1/13 Mud snail, border closure, DNR fire fund, bird salmonellosis, Seabeck bridge, big fuel tanks, Trump's climate, EPA science rule, Site C turbines, fisheries hit

Mud snail [Mary Jo Adams]

 

Asian mud snail Battlearia attramentaria
Although not native to the Pacific Northwest, this 2 inch (5 cm.) snail is present in large numbers along some Washington shorelines including Skagit County’s Padilla and Samish Bays.  Look for it in high and middle intertidal zones of muddy bays where large populations of up to 1000 individuals /square meter are possible.  The snail is gray in color with brown beading and has 8-9 whorls.  It feeds on diatoms.  (Mary Jo Adams/Sound Water Stewards)

Canada-U.S. border closure extended to Feb. 21 as coronavirus cases soar: Trudeau
The Canada-U.S. border will remain closed until at least Feb. 21 in an effort to curb rising cases of the novel coronavirus, Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday. Katie Dangerfield reports. (Global News)

Washington state's public lands chief tries new tactic in push for $125 million to fight, prevent fires
For at least the last three years, as Washington has seen some of the worst wildfires in recent memory, state Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz has pushed legislation to try to get a permanent funding source to fight and prevent fires. She’s failed each time. The Legislature balked at a tax on property and casualty insurance and it balked at a surcharge on insurance premiums. This year, Franz is back with a comprehensive plan to prevent, protect from and fight wildfires: Funding source TBA. David Gutman reports. (Seattle Times)

Help protect wild birds from deadly salmonellosis
Recent reports of sick or dead birds at backyard feeders in King, Kitsap, Skagit, Snohomish, and Thurston counties is prompting the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to recommend that people temporarily discontinue feeding wild birds or take extra steps to maintain their feeders. The current die-off of finches- such as pine siskins- as well as other songbirds, is attributed to salmonellosis, a common and usually fatal bird disease caused by the salmonella bacteria, according to WDFW veterinarian Kristin Mansfield. (WDFW)

New Seabeck bridge opens to vehicle and salmon traffic
Salmon have already been seen crossing a passage previously difficult to swim through under a new bridge in Seabeck. The bridge at Seabeck Holly Road NW opened a week before Christmas, replacing a culvert too small for the water and sediment flow the creek experiences and difficult for fish to pass through. Jesse Darland reports. (Kitsap Sun)

EPA Eases Inspections For Large Oil & Gas Storage Tanks
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday finalized new amendments to its rules governing inspections for large oil and gas liquid storage tanks, saying the changes would cut down on industry costs and reduce emissions in the process. (Environmental Law 360/paywall)

A Late Burst of Climate Denial Extends the Era of Trump Disinformation
President Trump’s Twitter megaphone may be silenced, but his administration’s disinformation flows on. David Legates, a climate denialist installed last year by the Trump administration to oversee scientific work on climate change, has posted a series of debunked reports that appear to claim to represent research on global warming produced for the United States government, drawing a disavowal from the White House science office. Lisa Friedman and Christopher Flavelle report. (NY Times)

EPA's Science Rule Implemented Too Soon, Advocates Say
Environmental advocates on Monday sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its recent rule intended to make it more difficult to use scientific studies that rely on confidential research in certain rulemakings, arguing the rule is procedurally flawed and went into effect too quickly. (Environmental Law 360/paywall)

Massive turbines trucked toward B.C.'s Site C dam in wide, slow convoy
Two eight-metre-wide by five-metre-tall turbine runners are being transported from the Port of Prince Rupert to the Chetwynd area and drivers are warned of more overnight closures as the wide load turns north. The runners are the heart of a turbine where water power is changed into rotational force, driving the generator that produces hydroelectricity. Site C will need six of the 170-tonne runners, and the two in transport have been crawling east on Highway 16 since Sunday, moving in stages overnight because they are so wide the route must be closed for safety.(Vancouver Sun)

US Fisheries Hit Hard by COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the world for much of the past year has disrupted many industries, and fisheries are no exception. An early analysis estimates that in the United States, the pandemic has caused fresh seafood catches to decline by 40 percent relative to 2019, while imports fell by 37 percent and exports by 43 percent. Brian Owens reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Now, your tug weather--West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  322 AM PST Wed Jan 13 2021   
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON PST TODAY 
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON PST TODAY THROUGH  LATE TONIGHT   
TODAY  W wind 25 to 35 kt easing to 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Combined seas 17 to 18 ft with a dominant period of  16 seconds subsiding to 15 ft with a dominant period of  11 seconds in the afternoon. A chance of rain in the morning then  a slight chance of rain in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  SW wind to 10 kt becoming SE 10 to 20 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft after  midnight. W swell 13 ft at 11 seconds subsiding to 11 ft at  12 seconds after midnight.

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