2/16 Orange sea cuke, Simpson's plan, gray whales, whale songs, shrub-steppe, Winterwatch, SeaDoc leader

Orange sea cucumber [iNaturalist]

 
Orange sea cucumber Cucumaria minimata
The orange sea cucumber can be found edged between or under rocks or other shelter with its tentacles exposed and extended. It lives from the low intertidal to 225 m deep and is most abundant  an common in areas with currents. Its range extends from the Aleutian Islands. to northern Mexico. The orange sea cucumber is a suspension feeder, extending its oral tentacles to catch plankton and detritus. It is preyed on by the leather sea star. (Biodiversity of the Central Coast)

Simpson's Historic Plan Includes Key Water Quality Tools
A $33 billion infrastructure plan for the Northwest developed by Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, continues to shake up the region. While the potential removal of four dams on the lower Snake River has garnered attention, other parts of the proposal are equally important for the Northwest's future. Justin Hayes, executive director of the Idaho Conservation League, said the plan includes the creation of voluntary watershed partnerships to bring together agriculture interests, communities and conservationists. "There'd be $3 billion dollars to spend across the region to help address the widespread problem of agricultural pollution getting into rivers and causing water quality problems," Hayes noted. Eric Tegethoff reports. (Public News Service)

Gray whales learn daring feeding strategy in Puget Sound: Digging for ghost shrimp at high tide
Every spring, a small group of about a dozen gray whales pauses along an epic migration from calving lagoons in Baja California to their feeding grounds in the Artic. They travel more than 170 miles off their coastal migration route, to stop off in northern Puget Sound. There, they linger from about March through May. Now scientists think they know why the Sounders, as this beloved group of regulars is known, likes to visit — and hang around. New research confirms these whales have figured out a brilliant feeding strategy. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Need to look below the sea floor? Oregon researchers say, ‘try whale song
Earthquake scientists studying a fault off Oregon’s coast have figured out a new way to map the layers of sediment and rock under the ocean floor. They did it using whale song inadvertently recorded by their instruments. Yes Burns reports. (OPB)

If you like to watch: State video highlights underappreciated, embattled Washington shrub-steppe
Driving by at 60 mph, it looks like little more than a dry blur. Washington’s eastern desert. But if you stop and look, there is a smorgasbord of life between the Cascades and Spokane: wildflowers, golden eagles, mule deer, burrowing owls, too many grasses to count and, of course, shrubs. All told, more than 200 species of birds, 30 species of mammals and numerous species of reptiles, amphibians and insects live in and depend on Washington’s shrub-steppe habitat. “When you put yourself down at the level of that landscape, you are going to see a forest, it’s just going to be a different type of forest,” Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife research scientist Michael Schroeder said in a video released by the agency this week. The 12-minute video highlights the beauty and complexity of Washington’s shrub-steppe habitat, a landscape often overlooked for the dramatic peaks and deep valleys of the Cascades. Eli Francovich reports. (Spokesman-Review)

If you like to watch: Winterwatch
Winter brings with it a whole host of magical wildlife! So we’ve compiled some of our seasonal highlights into a Winter Watchlist, to provide you with some inspiration on your daily walk. There’s something for everyone to look out for, listen to, or even smell! Whether you’re an absolute beginner or a seasoned naturalist, from the first snowdrops of the year, to drumming woodpeckers and the glue crust fungus playing tricks with sticks up above our heads. What’s on your Winter Watchlist? (BBC)

SeaDoc Society welcomes new regional director
The SeaDoc Society has hired Leigh Ann Gilmer to fill its regional director position. She began on Feb. 1 and has hit the ground running. (SeaDoc Society)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  240 AM PST Tue Feb 16 2021   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING   
TODAY  NW wind 5 to 15 kt becoming W 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 14 ft at 14 seconds. A  slight chance of showers in the morning. 
TONIGHT  NW wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell  13 ft at 13 seconds.

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