five decades of recycling, emissions testing, composting, preserving wetlands and buying local now qualify as deckchair-rearranging of Titanic proportions? Ron Judd reports. (Seattle Times)

Grey whale research halted due to COVID-19 concerns
At this time of year, scientists from Fisheries and Oceans Canada would be out on their boats studying the grey whale migration north, but like many other things, their research has been stopped by COVID-19. Thomas Doniol-Valcroze, a research scientist who leads the federal government's cetacean research program, says the annual migration — which occurs every spring — is a good window of opportunity to check on the condition of the individual whales. This year was also an important one for his team because the grey whale population suffered big losses last year, with several — including at least eight in B.C. — being found dead or stranded on beaches along the Pacific coast. Roshini Nair reports. (CBC)

If you like to watch: A Window into the Lives of Resident Killer Whales
From the Gikumi research vessel, the UBC Marine Mammal Research Unit and the Hakai Institute headed out on the Salish Sea and off the central coast of British Columbia to study the foraging behaviors of resident killer whales. (Hakai Magazine)

Thousands sign petition asking that travel to Vancouver Island be restricted
Thousands have signed an online petition asking that access to Vancouver Island via BC Ferries be restricted to essential services, supplies, and residents only, following concerns that a wave of long weekend vacationers could spread COVID-19 to areas with few medical resources... More than 26,000 had signed the online petition as of Sunday afternoon. Michelle Ghoussoub reports. (CBC)

Park seeks sharpshooters for goat culling 
Only the hardiest groups of backcountry enthusiasts — those able to traverse winding trail, steep landscapes and shoot accurately from long distances — are encouraged to apply for volunteer expeditions to cull the remaining non-native mountain goat population from Olympic National Park. Experienced backcountry trackers and skilled sharpshooters are sought for the upcoming lethal removal portion of Olympic National Park’s Mountain Goat Management Plan. Those interested have until Friday to form groups of between three and six people and apply to participate in one of three removal sessions of the park’s non-native mountain goat population set between Sept. 9 and Oct. 16. Michael carman reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Aircraft to spray 1,300 acres for moths in Everett, Woodway
They’re the worst of tenants. They’re destructive, they eat everything in sight and they don’t know when it’s time to leave. Gypsy moths native to Asia have set up camp in some Snohomish County forests, and they’re getting evicted this spring. Nearly 1,300 acres in Woodway and an Everett neighborhood south of Mukilteo Boulevard will be sprayed with insecticide — dropped from a height of 100 to 200 feet by an airplane — to stop the moths from spreading and to prevent them from gobbling up forest foliage. The first Hokkaido gypsy moth showed up in Woodway last year. It was reportedly the first of that type of moth found in the United States. Moths near the Boulevard Bluffs neighborhood have also tested positive for both European and Asian genetic traits, and the state Department of Agriculture intends to eradicate them. Julia-Grace Sanders reports. (Everett Herald)

How will the current snowpack situation affect Washington this summer?
It is around this time of year that the word “snowpack” begins to circulate among Washingtonians. While the first thing that comes to mind regarding snowpack might be winter recreational activities including skiing and snowboarding, it also determines many other things, including water resources and wildfires. With winter weather winding down in Washington and the forecast looking warm and dry for the foreseeable future, snowfall in the mountains has essentially ended for the season. Last Friday, Washington state climatologist Nick Bond met with local organizations and government agencies to discuss the current state of the snowpack. Anthony Edwards reports. (UW Daily)

In Mount Vernon, Paccar develops automated trucks that could revolutionize long-haul industry
An engineer steered the cab of a freight truck onto a vacant track. The ride was smooth as the tires met a patch of light on the tree-lined road on a sunny day. Then the engineer flipped a switch, and the cab jolted to life as he lifted his hand from the steering wheel and his foot from the gas pedal. The truck was now driving itself. Melissa Hellmann reports. (Seattle Times)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  227 AM PDT Mon Apr 13 2020   
TODAY  E wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 3 ft  at 9 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 3 ft at 9 seconds.




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