2/24 Goldfinch, BC fish farms, Lk Erie mine, woodstove ban, groundfish research, OR coast, Colstrip repairs

American goldfinch[WikiMedia]

American goldfinch Spinus tristis
The American goldfinch is a small North American bird in the finch family. It is migratory, ranging from mid-Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of the Canada–United States border to Mexico during the winter. The only finch in its subfamily to undergo a complete molt, the American goldfinch displays sexual dichromatism: the male is a vibrant yellow in the summer and an olive color during the winter, while the female is a dull yellow-brown shade which brightens only slightly during the summer. The male displays brightly colored plumage during the breeding season to attract a mate. (Wikipedia)

B.C. salmon farmers ask Ottawa for more time before closing fish farms
A report commissioned by the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association says millions of juvenile salmon and eggs will be destroyed because of a federal decision to phase out fish farms in British Columbia's Discovery Islands. The report by economics firm RIAS Inc. says more than 10.7 million young salmon and eggs will be destroyed over the course of the 18-month phase-out. The industry association says in a news release that salmon farmers operate in five-year cycles and were expecting to transfer the young fish to farms that are fallowing when they reach maturity. Amy Smart reports. (Canadian Press)

Lake Erie gravel mine expansion sent back to hearing examiner
The Skagit County Board of Commissioners agreed Tuesday that questions raised by residents west of the Lake Erie Pit regarding groundwater flow and landslide risks require further study. The three-member board voted unanimously to remand a special use permit for expanding the Fidalgo Island gravel mine back to the Skagit County hearing examiner for a closer look at potential geological hazards. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Industry fighting back against B.C. woodstove bans
The industry association for woodstove producers is fighting back against local government attempts to curb use of woodstoves as a heating source. The Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association of Canada (HPBAC) recently launched a publicity campaign to “overturn the ban” in Vancouver Island’s Comox Valley area, including a website devoted to the issue. Mike Chouinard reports. (Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News)

Logging change in Puget Sound: Researchers use UW vessel logbooks to reconstruct historical groundfish populations
Researchers from the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, UW Puget Sound Institute, NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have discovered an unconventional way to help fill in these gaps in data: using old vessel logbooks. The crews of the University of Washington’s then School of Fisheries’ research vessels R/V Oncorhynchus (1947 to 1955) and R/V Commando (1955 to 1980), both of which were skippered by Tom Oswold, took notes on all of the fish tows conducted under their watch. With funding from Washington Sea Grant, the researchers combed through more than 1,000 of these logbook entries to analyze the information regarding the groundfish species caught in each tow, including when and where the fish were caught. Then, the researchers analyzed historical logbook data from 1948 to 1977 and contemporary monitoring data to reveal longer-term trends in the local groundfish populations. The research was published in Marine Ecology Progress Series last month. Samantha Larson reports. (UW News)

How Reagan’s oil push led to the Oregon way of coastal habitat protection
They call it the Oregon Way. When environmentalists and crabbers hashed out a proposal for a new conservation area on the northern Oregon Coast, it led to a rare moment of agreement in a partisan world...And it all goes back to the Reagan era. Kate Kay reports. (Jefferson Public Radio)

Lawmakers take up fight over Colstrip repairs
A fight over repairs at Colstrip Power Plant spilled into the Montana Legislature on Tuesday, where lawmakers propose empowering the state attorney general to mandate owners pay for maintenance if not doing so means damaging the coal-fired generator. The proposal comes as owners quarrel over increasing maintenance costs. State Sen. Steve Fitzpatrick, a Great Falls Republican, accused the Colstrip owners from Washington and Oregon of avoiding repairs to run Colstrip into the ground. Fitzpatrick’s Senate Bill 266 makes such behavior a deceptive practice and empowers the state attorney general to force power plant businesses to make necessary repairs. Tom Lutey reports. (Billings Gazette)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  406 AM PST Wed Feb 24 2021   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON 
GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY  MORNING   
TODAY  SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  9 ft at 13 seconds. 
TONIGHT  S wind 5 to 15 kt rising to 20 to 30 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 ft or less building to 3 to 5 ft after  midnight. W swell 8 ft at 13 seconds. A chance of rain in the  evening then rain after midnight.

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