1/12 Hooded nudibranch, Heavy weather, Cascadia climate, oil permits, at-risk species

Hooded nudibranch [Ryan Murphy]

 
Hooded nudibranch Melibe leonina
Most bizarre of our sea slugs. It has a large, inflated "oral hood." A fringe of stiff hairs point in toward the center of the hood, helping it to trap tiny amphipods and other small crustaceans. The hood also closes to trap air, helping the nudibranch drift from place to place. There are 4 to 6th pairs of large dorsal create; digestive branches visible within. The bluish transparent body reaches 4 inches. Usually found in eelgrass. (Marine Wildlife of Puget Sound, the San Juans, and the Strait of Georgia)

Heavy rain on coast, heavy snow for highway passes in southern B.C.  (CBC) Flooding risk increases as relentless rains soak Northwest  Scott Sistek reports. (KOMO)

A Lost Decade: How Climate Action Fizzled in Cascadia
Washington, Oregon and British Columbia pledged to slash greenhouse gas emissions. In a decade full of big talk and some epic battles, they all failed. Peter Fairly reports. (Investigate West)

Oil companies lock in drilling, challenging Biden on climate
In the closing months of the Trump administration, energy companies stockpiled enough drilling permits for western public lands to keep pumping oil for years and undercut President-elect Joe Biden’s plans to curb new drilling because of climate change, according to public records and industry analysts. An Associated Press analysis of government data shows the permit stockpiling has centered on oil-rich federal lands in New Mexico and Wyoming. It accelerated during the fall as Biden was cementing his lead over President Donald Trump and peaked in December, aided by speedier permitting approvals since Trump took office. Matthew Brown and Cathy Bussewitz report. (Associated Press)

Efforts being made to protect a tree species, several carnivores
Several rare and at-risk species that are found in remote, mostly high-elevation areas of east Skagit County are getting attention this year at the federal level. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed Dec. 1 listing the whitebark pine as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, while conservation groups filed several lawsuits against the agency in December over the threatened Canada lynx, the wolverine and the grizzly bear. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Now, your tug weather--West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  158 AM PST Tue Jan 12 2021   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING   
TODAY  SW wind 5 to 15 kt becoming S in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 15 ft at 18 seconds. A chance of rain in  the morning then rain in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt rising to 20 to 30 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 14 ft at 16 seconds.  Rain.

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