10/15 Dogwood, BC spotted owls, Trump's environment, warmest Sept, beavers, climate injustice

Pacific dogwood [OSU]

 
Pacific Dogwood Cornus nuttallii
Pacific Dogwood is found from southwest British Columbia, western Washington and Oregon and on the west slopes of the Californian mountain ranges. Blooms April-June, flowering may occur again in late summer. Fruit ripens September to October. To propagate: Seeds should be collected in fall, removed from their fleshy fruit covering and planted immediately into outdoor seed flats.  Germination may take 18 months or more. (Dana Kelley Bressette/Native Plants PNW)

Canada’s last breeding pair of endangered spotted owls found in valley slated for imminent logging
Environmental law charity Ecojustice is petitioning the federal government to step in and halt logging in B.C.’s Spuzzum Valley, where a spotted owl pair with chicks has been found after the species was presumed extinct in Canada.  Ecojustice, which submitted the petition on Wednesday calling for an emergency order to be issued under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, said it only recently learned of the existence of the breeding pair, discovered in 2019 by B.C. government biologists. The northern spotted owl pair hatched one chick last year, and two chicks this year, according to Ecojustice, which is acting on behalf of the Vancouver-based conservation group Wilderness Committee. Sarah Cox reports. (The Narwhal) See also: Feds urged to step in to stop B.C. logging in refuge of last breeding pair of spotted owls   Yvette Brend reports. (CBC)

Under Trump, Criminal Prosecutions for Pollution Dropped Sharply
Prosecutions of environmental crimes have “plummeted” during the Trump administration, according to a new report. The first two years of the Trump administration had a 70 percent decrease in criminal prosecutions under the Clean Water Act and a decrease of more than 50 percent under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Crimes Project at the University of Michigan law school found. John Schwartz reports. (NY Times)

Earth has warmest September on record, and 2020 may clinch hottest year
The planet just recorded its hottest September since at least 1880, according to three of the authoritative temperature-tracking agencies in the world. The data, most of which was released Wednesday, shows that 2020 is on track to be one of the hottest years on record, with the possibility of tying or breaking the milestone for the hottest year, set in 2016. In addition, 2020 is likely to be the hottest year when a La Niña event was present in the tropical Pacific Ocean. This climate phenomenon is characterized by cooler-than-average ocean temperatures near the equator in the central and eastern tropical Pacific, and it tends to lower global temperatures slightly. (El Niño events, on the other hand, add even more heat to the planet, causing temperature spikes on top of global warming.) Andrew Freedman reports. (Washington Post)

Beavers: Good environmental stewards, but lousy neighbors
...Since 2014, wildlife biologists working with the Tulalip Tribes have moved beavers from areas in the Snohomish River watershed, where they’re considered nuisances, to new homes in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.Last month, the national forest signed an agreement with the tribes to expand that work to the South Fork of the Stillaguamish River watershed — a critical habitat for endangered fish like Chinook, steelhead and bull trout, Tulalip chairwoman Teri Gobin said. Wildlife biologists working with the tribes find beavers that are interfering with human activity, capture them and pick the best place to release them. Jul9a-Grace Sanders reports. (Everett Herald)

Protection for the Rich, Retreat for the Poor
As the climate warms, coastal communities are dealing with rising seas, more intense storms, and increased flooding. To tackle these threats, governments are investing in various protection measures, from building sea walls to managed retreat. But there is increasing evidence that these adaptation efforts are being applied inconsistently and, as a result, are exacerbating socioeconomic inequalities. Michael Allen writes. (Hakai Magazine)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  204 AM PDT Thu Oct 15 2020   
TODAY  SE wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 5 ft  at 9 seconds. 
TONIGHT  SE wind to 10 kt rising to 15 to 25 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft after midnight. W  swell 4 ft at 9 seconds. A slight chance of showers in the  evening then rain likely after midnight.

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