10/5 Bobcat, whale watching, scaring seals, Kilisut Harbor, Coastal GasLink, sockeye water, hornets, Dyes Inlet apts

Bobcat [WDFW]

 
Bobcat Lynx rufus
Found throughout all of Washington, bobcats are probably more common than most people realize. Bobcats appear to be using suburban settings more often, although due to their reclusive ways, they are not often seen. Adult male bobcats weigh 20 to 30 pounds and average 3 feet in length. Females are considerably smaller and may weigh less than a large house cat. In areas occupied by humans, these cats typically limit their activity to night hours. (In dim light, bobcats see up to six times better than humans.) Bobcats rarely vocalize, although they often yowl and hiss during the mating season, especially when competing males have intentions toward the same receptive female. Such wails have been likened to a child crying, a woman’s scream, and the screeching of someone in terrible pain. (WDFW)

Orca-focused whale watching rules taking shape
Between the announcements of two new Southern Resident orca calves in the Salish Sea during September, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife released a document examining options for licensing commercial whale-watching companies. The state agency on Sept. 23 published a draft Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, outlining options for licensing, which is aimed at better protecting the endangered orca whales. Licensing will be a new kind of oversight for the whale-watching industry, which includes boats of various sizes that take customers onto the Salish Sea to see iconic wildlife including orca, gray and humpback whales. The state Legislature directed Fish and Wildlife in spring 2019 to establish a licensing program as part of an effort to prevent extinction of the Southern Resident orcas. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Researchers test underwater noisemaker to scare away seals at Ballard Locks
The..Targeted Acoustic Startle Technology, developed by scientists from the Sea Mammal Research Unit at the University of St. Andrews, is marketed by GenusWave Ltd. based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The device was made for use at fish farms, to keep seals away from net pens. The device is housed in a metal canister that looks like an upscale water bottle, and produces a sound played through two underwater speakers at randomized intervals. The sound it makes is not particularly loud or unpleasant … to a person. But to a seal?..The acoustic technology replaces conventional, loud noisemakers that seals just get used to. The sound made by the startle device provokes a flight response — a fundamental mammalian reflex — without causing harm to the seal, or bothering salmon. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Do we know enough to do anything about all the seals and sea lions in Puget Sound?
Chris Dunagan writes: "Scientists have known for years that Chinook salmon are important to southern resident orcas, but Chinook are not the only fish the whales eat. At the moment, chum salmon are returning to Puget Sound, and recent orca sightings suggest that the whales may now be feeding on chum. Harbor seals also eat Chinook salmon, but also chum, coho and other fish. They seem fond of smaller fish like herring and juvenile salmon. Oh, what a tangled food web we weave… Southern resident orcas are considered endangered. Puget Sound Chinook and steelhead are threatened. Harbor seals seem to be everywhere, hardly struggling to find food, at least as far as anyone can tell. So is it time to bring the powerful influence of humans into the equation by forcefully reducing the harbor seal population in Puget Sound? It’s a question that people have been pondering for years, but I’m not sure we’re much closer to an answer..." (Puget Sound Institute)

Goodbye isthmus, hello salmon: new bridge, channel restores flow at Kilisut Harbor
Young salmon, twisting and flapping their way from the torrents of the Puget Sound en route to the Pacific Ocean, have endured a manmade detour for the past 75 years.  An earthen causeway at the south end of Kilisut Harbor, installed in the 1940s to connect Marrowstone and Indian islands in Jefferson County, has kept the keystone species from quick access to 2,300 acres of prime habitat in which to rest and forage. "It's basically a gigantic buffet between the two islands," said Rebecca Benjamin, executive director of the North Olympic Salmon Coalition. "But the salmon couldn't get there." Josh Farley reports. (Kitsap Dun)

Coastal GasLink pipeline hearing resumes at B.C. Supreme Court
Arguments over the extension of the environmental assessment certificate for a natural gas pipeline in B.C. resumed in court on Friday, with lawyers for Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs telling a judge an evaluation is needed on the potential risk of violence to Indigenous women and girls. Lawyers for the Office of the Wet’suwet’en are seeking an order in B.C. Supreme Court quashing the decision to extend the certificate for Coastal GasLink’s 670-kilometre pipeline project, which has been the source of national protests. They argued in part that B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office did not meaningfully address the findings of the 2019 report from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls when it approved the extension. They also pointed to more than 50 instances of Coastal GasLink’s failure to adhere to existing conditions throughout last year, arguing it’s not clear whether the company’s track record of non-compliance was considered by the director when making the decision. Brenna Owen reports. (Canadian Press)

Research: Sockeye are in hot water
New research indicates already struggling and highly imperiled Snake River sockeye salmon face grim prospects in a future with higher water temperatures and lower stream flows. An article published Wednesday in the scientific journal PLOS One predicts sockeye survival could decline by 80 percent as the effects of climate change alter inland habitat. Snake River sockeye that return to Redfish Lake in the shadow of the Sawtooth mountains are federally protected as an endangered species. They were so close to blinking out in the early 1990s that the few returning adults were put in a captive breeding program to ensure survival of the species. Eric Barker reports. (Lewiston Tribune)

Washington State Officials Hunt for Colony of ‘Murder Hornets’
The search has taken on particular urgency as the Asian giant hornets are about to enter their “slaughter phase,” during which they kill bees by decapitating them. Michael Levenson reports. (NY Times) Murder hornets' invading U.S. are about to enter 'slaughter phase'   Christine Clarridge reports. (Seattle Times) The first live Asian giant hornet was caught in Washington. State is still hunting its nest  Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)  Washington officials deploy new tools in race to eradicate invasive Asian giant hornet  Attached a radio tag to a live giant hornet-- but it fell off. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Residents appeal proposed 160-unit apartment project in Silverdale
Residents living at the southern end of Mickelberry Road are challenging the developers of a proposed 160-unit apartment complex near Dyes Inlet, arguing that the project poses a threat to neighbors and a lagoon in the area. Silver View, LLC plans to build four multi-story apartment buildings on 5.34 acres of land just south of Maynard’s restaurant near the intersection of Mickelberry and Bucklin Hill Road. The project would also include 262 on-site parking spaces, a community center, a dog park and a storage building. County planners approved a conditional use permit for the project Aug. 26. The land to the south of the proposed development is largely single-family homes, and many of homeowners still get their water from wells instead of hooking up to Silverdale water. Those homes sit along a lagoon that is a mix of fresh spring water and salt water from Dyes Inlet, according to Debbie Best, whose family has owned property there since 1957. Christian Vosler reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  302 AM PDT Mon Oct 5 2020   
TODAY  Light wind becoming E to 10 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 10 seconds. Patchy fog in the  afternoon. 
TONIGHT  W wind to 10 kt in the evening becoming light. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 11 seconds.

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