7/31 Purple crab, Olympic fire, freeing humpbacks, hypesonic weapons, Haida Gwaii travel, BC-AK travel, LNG by rail, Mazama gopher, salmon restoration, octopus

Purple (naked) shore crab [Walter Siegmund/WDFW]

Purple (naked) shore crab Hemigrapsus nudus
Purple, or naked, shore crab is commonly found under rocks in the intertidal along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico. It measures up to 5.5 cm across. It can range in color from olive-spotted or dark olive to red-brown. (Biodiversity of the Central Coast)

Olympic National Park fire grows quickly
A wildland fire suspected to be of human origin exploded Thursday along the steep slopes above East Beach Road at Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park. The East Beach Road fire is believed to have broken out about 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. It covered 1 acre by about 9 p.m., 20 acres by the next morning and 63 acres by late afternoon, according to an Olympic National Park press release. The fire is burning primarily on a south-facing slope in steep, heavy timber with shrub understory and is being pushed uphill by terrain-driven winds. Michael Carman reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Crews work to free humpbacks entangled in fishing gear off Island
Federal fisheries officials and conservation groups have been working to locate and free three humpback whales entangled in fishing gear around Vancouver Island and the Central Coast over the past five days. Two humpbacks dragging prawn traps and gear were reported and located over the weekend, but rescuers have since lost contact with both.Another entangled humpback was reported Tuesday on the North Coast. It was found late Wednesday afternoon and rescuers were near Gil Island trying to free the whale from several metres of seine netting and rigging. Darron Kloster reports. (Victoria Times Colonist)

Hypersonic Weapons Testing Faces a Big Problem: Killer Whales
Washington State officials want the U.S. Navy to modify a training program predicted to cause harm to killer whales and other marine mammals living in the Puget Sound area. The Navy plans to test a variety of weapons along the West Coast during a seven-year period, including what the The Seattle Times describes as a “projectile” flying at “seven times the speed of sound.” This is undoubtedly the Navy’s new Hyper Velocity Projectile, a hypersonic weapon designed to bombard enemy territory and shoot down enemy missiles. (Popular Mechanics)

B.C. bans travel to Haida Gwaii amid COVID-19 outbreak
In light of the recent outbreak on Haida Gwaii, the provincial government has banned all non-resident travel to the archipelago. The decision was made, the province says, in consultation with public health authorities, the Haida Nation and local governments on Haida Gwaii. (CBC)

Officials crack down on Alaska-bound travellers crossing U.S.-Canada border
The Canada Border Services Agency is tightening up the rules for Americans and other foreign nationals travelling through Western Canada on the way to Alaska, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Beginning Friday, foreign nationals travelling to Alaska for non-discretionary purposes will only be allowed to enter the country through five border crossings in Western Canada. Each visitor will be allowed a "reasonable period of stay" to make the journey, but will be limited to following "the most direct route" to Alaska, according to a CBSA press release. They must avoid all national parks, leisure sites and tourism activities along the way, and must report to Canadian border officers when they leave the country. (CBC)

Environmentalists threaten suit over push to transport liquefied natural gas by rail
Two environmental groups on Friday threatened to sue the Trump administration over a newly published rule allowing the transport of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by rail.  The rule, which allows for the transport of LNG in rail tank cars, was finalized last month but published in the Federal Register [last] Friday. Previously, a special permit was needed to transport LNG in this way. Rachel Fraxen reports. (The Hill)

Public can comment Friday on Mazama pocket gopher status
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission plans to hear a briefing and public comment on a recovery plan and status review of the Mazama pocket gopher Friday, in what is essentially a redo of a discussion that happened in mid-June. At that meeting, a scheduled public comment period never happened due to an administrative “hiccup,” so people who had anticipated providing comment weren’t given the opportunity, said Hannah Anderson, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Diversity Division Manager. The timing of the gopher briefing was also different than what was listed on the agenda. Sara Gentzler reports. (Olympian)

Rising Seas Could Menace Millions Beyond Shorelines, Study Finds
As global warming pushes up ocean levels around the world, scientists have long warned that many low-lying coastal areas will become permanently submerged. But a new study published Thursday finds that much of the economic harm from sea-level rise this century is likely to come from an additional threat that will arrive even faster: As oceans rise, powerful coastal storms, crashing waves and extreme high tides will be able to reach farther inland, putting tens of millions more people and trillions of dollars in assets worldwide at risk of periodic flooding. Brad Plumer reports. (NY Times)

Almost $300K approved for salmon conservation work
The Board of Jefferson County Commissioners approved two similar Recreation and Conservation Office fund grants with a combined total of almost $300,000 for projects focused on salmon conservation and resiliency. The grants were unanimously approved during the commissioners’ Monday afternoon session, with $195,415 going toward a Hoh River Resilience Plan Phase 1 and $94,825 going to the Dosewallips River Powerlines Project. Both projects will be overseen by Natural Systems Design (NSD), according to commission documents. Zack Jabonski reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

$332,000 Cooke Aquaculture penalty supports habitat restoration in Skagit County and statewide
Salmon will have better habitat with help from a $332,000 penalty settlement with Cooke Aquaculture after the collapse of its floating pen near Cypress Island in 2017. The settlement required that the fine be split, part going to an environmental project for regional salmon enhancement or habitat restoration and the other part going to our Coastal Protection Fund. (WA Dept of Ecology)

Meet the real-life kraken: the octopus
Seattle’s new hockey team is named for a legendary creature of the sea, and that’s a perfect fit, according to octopus researchers at the University of Washington. David Gire, an assistant professor of psychology, studies the neuroscience of the octopus. He says their tentacles act like little brains as their arms forage for food, that one species is big and strong enough to take down a shark, and how, even though octopus are solitary creatures, they learn from each other and work together. Kim Eckart reports. (UW News)



Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  236 AM PDT Fri Jul 31 2020   
TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 4 ft at 9 seconds. TONIGHT  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 3 ft  at 9 seconds. 
SAT  Light wind becoming NW 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 2 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 9 seconds. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt easing to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 3 ft at 7 seconds. 
SUN  Light wind. Wind waves less than 1 ft. W swell 3 ft at  8 seconds.




--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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7/30 Decorator crab, Loutsis Cr, kelp, Arctic warmth, salmon conservation

Decorator crab [Dave Cowles/Walla Walla U]

Decorator crab Oregonia gracilis
The decorator crab is fund in intertidal and subtotal zones to a depth of 435 m. I tis most common in shallow habitats with mixed composition bottoms. Its range is from the Bering Sea to Monterey, California, and it is also found in Japan. The crab attaches pieces of algae, sponges, bryozoans, hydroids and other growths to bristle hair on its carapace and legs. (Biodiversity of the Central Coast)

New bridge underway to improve salmon habitat on Loutsis Creek 
Construction crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation are removing an old culvert on Loutsis Creek just south of Duvall on State Route 203, and replacing it with a 15-foot tall arched bridge being billed as the first of its kind on the West Coast. The structure will be built with "super-light" fiberglass forms, which do not require the typical heavy equipment associated with bridge-building. The conversion is expected to be complete on Aug. 26. Bob Kirkpatrick reports. (Wooddinville Weekly)

If you like to watch: Seeing Kelp
Local photographer and naturalist Wendy Feltham has found the beauty in kelp. (Rainshadow Journal)

Wildfires, record warmth and rapidly melting ice: Arctic climate goes further off the rails this summer
The Arctic summer of 2020 is one that has been marked by raging fires in the Far North, with smoke extending more than 1,000 miles downwind, along with alarming new temperature records and ice melt. While rapid Arctic climate change is not exactly news — the region is warming at about three times the rate of the rest of the world — the manifestations of this phenomenon are increasing in severity, scope and societal consequences. Andrew Freedman reports. (Washington Post)

Almost $300K approved for salmon conservation work
Grants to fund projects on Hoh, Dosewallips rivers. (Peninsula Daily News/paywall)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  306 AM PDT Thu Jul 30 2020   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt becoming NW 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 2 ft at 9 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  4 ft at 10 seconds.




--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

7/29 King crab, Navy testing, Trump's climate, Pebble Mine, Biden's energy, grizzlies, bees, gypsy moth, WSF

Puget Sound king crab [Dave Cowles]

Puget Sound king crab Lopholithodes mandtii
The Puget Sound king crab is found from Sitka, Alaska, to Monterey, California. It inhabits rocky subtitle locations with strong current, to 137 m deep. This large and solid crab, described by Lamb and Hanby as an 'underwater mini army tank,' can have a carapace measuring more than 30 cm across. (Biodiversity of the Central Coast)

Washington state officials slam Navy's changes to military testing program that would harm more orcas
A Navy military testing program that appeared headed to routine approval has hit a wall of opposition from Washington’s governor, attorney general and state agencies because of potential harm to endangered orcas in Washington waters. The program is being assessed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which has determined impacts from the Navy’s proposed testing to be “negligible” and is drafting a final rule for implementation of the program. The Navy is working with its regulators to make changes in the program — though what those may be is far from clear. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

E.P.A. Inspector General to Investigate Trump’s Biggest Climate Rollback
The Environmental Protection Agency’s internal watchdog said Monday it had opened an investigation into the agency’s weakening of Obama-era regulations that would have limited automobile emissions by significantly raising fuel economy standards. The inspector general demanded that top E.P.A. officials turn over briefing materials and other documents pertaining to the regulation, which was finalized in late March as the Trump administration’s single largest rollback of federal climate change rules. Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman report. (NY Times)

Fight over Pebble Mine isn't over yet
Opponents of the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska say the fight to stop it is far from over. Leaders from the United Tribes of Bristol Bay are preparing a challenge after the Army Corps of Engineers released its final environmental impact statement (EIS) on Friday. The mine would extract gold, copper and other minerals from deposits near Alaska’s Bristol Bay, which is also home to the world’s most productive sockeye salmon fishery. It supports Alaska Native tribes, as well as commercial fishermen from around the world; hundreds head there from Washington every summer. A coalition of Coast Salish tribes also signed a Bristol Bay Proclamation in January, demanding support for “people of the salmon” and a halt to the permitting process for the Pebble Partnership’s plans. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Oil and Gas Groups See ‘Some Common Ground’ in Biden Energy Plan
Joseph R. Biden Jr. won over environmentalists and liberals when he announced a $2 trillion plan to promote electric vehicles, energy efficiency and other policies intended to address climate change. But the plan released on July 14 has also earned a measure of support from an unexpected source: the oil and gas industry that is closely aligned with the Trump administration and is a big source of campaign contributions to the president. Clifford Krauss and Ivan Penn report. (NY Times)

More Bad News For North Cascades Grizzlies
Good news if you’re a grizzly bear living in or near Yellowstone National Park: The 9th Circuit has mostly upheld a district court ruling that vacates the delisting of grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, making them once again a threatened species, and preventing nearby states from issuing licenses to grizzly bear trophy hunters. Bad news if you’re a grizzly bear contemplating a move to the North Cascades: The Interior Department has gone back on its 2018 decision to move ahead with a process that would have brought new bears into the national park to jump-start recovery of grizzlies there.  Dan Chasan reports. (Post Alley)

Lack of bees, pollination limiting crop yields across U.S., B.C., study finds
A lack of wild bees and managed honeybees is limiting pollination and yields for certain crops on farms in British Columbia and across the United States, a collective of researchers has found. Their study published Tuesday in the Royal Society's journal Biological Sciences used data from more than 130 farms to assess the pollination of crop flowers and yield for apples, highbush blueberries, sweet and tart cherries, almonds, pumpkins and watermelon. Of those crops, the study found five frequently showed evidence of pollinator limitation, suggesting that the protection of wild bees and greater investment in honeybee colonies is likely to boost yields. Brenna Owen reports. (CBC)

UBC researchers develop rapid test to detect invasive gypsy moth
Gypsy moths are an invasive species that can wreak havoc on B.C.'s forests, but a new rapid test developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia can detect the presence of the moths within hours and without a lab. The gypsy moth, which can damage more than 500 species of trees, shrubs and plants, can kill young trees in only a couple of years by stripping their leaves clean. However, the moths can be difficult to detect just by looking at spots and bumps on a tree. (CBC)

Washington State Ferries to receive $5M federal grant for vessel upgrades
Washington State Ferries will receive a $5 million federal grant to upgrade two Issaquah-class passenger ferries, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced Monday. The funds will help the Washington State Department of Transportation's ferries division purchase new reduction gear components to maintain its ferries. The parts have reached or exceeded their 20-year lifespan, and if they failed it would cost the agency 15 months of lost service, or nearly $3 million per failure, according to the news release. Paxtyn Merten reports. (Puget Sound Business Journal)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  521 AM PDT Wed Jul 29 2020   
 Light wind becoming NW 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves less than 1 ft becoming 2 ft or less in the afternoon. W  swell 4 ft at 10 seconds. 
 W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  3 ft at 9 seconds.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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7/28 Red crab, Tahlequah, Springer, fossil fuel infrastructure, haz data, Cooke stteelhead, Hamada fishers

Red rock crab [Kirt L Onthank]

Red rock crab Cancer productus
Red rock crab, as their name implies, prefer rocky substrates but can also be found in eelgrass, soft-bottom habitat, and shellfish beds from the mid intertidal to depths of about 260 feet. The species is native to North American west coast estuaries from Alaska to Northern Baja California and is common throughout Puget Sound. This species usually measures less than 6 inches across the back and is characterized by large claws. It can be distinguished from the Dungeness by the presence of black on the tips of its claws and by its red coloration. (WDFW)


Tahlequah, the orca who carried her dead calf for 17 days, is pregnant again
Tahlequah is pregnant again. The mother orca raised worldwide concern when she carried her dead calf 17 days and more than 1,000 miles, almost exactly two years ago. Now, she has another chance at motherhood, scientists have learned. Scientists John Durban, senior scientist of Southall Environmental Associates and Holly Fearnbach, marine mammal research director for the nonprofit SR3, recently finished recording drone images of the southern residents and discovered pregnancies amid the J, K and L pods. The recordings were done as part of a long-term study of the body condition of the endangered southern resident orcas that frequent Puget Sound. The photography is done non-invasively by a remote-activated drone flown more than 100 feet over the whales. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Celebrate Springer 2020! Presentation and Q&A 
The Whale Trail presents on July 30 at 7 pm a virtual presentation of Springer (A73), an orphaned orca who was spotted near Seattle in January 2002—- lost, alone, and 300 miles away from home-- and after six months was rescued, rehabilitated, and returned to her pod. Today she is thriving, tending her two calves. It's the first—- and so far only—- successful orca rehabilitation and reunion in history. Springer's story will be told by members of her team and will be followed by a panel discussion with Bob Lohn, Joe Scordino, Kathy Fletcher, Suzie Hall (OrcaLab) and others. The Zoom event is free but please register in advance.

King County Council restricts coal mines, fossil fuel infrastructure in zoning and development changes
The King County Council Friday approved changes to its land use and development regulations that make it more difficult to expand or develop major fossil fuel infrastructure in the county. The county in 2019 passed a moratorium on developing such infrastructure.  The new measures make it more difficult to construct pipelines or storage facilities for oil or natural gas. The changes do not apply to gas stations or existing fossil fuel infrastructure. Evan Bush reports. (Seattle Times)

A hazardous data gap in B.C. means it costs $125,910 for the right to know
Three hundred thousand pages of records, stuffed into 50 cardboard boxes each year with no filing method. It’s a system so broken and antiquated you’d be forgiven if you assumed this was a thing of the distant past. But you’d be wrong. In the year 2020, when online retailers can trace millions of packages simultaneously and ride-hailing services can tell you when your driver is around the corner, British Columbia continues to use physical papers to track the movement of hazardous waste across the province. Arik Ligeti reports. (The Narwhal)

Switch to steelhead has Cooke on a new path in Puget Sound
Cooke Aquaculture Pacific is hoping to farm a species native to Washington state – steelhead or rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) – in four Puget Sound net pen sites where it previously raised Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The company is waiting for an answer to its permit application and, if approved, will begin raising raise all-female, sterile rainbow trout. It’s a hopeful wait, because in January the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife Cooke’s approved request to produce this native species. The application is currently under review by the Department of Ecology, which regulates marine net pen aquaculture to protect water quality through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. Lauren Kramer reports. (Aquaculture Alliance)

The Old Man and the New Sea
Three generations of the Hamada family have fished British Columbia’s coast. Will the latest generation outlive the salmon they seek? Braela Kwan reports. (Hakai Magazine)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  257 AM PDT Tue Jul 28 2020   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt rising to 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft in the afternoon. W  swell 5 ft at 8 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt easing to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft subsiding to 1 ft or less after midnight. W  swell 4 ft at 8 seconds.




--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

7/27 Green crab, Fraser sockeye, Reiner Farm, Frognal Estates, Bispheol A, no plastic plz, goat removal

Green crab [Parks Canada]

Help the DFO by spotting the invasive European green crab in B.C. waters
The European green crab can have a very destructive impact on West Coast ecosystems, and the public can help Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) by reporting any possible sightings in non-common locations to its tip line. Thomas Therriault, a research scientist with the DFO, says the European green crab arrived in West Coast waters in the late 1980s. When the crabs got dumped into the bay, they travelled up the coast reaching Oregon, Washington state, and eventually reached the southwest coast of Vancouver Island in the late 1990s. The crabs, which are frequently green but not exclusively so, are distinguished by five distinct spines on each side behind its eye. As an invasive species, the crab eats local clams, mussels, oysters, and competes with other native crabs at the juvenile stage, Therriault said.  (CBC)

Majority of early Fraser River sockeye run won't make it to spawning grounds, report suggests 
An early sockeye salmon run is having trouble making it up the Fraser River and the majority won't make it to their spawning grounds this year, largely because of the ongoing Big Bar landslide, according to a report from the Pacific Salmon Commission. Despite tens of thousands of fish passing through sites in Mission and Hells Gate, none have been observed on the other side of the landslide. The issues are compounded by an above average amount of discharge — rainfall, ground water, and melting snow — that's been flowing into the river. Jon Hernandez reports. (CBC)

Tulalip Tribes to buy 100-acre salmon habitat near Monroe
The tribes plan to purchase part of what has been known as Reiner Farm, along the Skykomish River. Stephanie Davey reports. (Everett Herald/paywall)

Bankruptcy complicates disputed Frognal Estates development
Backers of the controversial Frognal Estates development filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Thursday in hopes of reviving the 15-year project’s faltering financials. Frognal Holdings LLC, which owns the 22-acre property near Picnic Point Road, owes $11.3 million to more than a dozen creditors, according to a petition the company’s attorneys filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Seattle. Once forested and now covered with stumps, the site was approved for a 112-home subdivision over the objections of neighbors, who argued the development would create landslide risks on steep and environmentally sensitive land. Rachel Riley reports. (Everett Herald)

BPA debate rages, while state program seeks safer chemicals for many common products
Ongoing findings about the chemical Bisphenol A has further inflamed a debate about whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is adequately protecting people’s health when it comes to products containing BPA. Meanwhile, a year-old state program, called Safer Products for Washington, may avoid some of the regulatory pitfalls people are seeing at the FDA by simply asking whether safer chemicals are available and whether it would be reasonable to use them instead...The dilemma, according to Patricia Hunt of Washington State University and other academic researchers, is that toxicologists working for regulatory agencies refuse to account for findings that show how endocrine-disrupting compounds may harm the body in ways that don’t fit traditional models. Chris Dunagan reports. (Puget Sound Institute)

Environmentalists call for return to reusable cups and bags
Environmental groups are calling on businesses to allow customers to bring reusable cups and bags, saying the novel coronavirus pandemic has caused a major setback in the plastic crisis. Early in the COVID-19 outbreak, many companies refused to accept personal mugs and take-away containers over fears of the virus putting employees at risk and most grocery stores stopped packing reusable bags. But environmental groups like Surfrider Foundation Canada point to a statement signed by 125 international scientists and health professionals attesting to the safety of reusable containers in the COVID-19 era. The statement says washing reusable dishes at high temperatures with additional sanitizing procedures will provide “more than adequate protection against virus transmission.” Tiffany Crawford reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Goat removal reaches next act
Translocation to begin Monday. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News/paywall)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  246 AM PDT Mon Jul 27 2020   
TODAY  SE wind to 10 kt becoming NW 5 to 15 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 7 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less after  midnight. W swell 5 ft at 8 seconds.




--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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7/24 Rosario Strait, DFO reform, Trump's gold mine, whale watch, Heiltsuk herring, fishing lodge

Rosario Strait

Rosario Strait
Literally "Rosary Strait," the water boundary between San Juan and Skagit counties is one of the relocated Spanish names. Eliza had originally named the waterway Boca de Hidalgo and had called the present Gulf of Georgia, Gran Canal de Nuestra Señora del Rosario la Marinera. In 1841, Wilkes named it Ringgold Channel in honor of his expedition's Lt. Cadwalder Ringgold. In 1847, British Capt. Henry Kellett clarified the charts in his pro-British anti-American fashion by confirming Vancouver's Gulf of Georgia at its present location and replacing both Eliza's Bay of Fidalgo and Wilkes's Ringgold Channel with the shortened version of the former gulf title. (Washington State Place Names)

Conservationists, anglers say it's time to reform DFO
Conservation and angling groups on the West Coast are calling for radical reform of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, saying it appears unable to protect wild fish while managing commercial fisheries and ocean-based aquaculture. The B.C. Wildlife Federation, in a letter to Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan,says the federal department should be “independently reviewed and rebuilt” with a mandate to restore and recover failing salmon populations. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Trump administration says massive Alaska gold mine won’t cause major environmental harm, reversing Obama
Trump officials will conclude Friday that a proposed gold and copper mine in Alaska — which would be North America’s largest — would not pose serious environmental risks, a sharp reversal from a finding by the Obama administration that it would permanently harm the region’s prized sockeye salmon. The official about-face regarding the bitterly contested project epitomizes the whiplash that has come to define environmental policy under President Trump, who has methodically dismantled many of his predecessor’s actions on climate change, conservation and pollution. Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis report. (Washington Post) See also: Pebble Mine’s Environmental Review Foreshadows Future “Streamlined” Process Forged by Trump Administration  Ashley Braun reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Whale watching outfits warned on border bending
Whale-watching companies on both sides of the border are being extra vigilant with their GPS co-ordinates in the Salish Sea after a U.S. vessel was fined and a Canadian boat was told to turn back by American authorities in the past week. The Canadian border with the U.S. is closed to all non-essential crossings, including on the water. he Pacific Whale Watch Association said Thursday there is now “clarity” and a consensus when it comes to where whale watchers can operate. Darron Kloster reports. (Victoria Times-Colonist)

Heiltsuk’s decision to close fishery on B.C. coast amid COVID-19 earns international attention
Nation’s willingness to shut down lucrative spawn-on-kelp fishery stands in ‘stark contrast’ to other government decisions to push ahead with extractive industries during pandemic, according to letter published in Science. Stephanie Wood reports. (The Narwhal)

'Our community is not ready': Heiltsuk Nation relieved fishing lodge not opening
A fishing resort on B.C's central coast has announced it won't be hosting guests for the 2020 sport fishing season. The announcement is a relief for the Heiltsuk Nation, which asked area tourism operators to stay closed for the season due to COVID-19 concerns. Shearwater Resort, which is located near Bella Bella, released a statement saying it is reversing an earlier decision to open. Nicole Our reports. (CBC)



Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  255 AM PDT Fri Jul 24 2020   
TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell  3 ft at 13 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 10 seconds. 
SAT  Light wind becoming NW 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves less than 1 ft becoming 2 ft or less in the afternoon. W  swell 4 ft at 7 seconds. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  4 ft at 8 seconds. 
SUN  Light wind becoming NE to 10 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 8 seconds.




--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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7/23 Plantain, TMX insurance, sewage suit, Outdoors Act, grizzlies, border wall, global warming, migration, oil and gas climate

Ribwort plantain

Ribwort plantain Plantago lanceolata
The lance-shaped leaves of P. lanceolata have several prominent ribs, giving rise to the name 'ribwort.' It was a highly prized herb in olden times, and the Saxons reputedly bound it to their heads with red wool to cure headaches. Old names like 'kemps' and 'cocks' derive from the Anglo-Saxon cempa or Danish kaempe for 'warrior,' because children used the plants to mock fight with. (They twisted the flower stalks around itself and pushed it up tight against the inflorescence until the flowers shot off.) (Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast)

Zurich Insurance drops cover for Trans Mountain oil pipeline
Insurer Zurich has decided not to renew cover for the Canadian government’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline, said a spokeswoman for the project, which is opposed by environmental campaigners and some indigenous groups...Trans Mountain said it has the insurance it needs for its existing operations and the “expansion project”. (Reuters)

Suquamish Tribe announces plan to sue King County over sewage spills into Puget Sound
The Suquamish Tribe announced Wednesday its plan to sue King County for releasing untreated sewage into the Puget Sound, according to allegations listed in a press release. The letter gives officials 60 days notice of the tribe’s intent to file the lawsuit, which alleges ongoing violations of the Clean Water Act and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit...The release says that public records show that King County discharged hundreds of thousands of gallons of untreated sewage from the West Point Wastewater Treatment Plant in 2018 and 2019. (KIRO)

Washington state expected to get millions more for parks, forests as Congress approves conservation bill
Congress passed sweeping legislation Wednesday allocating $900 million a year for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), and an additional $9.5 billion over five years to address an urgent backlog of maintenance projects at the nation’s parks and other public lands. The legislation, S.3422, is a once-in-a-generation gift to the future, expected to more than double the money available under the program every year for parks and outdoor recreation of all sorts in Washington state. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times) See also: The Great American Outdoors Act Passes, Could Mean Big Things For Oregon  Erin Ross reports. (OPB)

Environmental group sues feds over North Cascades grizzly bear decision
An environmental group filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday for failing to release public records on the termination of a program to restore grizzly bears to the North Cascades in Washington. U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt earlier this month traveled to Omak, Okanogan County, to announce his agency will not conduct the environmental impact statement needed to reintroduce grizzlies into the North Cascades. That surprise decision prompted the Center for Biological Diversity to file its lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C. Nicholas K. Geranios reports. (Associated Press) See also: B.C. group asks court to revoke government's wolf cull permits  (Vancouver Sun)

Environmentalists ask Supreme Court to stop funding of border wall construction
Environmentalists are making a last-ditch effort at the Supreme Court to stop the continued construction of parts of President Trump’s border wall. The Sierra Club asked the justices to undo their decision from a year ago that allowed construction now that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that the administration’s use of funds for the wall is unlawful. Without the Supreme Court’s action, say lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition, the Trump administration could simply run out the clock. Robert Barnes reports. (Washington Post)

Major new climate study rules out less severe global warming scenarios
The current pace of human-caused carbon emissions is increasingly likely to trigger irreversible damage to the planet, according to a comprehensive international study released Wednesday. Researchers studying one of the most important and vexing topics in climate science — how sensitive the Earth’s climate is to a doubling of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere — found that warming is extremely unlikely to be on the low end of estimates. These scientists now say it is likely that if human activities — such as burning oil, gas and coal along with deforestation — push carbon dioxide to such levels, the Earth’s global average temperature will most likely increase between 4.1 to 8.1 degrees Fahrenheit (2.3 and 4.5 degrees Celsius). The previous and long-standing estimated range of climate sensitivity, as first laid out in a 1979 report, was 2.7 to 8.1 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 to 4.5 Celsius). Andrew Freedman and Chris Mooney report. (Washington Post)

The Great Climate Migration Has Begun
Today, 1% of the world is a barely livable hot zone. By 2070, that portion could go up to 19%. Billions of people call this land home. Where will they go? Abrahm Lustgarten reports. (NY Times)

Major oil and gas companies set carbon emissions goal to address climate change
The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, an international consortium of CEOs heading 12 energy companies including Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum, on Thursday announced a plan to reduce the carbon emissions rate of members’ combined upstream oil and gas operations, cutting the ouput by 36 million to 52 million tonnes per year by 2025. The reduction, the group said, is equivalent to the carbon emissions from the energy use of 4 million to 6 million U.S. homes. Paul Takahashi reports. (Houston Chronicle)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  244 AM PDT Thu Jul 23 2020   
TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell  4 ft at 11 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell  4 ft at 13 seconds. A slight chance of showers.




--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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7/22 Beetle, BC fire season, plastic straw ban, virus boating, John Miir, Lady Washington, Colstrip

Red flat bark beetle [Arthur Evans]

Red flat bark beetle Cucujus clavipes
The red flat bark beetle is found throughout North America. These are generally found near tree line under bark of dead poplar and ash trees. C. clavipes are described as phloem-feeding and often predators of other small insects, such as wood-boring beetles, and mites. (Wikipedia)

Rainy spring means B.C.'s wildfire season is still quiet, but that could soon change
Wildfire activity in B.C. is down drastically compared to recent years, thanks to plenty of rain in the past couple of months, but warm summer weather will likely bring a change in conditions. So far this year, B.C. has had 211 wildfires with about 688 hectares burned. Those numbers are low even compared with 2019, a relatively quiet year for fires, when there had been 513 fires and 12,000 hectares burned at this point, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service. Fire information officer Karley Desrosiers said a rainy spring and early summer helped increase the moisture content of soil in most parts of B.C., which has kept fires smaller and more manageable. (CBC)

Plastic straw ban approved in Port Townsend 
The Port Townsend City Council unanimously approved a ban on single-use plastic straws and stirrers beginning next year. The ordinance was approved during the council’s Monday night meeting and will go into effect Jan. 1. The ban is effective only within Port Townsend city limits; no such ban has been approved by the Board of Jefferson County Commissioners. Zack Jablonski reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

2 U.S. boaters in B.C. waters fined under Quarantine Act
The RCMP says two U.S. boaters have been fined after officers with its Pacific Shiprider program located them in Canadian waters, allegedly in contravention of the Quarantine Act. The first case involved a boater on July 10 who, according to RCMP, claimed to be heading to Alaska. The police allege the person had entered Canada for the purpose of tourism. According to a statement released by B.C. RCMP's Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit, the person was fined $1,000 under Section 58 of the Quarantine Act. A second fine was issued July 17, after police found a U.S. whale watching operator and his passengers in Canadian waters. The alleged offence was the same as the July 10 case. (CBC)

Liberal, progressive — and racist? The Sierra Club faces its white-supremacist history
No one is more important to the history of environmental conservation than John Muir — the “wilderness prophet,” “patron saint of the American wilderness” and “father of the national parks” who founded the nation’s oldest conservation organization, the Sierra Club. But on Wednesday, citing the current racial reckoning, the group announced it will end its blind reverence to a figure who was also racist. Darryl Fears and Steven Mufson report. (Washington Post)

On the Hard: The Lady Washington
Joel Rogers in Classic Yachts to Fish Packers: Their Stories writes: "Approaching the Port of Port Townsend’s Boat Haven Marina, it was easy to spot the masts and yards of the Lady Washington ranging above the hauled out tenders, yachts and tugs. She is at once memorable, with the sweet lines of an 18th century sailing ship, the fir hull raised up on blocks, her crew on scaffolds giving her a fresh coat of paint, while above them the masts with their intricate skein of rigging, shrouds, halyards and stays – six mile s of rigging – reach to the sky. (Rainshadow Journal)

Colstrip owner accelerates exit plans, again
Colstrip Power Plant co-owner PacifiCorp has agreed to remove Colstrip from customer bills in Washington state by 2023, two years ahead of the state’s 2025 coal power ban. The utility has rolled out an aggressive build-out of renewable energy projects and plans to retire 20 of 24 coal-fired generators over the next 18 years. Tuesday, it reached a settlement agreement in Washington in which it would sew up its investment in Colstrip Unit 4 by the end of 2023, after which its Washington customers wouldn’t be billed for Unit 4 costs. Tom Luted reports. (Ravelli Republic)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  257 AM PDT Wed Jul 22 2020   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt becoming NW in the afternoon. Wind waves  1 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 10 seconds. Areas of drizzle in the  morning. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  4 ft at 10 seconds. A slight chance of showers after midnight.




--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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7/21 Sculpin, orcas, quiet seas, BC haz waste, Haida Gwaiii tensions, polar bears, climate threat, salmon recovery, sense of place

Roughback sculpin [DiverKevin]

Roughback sculpin
Roughback sculpin are found from northern British Columbia to Baja California. They are common from the intertidal to deep water. They bury themselves during the day and  are active at night, feeding on shrimp and other crustaceans worms and snails. (Marine Wildlife of Puget Sound, the San Juans and the Strait of Georgia)    See also: Sculpins of Puget Sound (Seattle Aquarium)

Orcas without borders
There’s an imaginary line that sweeps along the length of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and zigzags north through Haro Strait and between the San Juan and Gulf Islands. The line represents an international border, demarcating the frontier between the United States and Canada. It’s also a major shipping lane, connecting Vancouver, Seattle, and other Salish Sea ports to the web of global commerce. For the southern resident orcas, it’s simply a part of home – a vector traveling through some of their most important habitat. The Salish Sea’s endangered southern resident orcas travel freely across the U.S.-Canada border, unconstrained by political boundaries. But while they don’t require passports, they can still face differing policies and conditions as they go back and forth between nations. We look at some of the ways that the United States and Canada compare in their efforts to protect the whales. Sarah DeWeerdt reports. (Puget Sound Institute)

Whales Get A Break As Pandemic Creates Quieter Oceans
When humpback whales migrated to Glacier Bay in Alaska this year to spend the long summer days feeding, they arrived to something unusual: quieter waters. As the global pandemic slows international shipping and keeps cruise ships docked, scientists are finding measurably less noise in the ocean. That could provide momentary relief for whales and other marine mammals that are highly sensitive to noise. Through networks of underwater hydrophones, scientists are hoping to learn how the mammals' communication changes when the drone of ships is turned down, potentially informing new policies to protect them. Lauren Sommer reports. (NPR)

B.C. rarely inspects hazardous waste handlers despite companies frequently breaking rules
Provincial investigators found companies weren’t fully compliant with regulations 70 per cent of the time in the five years since a digital database of shipments was replaced with paper files shoved in cardboard boxes.  Ben Parfitt reports. (The Narwhal)

Tensions between B.C. fishing lodges, Haida Nation escalate over COVID-19
RCMP in northwest B.C. say they will review video of a confrontation on the water near Haida Gwaii between members of the Haida Nation and staff of a local fishing lodge. The video appears to show some five vessels from the Queen Charlotte Lodge passing too close to a pair of smaller Haida boats, leading to a tense verbal exchange.Tensions have been rising on Haida Gwaii since the luxury fishing lodge, which is on the northernmost island of the archipelago, reopened despite a state of emergency in the Haida Nation because of COVID-19. Nicole Oud reports. (CBC)

Global Warming Is Driving Polar Bears Toward Extinction, Researchers Say
By century’s end, polar bears worldwide could become nearly extinct as a result of shrinking sea ice in the Arctic if climate change continues unabated, scientists said. Henry Fountain reports. (NY Times)

Climate Change Poses ‘Systemic Threat’ to the Economy, Big Investors Warn
Climate change threatens to create turmoil in the financial markets, and the Federal Reserve and other regulators must act to avoid an economic disaster, according to a letter sent on Tuesday by a group of large investors. Christopher Flavelle reports. (NY Times)

Issues 2020: Orca and Salmon Recovery
After more than two decades of effort, salmon recovery in Puget Sound continues to fall far short of promised targets. The result is that Chinook salmon are not close to being removed from the Endangered Species List and the population of Southern Resident Killer Whales continues to decline due, in part, to lack of food. Despite the high-profile creation of the governor’s Orca Task Force, state policies have not yielded improvement and are unlikely to do so in the near future. Todd Myers writes. (Washington Policy Center)

Research Article: Whose Puget Sound?: Examining Place Attachment, Residency, and Stewardship in the Puget Sound Region
Based on data from over 2,000 responses to a general population survey, the authors highlight the current status of place attachment among Puget Sound residents and the extent to which residency matters to their stated attachment to place and environmental stewardship behaviors. This examination challenges often touted negative perceptions of the region’s newcomers and concludes that residents, new and old, share a strong positive place attachment and sense of pro-environmental stewardship. David J. Trimbach, Whitney Fleming & Kelly Biedenweg. (Geographical Review)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  254 AM PDT Tue Jul 21 2020   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 6 ft at 9 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  5 ft at 10 seconds.




--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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7/20 Ravens, Victoria sewage, harassed killler whales, US boaters in BC waters, Nooksack R dam removal

Ravens [Tony Angell]

Tony Angell on the Raven
Tony Angell reflects: "It's a cloudless summer day as I listen to ravens behind me in the woods. There's an endless repertoire of croaks, krawks, barks, yelps, and yodels. Other ravens across the bay respond in kind, and I imagine that this is a day of poetry and perhaps a few jokes shared between clans of these birds." (BirdNote)

$775M Greater Victoria sewage treatment plant nears completion
After decades of debate and nearly four years of construction, the Capital Region is on the home stretch towards completing its new tertiary sewage treatment plant. There’s still a lot of work to be done before it’s finished but the construction is now far enough along that trials have begun taking place, using potable water, to see how it runs. Currently, when you flush your toilet in the CRD (Capital Regional District), your waste passes through a six-millimetre screen before the raw sewage is flushed out into the ocean's currents, one kilometre off of our shoreline. As of Dec. 31 of this year, that is all going to change. Brandon Strain reports. (CTV News)

Boaters harass killer whales off Fox Island
A pod of orcas was harassed by up to 30 boaters Tuesday evening as the killer whales swam through the Tacoma Narrows and past Fox Island, according to numerous observers who witnessed the floating spectacle. One person on a jet ski drove circles around the six whales, according to witnesses. Angry residents took to social media to complain about the flotilla of harassers. Federal regulations established by NOAA Fisheries say boaters must stay 400 yards beyond an orca’s path. Boaters must maintain a speed of seven knots or less within half a mile of orcas. Washington state law requires vessels to stay 300 yards on either side of resident orcas. Craig Sailor reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

COVID-19: U.S. vessels in BC waters against border rules, say boaters
A group of retired B.C. boaters have tracked what they believe are American pleasure craft into Canadian waters that are violating restrictions put in place because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The vessels — estimated to be as many as 100 in the past month — are stopping at marinas, sometimes for days, says George Creek, one of the retired boaters and a member of the Council of B.C. Yacht Clubs. Much of the vessel traffic is coming from Washington state, particularly concerning because the state has a high rate of virus infection, said Creek. The group of boaters has tracked the movement of the American vessels through the Marine Traffic website that provides vessels’ locations using an automatic vessel identification system. Some vessels don’t have this identification system, but reports have also been compiled from marinas and marine parks, said Creek. Gordon Hoekstra reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Nooksack River dam finally coming down, freeing miles for fish habitat
With a bang, Washington state’s dam-busting binge continued last week, as the city of Bellingham blew up its 25-foot-tall dam here. The $17 million project will open 16 miles of habitat for fish including spring chinook important to southern resident killer whales, and is expected to be completed by September. Removal of the Middle Fork diversion dam on the Nooksack follows detonation of the Condit on the White Salmon in 2011, the blow-up of Elwha Dam in 2012 and deconstruction of Glines Canyon Dam, completed in 2014, both on the Olympic Peninsula’s Elwha River. lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  243 AM PDT Mon Jul 20 2020   
TODAY  Light wind becoming NW 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 2 ft or less. W swell 6 ft at 9 seconds. Patchy fog in the  morning. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming SW to 10 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft subsiding to 1 ft or less after  midnight. W swell 6 ft at 8 seconds.




--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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7/17 Man o' war, Trump's NEPA, Canada clearcuts, blacktip sharks

Portuguese Man o' war

Portuguese Man o' War Physalia physalis
The Portuguese man o' war is a highly venomous open ocean predator that superficially resembles a jellyfish but is actually a siphonophore. Each man o' war is actually a colony of several small individual organisms that each have a specialized job and are so closely intertwined that they cannot survive alone. In this manner, the larger colony consists of a float that keeps the colony at the sea surface, a series of long tentacles that are covered with stinging cells, a rudimentary digestive system, and a simple reproductive system.

Trump's Environmental Rollback Will Silence Citizens' Voices, Critics In NW Charge
Northwest conservation and anti-pollution organizations say the Trump administration’s changes to a bedrock environmental law from the Nixon-era will have major impacts in the region. The changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, include eliminating environmental impact reports for some projects and streamlining the approval process for pipelines and other projects. Monica Samayoa reports. (OPB)

Canada is failing to track the true climate cost of clearcut logging in boreal: report
Organizations calls on the Canadian government to properly record and regulate greenhouse gas emissions connected to forestry and align its forest management policies with climate targets. Matt Simmons reports. (The Narwhal)

Look: One Great Shot: A Grand Assemblage
Every winter, thousands of blacktip sharks migrate to the balmy waters off Palm Beach County, Florida. These finned snowbirds, which can grow to one-and-a-half meters long, travel from as far away as New York to feast on bony fishes. Absurdly agile, the blacktip is known to make spectacular leaps while hunting for weak and sickly prey. By forming enormous schools in the shallows, they safeguard themselves from their nemesis, the great hammerhead. Michael Patrick O’Neill writes. (Hakai Magazine)



Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  239 AM PDT Fri Jul 17 2020   
TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 6 ft at 10 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SW after midnight. Wind  waves 2 ft or less. W swell 6 ft at 9 seconds. 
SAT  W wind to 10 kt rising to 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft in the afternoon. W  swell 6 ft at 8 seconds. Patchy fog in the morning. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less after  midnight. W swell 5 ft at 7 seconds. 
SUN  Light wind becoming NW to 10 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 6 ft at 8 seconds.




--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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7/16 Tick, J-pod back, BC 'cuda, JumpStart tax, traffic's back, oil industry, 'Ourtdoors Act,' national parks

Western black-legged tick [James Gathany/CDC]

Western black-legged tick Ixodes pacificus
These ticks are mainly found in western Washington and live in forested or brushy areas. They can transmit Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.  I. pacificus typically feeds on lizards and small mammals therefore its rate of transmission of Lyme disease to humans is around 1% of adults.  It is an ectoparasite that attaches itself to the outside of its host and feeds on the hosts blood meal. I. pacificus has a four stage life cycle that takes around 3 years to complete. These stages include egg, larva, nymph, and adult. (WA Dept. of Health, Wikipedia)

Good news from Salish Sea: J pod is back in its summer haunt
The orcas are back in the Puget Sound region again. The endangered J pod has spend the past week near San Juan Island and other inland waters. Members of the endangered J pod have been swimming back and forth near the San Juan Islands and Vancouver Island since July 4. The southern resident orcas have spent less and less time in the Salish Sea, where they are summer residents, due to a lack of food in recent years. Paige Browning reports. (KUOW)

Fishermen in B.C. catch a barracuda far from home
A commercial fisherman knew he was staring at a fish out of place when a barracuda landed in his net on Vancouver Island, far from its typical habitat in southern California. Tyler Vogrig, 24, said he'd seen the long, silvery body of the muscular fish with giant teeth before, but in Hawaii. Vogrig said he and his father Brian were catching sockeye at Alberni Inlet as part of their stock-assessment work for Fisheries and Oceans Canada when they hauled in the barracuda...His father has been fishing for 40 years and had never seen a barracuda in British Columbia waters, he said. (Canadian Press)

Furloughs will slow Fish and Wildlife services
Times are tough and the agency responsible for preserving, protecting, and perpetuating fish, wildlife and ecosystems, while providing sustainable fishing, hunting and other recreation opportunities is feeling the pinch. With Washington’s economy struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state department of Fish and Wildlife has implented agency-wide furloughs for the next two Fridays. While public safety-related needs will remain staffed, most other Fish and Wildlife services, including customer service, will be unavailable. Vince Richardson reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

City council fuels Seattle's Green New Deal with JumpStart tax
Sidelined by COVID-19, Seattle's climate goals are back on the table, thanks to community and city council support. Mandy Godwin reports. (Crosscut)

Puget Sound traffic returns as coronavirus pandemic continues
Heavy traffic in western Washington was nearly eliminated when the state went into quarantine. As restrictions have eased this summer, the gridlock is largely back. In March and April, vehicle counts on Interstate 5 and other major freeways dropped by half, and up to 70% in places, as residents stayed home from work and school school. But as the economy has slowly reopened, traffic has steadily crept back up to near pre-coronavirus levels. Glen Farley reports. (KING)

Oil Industry, Accustomed To Booms And Busts, Is Rocked By Pandemic
Oil prices are low, and likely to stay that way for a while. And while low prices can be brutal for oil producers, they're also an opportunity: When the going gets tough, Big Oil often gets even bigger. But will the pandemic-induced price collapse lead to dramatic deal-making and companies scaling up? Some analysts aren't holding their breath. Camila Domonoske reports. (NPR)

‘Outdoors Act’ would repair national parks, protect land and address recreation needs
It appears that the political stars are lining up for what some people are calling the most significant environmental legislation in decades. Billions of dollars have been laid upon the table for parks, recreation facilities and environmentally sensitive lands across the country. The U.S. Senate has already passed the Great American Outdoors Act, which pairs two previous spending proposals: the Land and Water Conservation Fund with $900 million to be spent annually for the foreseeable future, and a new National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Fund with $9.5 billion to be spent over the next five years. Chris Dunagan reports. (Puget Sound Institute)

National parks may become latest battleground in reopening 
....Grand Canyon, the crown jewel of America’s national park system, draws more than 6 million global visitors in a normal year and fuels the economy of Arizona. But now, with Arizona leading the nation in coronavirus infections per capita, pressure is mounting to close Grand Canyon and other national parks in states across the South and the West that face spiking caseloads. As locked-down Americans clamor to return to the outdoors and families seek out safe vacations from limited options, the national parks could become the latest battleground in the fight over reopening.  Elizabeth Williamson and Sarah Mervosh report. (NY Times)



Now, your tug weather--West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  324 AM PDT Thu Jul 16 2020   
TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5 ft  at 10 seconds. Areas of fog in the morning. A slight chance of  showers in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  5 ft at 5 seconds.




--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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7/15 Yellowjacket, BC econ, spot prawns, Biden's climate, Dakota pipe, coastal floods, NEPA, old growth logging, 100 green rules, Trump's birds, GAOA, Colstrip

Yellowjacket [WikiCommons]

Yellowjackets Vespula ssp.
Yellowjackets (including hornets) and paper wasps are the most common types of wasps encountered in Washington. Wasps have slender bodies with a narrow waist and appear smooth and shiny. Their feeding habits differ greatly from bees. Most wasps prey on insects, including caterpillars, flies, crickets, and other pests. Like bees, wasps will sting in defense of its colony or itself. In late summer and fall, yellowjackets become aggressive scavengers, sometimes stinging without being provoked. The wasp's stinger has small barbs which do not embed in the skin. Wasps can sting repeatedly, and will often do so if threatened or protecting their nest. (WA Dept. of Health)

B.C. forecasting 'staggering' $12.5B deficit due to COVID-19 pandemic
The British Columbia government is forecasting a $12.5 billion deficit due to the COVID-19 pandemic, five months after the provincial budget featured a marginal surplus. Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Finance Minister Carole James called the projected scenarios "staggering, but not without hope." "This could be the worst downturn experienced in our province in recent history," she said. Michelle Ghoussoub reports. (CBC)

B.C. spot-prawn market ‘in the toilet’ as Asian glut slashes prices
A glut of spot prawns stockpiled in Asia and export problems caused by the pandemic mean B.C. fishermen will get a lot less for their fresh catch or will store it frozen until markets improve. It isn’t immediately clear if retail prices for the local seafood delicacy will decline. A survey of some retailers show spot prawns are selling for between $20 and $39 a pound. Darron Kloster reports. (Times Colonist)

Joe Biden Outlines $2 Trillion Climate Plan
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday outlined an updated climate plan, seeking to invest $2 trillion to boost clean energy and rebuild infrastructure. The proposal is the second plank of his new economic agenda called “Build Back Better,” which he first detailed last week in Pennsylvania. Biden’s climate initiative calls to chart the United States on “an irreversible path” to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Alana Wise reports. (NPR)

Court Halts Dakota Access Pipeline Shutdown As Legal Fight Goes Forward
The Dakota Access Pipeline may continue to pump crude oil through South Dakota after a federal appellate court on Tuesday temporarily blocked a shutdown ordered by a lower court that was to begin next month. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an administrative stay that will be in effect at least through next Thursday while the pipeline’s operator, Energy Transfer LP, and its opponents file briefs on whether the shutdown should be reversed. Vanessa Romo and Scott Neuman reports (NPR)

New Data Show an ‘Extraordinary’ Rise in U.S. Coastal Flooding
Parts of the United States saw record levels of high-tide flooding last year as rising seas brought water further into coastal homes and infrastructure, government scientists reported Tuesday.The increase in high-tide flooding along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts since 2000 has been “extraordinary,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported, with the frequency of flooding in some cities growing fivefold during that time. That shift is damaging homes, imperiling the safety of drinking water, inundating roads and otherwise hurting coastal communities, the agency said. Christopher Flavelle reports. (NY Times)

Forest Service Considers Changing Rule That Prevented Logging Of Some Northwest Old-Growth Trees
The U.S. Forest Service is considering changing a rule that prevents logging of large trees on national forestland in parts of Washington and Oregon.  Federal officials say it’s an important update that could help tame large-scale wildfires. Conservation groups worry the amendment process has been rushed and could damage important forest habitat. The land management plans, known as the “Eastside Screens,” came about in 1995 to protect old growth trees east of the Cascades. The rules were meant to be temporary. The Forest Service wants to amend a section of the policy called the “21-inch rule,” which prohibits harvesting trees that are greater than 21-inches in diameter. Courtney Flatt reports. (NW News Network)

Nixon signed this key environmental law. Trump plans to change it to speed up pipelines, highway projects and more.
President Trump plans this week to overhaul a federal law that poor and minority communities around the country have used for generations to delay or stop projects that threaten to pollute their neighborhoods — a law he says needlessly blocks good jobs, industry and public works. The president’s plan to streamline the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a bedrock environmental law signed with much fanfare by President Richard M. Nixon in 1970, would make it easier to build highways, pipelines, chemical plants and other projects that pose environmental risks. Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis report. (Washington Post)

The Trump Administration Is Reversing 100 Environmental Rules. Here’s the Full List
After three years in office, the Trump administration has dismantled most of the major climate and environmental policies the president promised to undo. Calling the rules unnecessary and burdensome to the fossil fuel industry and other businesses, his administration has weakened Obama-era limits on planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and from cars and trucks, and rolled back many more rules governing clean air, water and toxic chemicals. Several major reversals have been finalized in recent months as the country has struggled to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. Nadja Popovich, Livia Albeck-Repka and Kendra Pierre-Louis report.  (NY Times)

Bird law’s rollback leaves conservation to states
Migratory birds have been protected for a century under the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), but a rollback of that federal law has turned conservation into a piecemeal network of state laws and regional efforts. To combat shrinking global bird numbers, states and towns are turning to collaborative conservation programs. Jules Struck reports. (Christian Science Monitor) See also: Millions of Birds in Trump’s Crosshairs  What are the implications for the Olympic Peninsula? Karen Sullivan writes. (Rainshadow Journal)

America’s great outdoors is showing its age. Congress is proposing a facelift.
The House is expected to approve a plan next week to invest nearly $2 billion per year to restore national parks, conserve land to ward off the impacts of climate change, and put parks and playgrounds in urban areas that sorely need them. The Great American Outdoors Act, passed overwhelmingly in the Senate by a 73-to-25 vote on June 17, has been called one of the most important environmental bills in history because it could nearly eliminate a $12 billion National Park Service maintenance backlog and fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for the first time since it was enacted in the 1960s. Darryl Fears and Dino Grandoni report. (Washington Post)

Regulators pause review of NorthWestern's Colstrip purchase plans
Regulators have hit the pause button on NorthWestern Energy’s proposed purchase of an increased share of Colstrip Unit 4. Citing a lack of detail about how much of Unit 4 NorthWestern is buying, the Montana Public Service Commission voted unanimously to halt the preapproval process. Northwestern had set out last December to buy a 185-megawatt share of CU4 from Colstrip’s largest owner, Puget Sound Energy. Tom Luted reports. (Billings Gazette) Also:  Montana Regulators Drill Down On NorthWestern's Proposed Colstrip Purchase  Kayla Desroches reports. (Montana Public Radio)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  323 AM PDT Wed Jul 15 2020   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt rising to 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft in the afternoon. W  swell 5 ft at 11 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 5 ft at 10 seconds.




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