7/13 Nettle, False Cr herring, Chehalis dam, failing fracking, Navy ships, Haida matriarchs, bird loss, Portland river cleanup, border closure

Stinging nettle [Ben Legler]

Stinging nettle Urtica dioica
Washington's native nettle stings with hollow hairs, like microscopic hypodermic needles, which exude formic acid when brushed against. An irritating rash may appear on one's skin, its severity depending on the sensitivity of the "victim." Some people have red, burning sores for days. Some people say they don't feel a thing! And some arthritis sufferers purposely subject themselves to nettle stings as a treatment for arthritic pain. We are told the coastal whale hunters thrashed their skins with nettles when setting out in their canoes to capture whales. It is assumed this was to help them stay awake on long voyages, but there may be other explanations. Helen Engle wrote. (Washington Native Plant Society)

False Creek herring offer real hope for a sustainable population
Burrard Inlet could have a healthy local herring population today had Gassy Jack not decided to harvest them with dynamite, or so the story goes. The notorious John “Gassy Jack” Deighton had his finger in a lot of businesses beyond his various saloons, and one of them was herring oil. But while dynamite is a tremendously efficient way to bring all the herring to the surface, the blasts killed pretty much everything including juveniles, which are future spawners, according to Jonn Matsen of Squamish Streamkeepers...Streamkeepers has been nurturing a population of herring in False Creek that were reintroduced by accident when herring boats arrived with their hulls plastered with viable herring eggs. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

To Dam or Not to Dam
For the past two decades, dams have been falling across the United States in a bid to reverse a legacy of destruction of fish and their habitat. American Rivers, a nonprofit advocacy organization, estimates that 1,200 dams were dismantled nationwide from 1999 to 2019, including major dams on the Elwha and White Salmon Rivers in Washington State. But in southwestern Washington, a local flood control district is going against the flow by proposing a major new dam on the Chehalis River. At close to 200 kilometers long, the free-flowing Chehalis River drains 7,000 square kilometers before emptying into Grays Harbor on the Pacific Ocean. The Chehalis is a critical salmon stream and the largest river system fully contained within the state’s boundaries. Larry Pynn reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Fracking Firms Fail, Rewarding Executives and Raising Climate Fears
Oil and gas companies are hurtling toward bankruptcy, raising fears that wells will be left leaking planet-warming pollutants, with cleanup cost left to taxpayers. Hiroko Tabuchi reports. (NY Times)

Navy now plans to send 3 more ships to Everett
Another ship will call Naval Station Everett home, Rep. Rick Larsen’s office announced Thursday. It’s the third such announcement in less than two months. The USS John S. McCain is scheduled to change its homeport on Aug. 30, 2021, Larsen’s office said in a news release. It’s moving here from Japan.Two other ships recently have been assigned to Everett. They are the USS Cape St. George and the USS John Paul Jones. Stephanie Davey reports. (Everett Herald)

Haida matriarchs to occupy lands as fishing lodges reopen
A group of Haida matriarchs say they plan to occupy two ancient villages on Haida Gwaii after two fishing lodges decided to reopen on the remote archipelago, despite objections from the First Nation. The matriarchs, known as Gaandlee Guu Jaalang or "daughters of the river," say in a statement the Queen Charlotte Lodge and West Coast Fishing Club reopened as a local state of emergency remains in effect because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amy Smart reports. (Canadian Press)

Researchers listen to birds for answers why their numbers are so low
Alberta researchers are using hundreds of audio recording devices as they seek to understand why bird populations are declining. A University of Alberta professor says a study published last year that suggested North America had lost billions of birds ruffled a lot of feathers in the scientific community. "The basic premise that we have lost three billion birds, it is probably conservative, is my guess," Erin Bayne told Radio-Canada. David Bell reports. (CBC)

Oregon DEQ To Begin Downtown Portland River Cleanup
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will begin the removal of contaminated soil along the Willamette River in downtown Portland on Monday. The DEQ and NW Natural will remove about 5,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment and tar-like material at the former Portland Gas Manufacturing site. The cleanup is part of the Willamette River Downtown Reach project. It is the last significant legacy contamination from gas manufacturing operations from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. Monica Samayoa reports. (OPB)

Vacation travel between U.S. and Canada unlikely this summer, B.C.'s top doctor says
As cases of COVID-19 continue to surge south of the border, B.C.'s top doctor says she "cannot see" vacation travel happening between Canada and the United States this summer. During her briefing Monday, Dr. Bonnie Henry said local health officials are "very concerned" about the number of cases in the U.S., adding that travel across the border is how B.C. "got into trouble" earlier in the pandemic. "Back in March we had a lot of people in across the border," she said. "A number of our new cases are people who've either travelled or been in contact with somebody who just came back from the U.S." In a modelling briefing last month, Henry said many of the virus cases recorded in B.C. are from "Washington state-like strains."   Alyse Kotyk reports. (CTV)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  302 AM PDT Mon Jul 13 2020   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt becoming NW 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft in the  afternoon. W swell 3 ft at 8 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 3 ft at 8 seconds.




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