3/1 Virginia Rail, Site C dam, fish passage, salmon season, climate impacts, quake history, smolt remains, BC border, restoration $s

Virginia Rail [Evan Lipton]

Virgina Rail Rallus limicola
A secretive bird of freshwater marshes, the Virginia Rail often remains hidden in dense vegetation, but its loud grunting may give away its presence. As it slowly pokes its way through the marsh, you might get a glimpse of its reddish bill, black-and-white barred sides, and its twitching tail, showing off white tail feathers beneath. It possesses many adaptations for moving through its nearly impenetrable habitat, including a laterally compressed body, long toes, and flexible vertebrae. (All About Birds)

The most expensive dam in Canadian history: cost of B.C.’s Site C dam balloons to $16 billion
Premier John Horgan defends decision to push ahead with beleaguered BC Hydro project, which has nearly doubled in cost under NDP government as a result of escalating safety issues. Sarah Cox reports. (The Narwhal)

State agency drafting fish passage rules
he state Department of Fish & Wildlife is drafting rules related to a state law that applies to fish passage in rivers, streams and lakes in an effort to make more clear how the law aids in the recovery of salmon and orca whales...The rule-making process began in 2019 at the direction of the state Legislature based on recommendations from the state’s orca recovery task force recommendations in 2018. The new rules are anticipated to take effect in 2022. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Forecasts released for 2021 as annual salmon season-setting process begins
Washington salmon seasons are likely to once again be limited by low returns with a few potential bright spots in 2021, state fishery managers announced Friday, February 26 at a meeting to present salmon forecasts for the coming year. Cooperatively developed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and co-managers, the forecasts mark the jumping-off point for the annual “North of Falcon” process to shape Washington’s salmon-fishing seasons.  (San Juan Islander)

Digital maps show how climate change’s impact in WA isn’t equal
From floods to wildfires, mapping programs in Cascadia are showing scientists which communities face higher risk. Peter Fairley reports. (Crosscut)

Decoding earthquake history: How geologists find fossilized clues in sediment 
Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Salmon Smolts: Here Today, Guano Tomorrow
In British Columbia, great blue heron guano explains the mystery of the vanishing salmon smolts. Larry Pynn reports. (Hakai Magazine)

U.S. politicians push to revive Alaska cruises, with Victoria as 'technical' stop
Lawmakers in the U.S. are engaging in a full-court press to try to salvage the 2021 Alaska cruise season, including appeals to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and attempts to waive American legal restrictions on ship movement. Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and Republican Congressman Don Young, all from Alaska, have written to Trudeau asking him to work with the group on Canada’s cruise ship ban for 2021, enacted this month. Andrew Duffy reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Washington state is missing Canadian travellers and shoppers 
The WWU report on the impact of the shut border, which closed March 21, 2020, and remains closed until at least March 21, 2021, likely longer, reported these “key takeaways”: Whatcom County’s hospitality sector, the Bellingham airport, second-home ownership and “all cross-border leisure travel” have been hit hard. The report, published in the fall, estimated the county lost 506,000 tourists up to the end of September. It said Bellingham airport passenger numbers were down 70 per cent. It estimated seven per cent of the county’s homeowners are Canadians or dual citizens, and the border shutdown and 14-day quarantine requirements for returning Canadian travellers “limit access to Canadian-owned vacation homes or second homes.” The report found in 2019 that visitors spent $555 million in the area and that tourism supports five per cent of the county’s jobs. But the study couldn’t say how much of that economic activity came from Canadians.  Susan Lazaruk reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Estuary restoration planned for Skagit Wildlife Area's Island Unit
Two silt-edged islands connected by a bridge in the southern Skagit River delta may within a few years see the majority of the dikes that have long shielded them from the river and nearby Skagit Bay removed. The state Department of Fish & Wildlife announced this week that it plans to allow water onto this 270-acre property known as the Island Unit of the Skagit Wildlife Area. It’s a plan that will create more habitat for threatened Puget Sound chinook salmon and in turn benefit endangered Southern Resident orca whales that eat chinook, benefit other wildlife and potentially increase recreation opportunities. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald) See also: Ecology secures $3.6 million to restore and preserve vital coastal wetlands  (Ecology News Release)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  234 AM PST Mon Mar 1 2021   
TODAY  S wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 7 ft  at 12 seconds. A chance of rain. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  9 ft at 13 seconds. A chance of rain in the evening.

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