8/3 Busy critters, White River trap, BC oil tankers, Site C dam, buying net pen sites, border closure, beach closures, sea otters, shellfish poaching, Haida Gwaii lodge, Klickitat Canyon

Honeybees on allium [Laurie MacBride]

Busy Critters, All of Us
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "Despite the pandemic, it’s been very busy at our place over the past few months – so hectic that I’m way behind on this blog. I’m long past due for a quick catch-up! It’s a considerable amount of work to grow an organic garden that can feed us for most of the year. But it’s well worth it, for the plentiful supply of healthy food and the exercise and outdoor time involved. It does keep us moving every day..."

New fish trap on White River can handle a million salmon a year, biggest facility in nation
They were impaled and exhausted, weakened, or left dying in waves: pink salmon by the thousands, defeated by a nearly 80-year-old fish trap and dam on this waterway that also harmed spring chinook, the prize diet of endangered southern resident killer whales. But no more. At the insistence of tribes and federal fisheries managers, the Army Corps of Engineers will soon complete the biggest facility of its kind in North America, to capture and transport salmon to free flowing stretches of the White River, a tributary of the Puyallup. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Latest oil tanker stats show no visits to Vancouver in July after busy three months
There was no oil tanker traffic out of Burrard Inlet in July, according to figures released by a group opposed to the federal government’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The statistics show that during the first six months of 2020 there were 19 shipments of crude oil from Burnaby’s Westridge terminal — including eight to China in April, May and June — but none in July. The other shipments went to India, New Brunswick and the U.S. David Carrig reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Don’t blame COVID-19 for new Site C dam cost overruns and delays, energy experts say
The Site C dam project is facing unknown cost overruns, schedule delays and such profound geotechnical problems that its overall health has been classified as “red,” meaning the project is in serious trouble, according to two overdue project reports released by BC Hydro on Friday.  BC Hydro and B.C. Energy Minister Bruce Ralston blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the Site C project’s deepening woes. Yet BC Hydro’s own reports show the project was facing significant cost and scheduling pressures long before the pandemic emerged in B.C. On March 18, B.C. declared a state of emergency, but the province deemed the Site C dam an essential service, allowing work on the $10.7 billion project to continue. Sarah Cox reports. (The Narwhal)

Environmental group wants to buy the rights to Puget Sound net pen sites
An environmental group is proposing to take over and hold in trust four sites throughout Puget Sound that have for years been used to farm fish. The Wild Fish Conservancy announced earlier this month that under a proposal it has submitted to the state’s Department of Natural Resources, it would pay to take over the net pen sites that have been run by Cooke Aquaculture: in Rich Passage, off Bainbridge Island; near Hope Island in Skagit County; and at former sites in Port Angeles Harbor and in Cypress Island’s Deepwater Bay. The net pens have been used to raise nonnative Atlantic salmon. Nathan Pilling reports. (Kitsap Sun)

The Canada-U.S. border could be closed for months. Here's what you need to know now
Many Canadians don't want the border to reopen any time soon. Sophia Harris reports. (CBC) See: Hawaii set to welcome Canadians without quarantine restrictions starting Sept. 1   Cathy Kearney reports. (CBC)

6 King County beaches closed because of high bacteria levels
Six King County beaches on Lake Washington — three in Seattle, two in Bellevue and one in Renton — are closed because of high bacteria levels measured in water samples. Results from Matthews, Mount Baker and Madrona beaches in Seattle, Enatai and Newcastle beaches in Bellevue, and Gene Coulon Beach in Renton all had high bacteria concentrations in the past week, according to King County data. The beaches are closed for all wading and swimming and are not safe for humans or pets. Paige Cornwall reports. (Seattle Times)

To oblivion and back
How sea otters are radically changing the West Coast ecosystem 50 years after their return to B.C. Greg Rasmussen and Chris Corday report. (CBC)

Fisheries officers worried by rise in shellfish poaching on busy beaches
As people flock to B.C. beaches, fisheries officers are concerned about shellfish harvesters who may be unaware they are risking their lives by disobeying closures. “It’s very, very dangerous,” said Art Demsky, a supervisor with Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Langley. “I’m very concerned someone could die.” At least 15 people have been partly paralyzed by contaminated seafood in B.C. over the past four years, and one victim was totally paralyzed and lost the ability to breathe, said Tom Kosatsky, medical director of the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, last November. Glenda Luymes reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Fishing lodge owner criticizes B.C. over order restricting access to Haida Gwaii
A fishing lodge in Haida Gwaii that faced criticism from local residents over its plan to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic says it should've been excluded from the British Columbia government's decision to restrict access to the archipelago. The West Coast Fishing Club reopened when B.C. entered Phase 3 in its pandemic recovery plan. But access to Haida Gwaii by non-residents was restricted by the B.C. government on Thursday, with Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth saying in a statement that it was part of an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19... Brian Legge, the club's president, said the decision to restrict access to Haida Gwaii has effectively forced the fishing lodge to shut down. Nick Wells reports. (Canadian Press)

Welcome to Klickitat Canyon, Washington’s newest conservation area
Mountain goats, mule deer and black bears all move across the rugged basalt cliffs, forest and grasslands that make up the Klickitat Canyon Conservation Area. Salmon and steelhead swim up the Klickitat River, Washington’s longest wild river, running through the conservation area. The newly completed conservation area in south-central Washington is expected to protect habitat and lead to a more resilient forest. Conservation groups say this is a big step toward connecting important ecosystems in the area. Courtney Flatt reports. (NW News Network/Crosscut)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  244 AM PDT Mon Aug 3 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 9 seconds.  Patchy fog. A chance of rain. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  3 ft at 9 seconds. Patchy fog after midnight.




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