9/4 Marmot Pass, Electron Dam, Pt Roberts, green crabs, ocean conditions, Klamath salmon, Trump's EPA, whale skeleton, Brent Lyles

Marmot Pass, Olympic Mountains [Gregg M. Erickson]

 
Marmot Pass
Marmot Pass, at 6,000 feet, provides a trail corridor through the Buckhorn Wilderness in the Olympic Mountains. The pass is situated near Buckhorn Mountain (6,870 feet), Iron Mountain (6,804 feet), and Boulder Ridge (6,852 feet). From Marmot Pass, one can see the tallest peaks in the mountain range, and look down at the Dungeness Valley and Hood Canal. The trail route to the pass is a 5.8-mile trip for hikers beginning at the rolling Big Quilcene River. En route to the pass, one travels through old growth forest to broad meadows, gaining about 3,500 feet in the process but being rewarded by spacious vistas. (Wikipedia)

Feds order owner of dam on Puyallup River to clean up spill from artificial turf
Federal regulators have ordered the owners of Electron Dam on the Puyallup River to clean up its mess following a spill of rubber debris during unpermitted use of artificial turf in a construction project. The company must remove all remaining artificial turf from its site, clean up turf debris downriver, fix an inoperable fish ladder at the dam and shut down its construction project at the dam until next summer, according to a letter sent to dam owner Thom Fischer of Electon Hyrdo LLC Wednesday. In response, Electron Hydro is asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for an extension to continue its work on the dam. That is the safest way, the company argues, to secure the site for the winter when the river’s flows the highest from Mount Rainier. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Ferry service boosted to U.S. enclave of Point Roberts, which is cut off by Canada
The Port of Bellingham is increasing temporary ferry service to the isolated enclave of Point Roberts, Washington. That community was largely cut off from the U.S. mainland when Canada and the U.S. closed their land border this spring to nonessential crossings to control the spread of the coronavirus. Beginning last week, the Port of Bellingham chartered a commercial eco-tour boat to offer once per week passenger-only service connecting Point Roberts to the border town of Blaine. Demand for seats from people marooned on the five square mile peninsula has far outstripped supply, said port executive director Rob Fix. Tom Banse reports. (NW News Network)

More green crabs found in Padilla Bay
More invasive European green crabs have been found in Padilla Bay this week. “We have three now this week in Padilla Bay and one two weeks ago, so four so far this year,” Roger Fuller of the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve said. “That’s a little unfortunate. ... It does indicate that there are probably a substantial number of them out in the bay.” He said all four crabs found in the bay this summer have been small in size, suggesting they are young who settled in the area as larvae in late 2019 or early 2020. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

A look at future ocean conditions and how they could affect coastal communities
Scientists tell us that climate change is probably increasing the frequency of extreme events, such as hurricanes, droughts and wildfires. As time goes on, we might expect even more dramatic shifts in the ecosystem, as some species move to more suitable locations and others die out. The Pacific Fishery Management Council, which oversees fishing along the West Coast, has launched an effort to become more nimble and responsive to changing conditions with regard to estimating fish populations and approving sport and commercial fisheries. One effort is to describe how the ecosystem could change over the next 20 years and how those changes could affect coastal communities dependent on fishing. A new document titled “Scenarios for West Coast Fisheries – 2040” (PDF 1.4 mb)  was recently released in draft form and will be the subject of discussions during next week’s meeting of the fishery council. Chris Dunagan reports. (Puget Sound Institute)

Coming Home to the Klamath
Four aging dams on the Klamath River are coming down. Their completion between 1921 and 1964 brought hydroelectric power to Northern California. It also blocked hundreds of kilometers of fish habitat, causing chinook salmon to effectively disappear from the upper river basin. But the removal of dams is no guarantee the fish will return, so a team of wildlife researchers hopes it can coax the fish to repopulate the river by exploiting a new discovery about salmon genetics. Steve Murray reports. (Hakai Magazine)

EPA chief criticizes Democratic governors, vows to concentrate on cleaning up vulnerable communities in a second Trump term
Fifty years after Richard Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency, its leader Andrew Wheeler returned to his presidential library on Thursday to outline a vision for the future that emphasizes economic development in poor communities over tackling climate change. Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis report. (Washington Post)

How to know a whale: Students articulate skeleton at Seattle Pacific University 
Inside Seattle Pacific University’s Eaton Hall, a small group of students huddle around the huge skull of a gray whale, whose bones they’ve all been studying intently for two weeks. Then, they take turns drilling into it. “It definitely is terrifying — trying to drill a huge hole through like five different bones. And being a small person, I have to put all of my weight into shoving it through.” says LeeAnn Bowers, an English major from Oklahoma. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Friends of the San Juans welcomes new executive director
Friends of the San Juans has hired R. Brent Lyles as its executive director. Lyles comes to Friends with more than 20 years of experience leading environmental protection and education efforts, most recently consulting with nonprofit organizations in Austin, Texas. Prior to consulting, he successfully led two Texas river conservation organizations, the Colorado River Alliance and Austin Youth River Watch. (Islands Weekly)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  258 AM PDT Fri Sep 4 2020   
TODAY  E wind to 10 kt becoming W 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft. W swell 4 ft at 11  seconds. Patchy fog in the morning. 
TONIGHT  NW wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 4  ft at 10 seconds. 
SAT  NW wind to 10 kt rising to 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 10 seconds. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt in the evening becoming light.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 9 seconds. 
SUN  Light wind becoming NW 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 2 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 7 seconds.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter. 

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told