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.




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