8/13 Cicada, killing sea lions, Trump's Migratory Bird Treaty, Skagit biotoxin, Shelter Bay at 50

 

Orchard Cicada Homoptera cicadidae
The orchard cicada is the common cicada of the PNW Region. All cicada spp. have multi year life cycles ranging from 3 to 17 years as nymphs feeding on roots of trees and adulthood. When the adults emerge both sexes make a loud stridulation sound that attracts the other gender for mating. This sound is species specific. The eggs are laid on young twigs of trees. The twigs break off and fall to the ground and 1st instar nymphs migrate down to the roots. (WSU Entomology Dept)

Hundreds of sea lions to be killed on Columbia River in effort to save endangered fish
Approval to kill up to 840 sea lions in a portion of the Columbia River and its tributaries over the next five years to boost the survival of salmon and steelhead at risk of extinction is expected from federal officials Friday. The kill program has been in the works since Congress approved a change in the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 2018, allowing sea lions to be killed to reduce predation on salmon and other species. The legislation for the first time allows the killing of Steller’s sea lions, in addition to California sea lions, and makes any of the marine mammals fair game within a nearly 200 mile stretch of the mainstem Columbia and its tributaries, between Bonneville and McNary dams. Previously, only California sea lions that had been determined to be problematic predators of salmon were allowed to be killed to benefit fish recovery. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Quoting ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ judge strikes down Trump administration rollback of historic law protecting birds
A federal judge in New York has invalidated rule changes by the Trump administration that allowed individuals and corporations to kill scores of birds as long as they could prove they did not intentionally set out to do so. In a blistering ruling that cited Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird”, U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni ripped the administration’s interpretation of “takings” and “killings” of birds under the century-old Migratory Bird Treaty Act as applying only if the animals are specifically targeted. Tuesday’s ruling was the latest legal setback for the Trump administration as it has systematically tried to weaken or nullify scores of federal environmental protections. In her decision, Caproni said the administration had gone too far. Darryl Fears reports. (Washington Post)

Biotoxin closes most local shellfish harvest
With Anacortes area beaches closed Wednesday, most recreational shellfish harvesting beaches in Skagit County are now closed due to the presence of a marine biotoxin that can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning if consumed. Marine biotoxins are produced naturally by algae in the water, but in high concentrations can be poisonous, according to the state Department of Health. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Shelter Bay slips quietly past 50 year anniversary
It was just over a half century ago that the Shelter Bay development, which some predicted would transform then sleepy La Conner into the Carmel of the Northwest, both literally and figuratively changed the local landscape. That is when Osberg Construction of Seattle was in the midst of dredging millions of yards from what had been known as Indian Bay to create the present harbor and moorage area that serves as a visual anchor for the 420-acre planned residential community. The population now hovers near 2,000. Bill Reynolds reports. (La Conner Weekly News)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  254 AM PDT Thu Aug 13 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.  NW swell 4 ft at 8 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. NW swell  3 ft at 9 seconds.

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