3/24 Shotweed, Elizabeth Klein, Jane Lubschenco, Snake R dams, spill response, cruise ships in BC, Eyes Over PS, 'Salmon Nation,' BC Ferries, WA beaches, toad road, Audubon

Shotweed [Dreamstime.com/Seattle Times]

Shotweed Cardamine hirsuta
Shotweed is easy to identify. If you’ve ever tugged on a plant and been sprayed with an explosive shower of seeds, chances are you’ve met shotweed. One of the earliest weeds to emerge, shotweed thrives in cool, damp conditions. While relatively harmless in small numbers, its prolific seeding capacity means shotweed numbers don’t remain small for long. Get out there and remove the plants while they’re still in the juvenile, nonseeding form. (Lorene Edwards Forkner Seattle Times)

White House pulls nominee for Interior’s No. 2 post after opposition from centrists
The White House is withdrawing its nominee for deputy secretary of the Interior Department two months after touting Elizabeth Klein as one of several women President Biden had selected for top department posts, a concession to centrist senators unhappy about her advocacy to curb fossil fuels. The move, which came after Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) raised objections, shows the challenge the Biden administration faces in advancing its environmental agenda in a closely divided Congress. Juliet Eilperin and Joshua Partlow report.(Washington Post)

Prominent Oregon scientist returns to White House duty with new climate role
Jane Lubchenco, a well-known Oregon State University distinguished professor and a former Obama administration official, has been appointed a top climate change science role under President Joe Biden. Last week, Lubchenco was named the deputy director for climate and the environment for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In her role, Lubchenco will focus and lead efforts on climate change and environmental challenges we are currently facing that include health, economic recovery, equity, and sustainability. Monica Samayoa reports. (OPB)

Clallam County PUD votes 2-1 to support Snake River dams 
Commissioners Will Purser and Rick Paschall voted Monday — with Commissioner Jim Waddell opposed — to pass a resolution backing the Federal Columbia River Power System, including the four hydroelectric dams on the lower reaches of the Columbia’s largest tributary. The resolution says it recognizes the power system’s role in environmental stewardship and opposes the removal of the four dams on the lower Snake River. Rob Ollikainen reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

17 is too many hours to wait during a disaster. Thanks to coastal First Nations, that’s changing
Four years after a diesel spill in Heiltsuk territory, the nation, the Canadian Coast Guard and Transport Canada have reached an agreement to form an Indigenous marine response team. The achievement is part of a recent wave of good news stories in Indigenous communities. Arik Ligeti reports. (The Narwhal)

Cruise ships to bypass B.C. under proposed Alaska law, prompts worries for battered tourism sector
There are fears British Columbia's tourism industry could be in jeopardy with newly tabled U.S. legislation that would allow cruise ships to sail around current laws and bypass B.C. altogether. Earlier this month, two senators introduced the Alaska Tourism Recovery Act, designed to kick-start the state's tourism-dependent economy while Canada bans cruise ships until February 2022.  It would provide an exemption to the current and long-standing Passenger Vessel Services Act, by waiving the requirement for ships to stop in a foreign country — meaning cruises could travel directly from Seattle to Alaska without stopping in B.C. Tanya Fletcher reports. (CBC)

Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - March 11, 2021
We are in a weakening La Niña, coastal downwelling has lessened and we are getting out of a cold and wet stretch, hurray. In March, rivers have almost returned to normal and carry clear water. (Dept. of Ecology)

‘Salmon Nation’ Is Linking Builders of a Healthy Economy
....Salmon Nation offers a radically old idea (living locally), but dresses it in new clothes on a fancy digital platform launched last year during the pandemic. It begins with this declaration: “A changing climate and failing systems demand new approaches to everything we do. We need to champion what works for people and place.”... Salmon Nation, funded in part by the U.S. NoVo Foundation, wants to encourage conversations about what ought to happen on this well-watered landscape — instead of what can be extracted from the Pacific Northwest for the global economy. Andrew Nikiforuk writes. (The Tyee)

BC Ferries announce name of new Salish-Class vessel, call for artist designs
BC Ferries is calling for local Coast Salish artists to submit vessel designs after announcing the new name of the latest Salish-Class ferry. The ferry company has named the new boat the Salish Heron in recognition of the Coast Salish as “the traditional stewards and original mariners of the Salish Sea.” Graham Cox reports. (CHEK)

Annual Report on Washington Beaches
The Dept. of Ecology reports that, "of the 63 beaches sampled in 2020, 95 percent were considered passing beaches. This is a four percent increase in passing beaches from 2019. A beach is considered passing if it has no more than one sampling event that exceeds the swimming standard."

Toads get a road of their own on Vancouver Island
When toads meet roads, it's often the end of the road for the amphibians. Road crossings are a perilous, yet unavoidable obstacle in the journey of migrating western toads on Vancouver Island, but a new transportation project aims to provide safe passage thanks to an underground tunnel. B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation is constructing a series of cross-culverts tunnelling under the road network west of Duncan so that toads can safely migrate to breeding grounds at Wake Lake. (CBC)

Audubon at Sea
Famous for his art and writing about birds—and infamous more recently for his racist views—John James Audubon traversed the Atlantic a dozen times, providing a snapshot into the state of the ocean two centuries ago. Richard J. King writes. (Hakai Magazine)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  207 AM PDT Wed Mar 24 2021   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON   
TODAY  W wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. W swell 5 ft  at 10 seconds building to 7 ft at 7 seconds in the afternoon.  Rain in the morning. 
TONIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt becoming NW 10 to 20 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft subsiding to 1 to 3 ft after  midnight. W swell 11 ft at 9 seconds. A slight chance of showers.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter. 

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told