9/18 Huckleberry, landslides, Port Angeles fish farm, Pt Hudson oyster nursery, Kalama methanol, OR fish kill, Skagit habitats

Evergreen Huckleberry [Kitsap CD]

 
Evergreen Huckleberry Vaccinium ovatum
here are about 450 species of Vaccinium worldwide, about 40 in North America with about 15 in the Pacific Northwest. Evergreen Huckleberry is found on the west side of the Cascade Mountains from British Columbia to California. Natives ate the berries fresh or dried them into cakes.  Today, common lore asserts that they are sweeter after the first frost.  The berries are a bit tedious to pick and separate from the foliage, but are delicious baked into muffins. (Dana Kelley Bressette/Native Plants PNW)

State geologists warn of increased landslide risk following Western Washington wildfires
Another potentially devastating effect of wildfires: increased landslide risk. The state Department of Natural Resources has a team doing rapid response analysis in areas that have recently burned. Trevor Contreras, a geologist with the agency, says we have a bit of a grace period before heavy rains hit...Right now, the team is focused on the Pearl Hill and Palmer Fires in north-central Washington. The team also will take a close look at how the recent brush fires in Pierce County changed landscapes, especially around state Route 410. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Cooke, tribe still plan fish farm in Port Angeles Harbor
The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and Cooke Aquaculture Pacific LLC are still planning to float a sterile-steelhead fish farm in Port Angeles Harbor despite the site having been left off the Canadian company’s pending list of aquaculture-related permits, tribal and company officials said this week. A lease application for fish pens, which would be located west of the former site of Cooke’s Atlantic salmon farm off Ediz Hook, will be submitted to the state Department of Natural Resources within the next two weeks, Jamestown Seafood CEO Kurt Grinnell predicted Thursday. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe eyes Point Hudson oyster nursery 
The proposal to install a small float as an oyster nursery at the facility will be discussed by Port of Port Townsend commissioners at their meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The public can watch the proceedings via digital media. (Peninsula Daily News)

Major oil product shipping group invests $10M in Kalama methanol plant
The proposed $2 billion Kalama methanol plant this week received a $10 million investment from a major international shipping company, which also agreed to ship a portion of the methanol made at the plant. Officials with Northwest Innovation Works say the investment from Hanfia Limited “checks another box on our project” as it awaits a permitting decision from the state Department of Ecology. Mallory Gruben reports. (Longview Daily News)

Fish in Oregon hatcheries die, released early as fires rage
s wildfires raged through Oregon, staff at fish hatcheries around the state raced to try to save – or prematurely release – millions of chinook salmon, steelhead and trout being raised in captivity to preserve fragile fish species, state officials said Thursday. About 450,000 fish perished at two hatcheries combined and nearly 1.2 million chinook, steelhead and trout were released into the McKenzie River east of Eugene all at once in desperation as the fire approached and fresh water to the facility was cut off. Other hatcheries lost critical infrastructure, including a hatchery building near the Oregon-California border, and one facility went ahead with a critical breeding period while running on limited power from a back-up generator. Gillian Flaccus reports. (Associated Press)

County fish projects land grant money
In an ongoing effort to help the region’s salmon populations, the state Recreation and Conservation Office announced Thursday an $18 million grant package for projects to protect and restore fish habitat. Skagit is one of three counties that netted more than $1 million from the Salmon Recovery Funding Board in the annual grant package. The majority of the $1.1 million awarded in Skagit County will be invested in the Skagit River and its tributaries, and $23,000 in the south fork of the Nooksack River that snakes through land north of Highway 20. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  259 AM PDT Fri Sep 18 2020   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. SW swell 3 ft  at 7 seconds. Smoke. Showers likely in the morning. Isolated  tstms. A chance of showers in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell  3 ft at 12 seconds. Smoke in the evening. A chance of showers. 
SAT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 3 ft  at 14 seconds. A chance of showers. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind to 10 kt in the evening becoming light. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. SW swell 2 ft at 16 seconds. 
SUN  Light wind becoming N to 10 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. SW swell 3 ft at 14 seconds.

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