9/22 Periwinkle, BC fall election, TM protest, smoke health dangers, Pebble Mine, seven-armed octo, deep-sea life, captive belugas

Saltmarsh periwinkle [L. Schroeder]

Newcomb's Littorine Snail Littorina subrotundata
Newcomb’s littorine snail, also known as the saltmarsh  or Newcomb’s periwinkle, was placed on the state endangered species candidate list in 1997, but was removed in 2010. It is a common coldwater North Pacific marine gastropod. The species has been studied in recent years and is now known to range from Humbolt Bay in California north to Alaska and west to Russia and the Kurile Islands.  It is common or abundant in many estuaries and bays along the entire northwest coast. It was once believed to be a very localized salt-marsh species, but more recent study clarified the taxonomy of the species. Recent genetic analysis that included samples from Mukkaw Bay, Grays Harbor, and Shi Shi Beach in Washington confirms the wide distribution and identity of the species. (WDFW)

So there’s going to be a fall election in B.C.: has the NDP kept its environmental promises?
The NDP rose to power in 2017 vowing to take action on climate change, old-growth logging, the Trans Mountain pipeline, endangered species and more. Three years in, The Narwhal examines how the government has fared on the environment. Sarah Cox reports. (The Narwhal)

Court rejects appeals of Trans Mountain pipeline protesters
The B.C. Court of Appeal has rejected the appeals of two people who were arrested and convicted of criminal contempt of court for blocking Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. Keith Fraser reports. (Vancouver Sun)

As wildfire smoke endangers health indoors and out, questions arise about government response
The massive smoke waves that engulfed the Pacific Northwest this month are likely only a start to a climate-fueled health crisis in the Pacific Northwest of staggering breadth and depth, InvestigateWest found after a year of reporting that involved reviews of dozens of scientific studies, interviews with researchers across the U.S. and Canada, and an independent analysis of a decade’s worth of Seattle hospitalization data. Mara Kardas-Nelson reports. (Investigate West) See also: How British Columbia protects its people from wildfire smoke Partly because of its devastating fires, the province is leading our understanding of smoke’s impact on human health.  Mara Kardas-Nelson reports. (Investigate West)

An Alaska Mine Project Might Be Bigger Than Acknowledged
Executives overseeing the development of a long-disputed copper and gold mine in Alaska were recorded saying they expected the project to become much bigger, and operate for much longer, than outlined in the proposal that is awaiting final approval by the Army Corps of Engineers. The executives, who were recorded in remote meetings by members of an environmental advocacy group posing as potential investors, said the project, Pebble Mine, could potentially operate for 160 years or more beyond the current proposal of 20 years. And it could quickly double its output after the initial two decades, they said. Henry Foundtain reports. (NY Times)

Possible rare 'seven-armed octopus' found on Whidbey beach
A sea creature found on the beach at Ebey's Landing may be a Haliphron atlantica or seven-armed octopus, scientists theorized. Emily Gilbert reports. (Everett Herald)

Bringing the Ocean’s Midnight Zone Into the Light
Life in the deep sea may soon be accessible to all. Public aquariums around the world are spending millions of dollars on research and development aimed at putting deep-sea animals on display. Leading the effort is California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium, which plans to spend $15 million over the next two years to create the world’s first large-scale exhibition of deep-sea life, a 10,400-square-foot display named “Into the Deep: Exploring our Undiscovered Ocean.” Annie Roth reports. (NY Times)

NOAA Approves Plan to Bring Captive Belugas to Connecticut
After a year and a half of deliberation, the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has approved the request by Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut to import five captive beluga whales from Marineland, an amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Mystic Aquarium wants the belugas for scientific research and says their efforts will aid in the management and conservation of the endangered wild belugas in Cook Inlet, Alaska, and the depleted stock from Russia’s Sakhalin Bay-Nikolaya Bay-Amur River region. The five whales will join the three belugas already living at the aquarium. Bethany Augliere reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  242 AM PDT Tue Sep 22 2020   
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY  AFTERNOON   
TODAY  Light wind becoming E 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves less than 1 ft becoming 1 to 3 ft in the afternoon. W swell  5 ft at 10 seconds. A chance of rain in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  SE wind 10 to 20 kt rising to 25 to 35 kt after  midnight. Combined seas 4 to 5 ft with a dominant period of  10 seconds building to 6 to 8 ft with a dominant period of  10 seconds after midnight. A chance of rain in the evening then  rain after midnight.

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