3/9 Silverfish, Navy training, clean fuels, oil by rail, Salish Sea in school, GBH salmon appetite, salmon recovery bills, J58 is a female

Silverfish [Christian Fischer]

 

Silverfish Lepisma saccharina
The silverfish is a species of small, primitive, wingless insect in the order Zygentoma. Its common name derives from the animal's silvery light grey colour, combined with the fish-like appearance of its movements. (Wikipedia)

Environmental group sues Washington State Parks over proposed Navy training
The U.S. Navy’s controversial use of Washington’s state parks for training exercises is the subject of a lawsuit filed Monday in Thurston County. The Whidbey Environmental Action Committee (WEAN) is suing the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission in order to overturn a Jan. 28 decision that approved the Navy’s proposal to use up to 28 state parks for special operations training. WEAN said the parks commission violated the State Environmental Policy Act by “failing to take a searching, realistic look at the proposal’s adverse environmental impacts,” according to the complaint.  Abbie Shull reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Washington state Legislature considers clean-fuels standard as part of climate change 'grand bargain'
....For more than half a decade, Inslee and his allies in the Legislature have tried unsuccessfully to pass...legislation, which would offer a big array of incentives to develop transportation fuels that emit less greenhouse gas, and require the purchase of credits by fuel marketers that do not meet those standards. The goal is to use progressively cleaner fuels in cars, trucks, boats, trains and aircraft that in Washington generate more than 44% of total carbon emissions. Those fuels could include electricity. In the weeks ahead, the coalition will have another opportunity to succeed in its quest as the state Senate considers clean-fuels legislation (House Bill 1091) that already has cleared the state House of Representatives. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

As debate rages over cross-border pipelines, U.S. analysts brace for more oil by rail
The fierce debate over cross-border pipelines is putting more Canadian oil and gas on trains destined for the United States — a country experts fear is ill-equipped for the potential consequences. It would take an oil-by-rail calamity of a scale comparable to the 2013 Lac-Mégantic disaster in Quebec before Americans wake up to the dangers, U.S. rail safety analysts say. (Coast Reporter)

Bringing the Salish Sea to Tacoma’s Fifth Graders
Tacoma Public School students are taking a big step into their local ecosystem.  While the pandemic has disrupted in-person schooling nationwide, Tacoma Public Schools is piloting a new Explore the Salish Sea science curriculum district-wide that adventurous fifth grade teachers at two Tacoma schools implemented last year. Explore the Salish Sea is an education program of the SeaDoc Society. Justin Cox reports. (UC Davis)

Blue herons identified as a significant juvenile salmon predator
Pacific great blue herons could be scooping up as many as three percent of all juvenile salmon and as many as six percent in some years with low water flow, according to a new University of British Columbia study. The study, published in The Canadian Journal of Zoology, is the first to estimate the portion of juvenile salmon being preyed upon by the understudied bird species in the Salish Sea region. Up to 50 per cent of juvenile salmon deaths occur when the young fish pass through a gauntlet of predators and damaged habitats on their way to the ocean. Exactly how all these fish die has been a cause for concern, and the focus of extensive studies to identify predators. (UBC)

Five key bills that would help salmon recovery in Puget Sound
Salmon recovery in Puget Sound continues to be slow and disappointing. The Puget Sound Partnership itself notes, “There is little to no sign of recovery of Puget Sound Chinook populations.” Two keys to improving recovery efforts are to increase funding for habitat restoration and to ensure the public money is spent well. Legislative budgets for capital projects will probably be released later this month...The legislature is considering several good bills that would streamline environmental permitting and reduce the cost of salmon-recovery projects. Here’s a quick update on the bills that would help reduce the metaphorical policy barriers to removing the physical barriers that inhibit salmon recovery. Todds Myers writes. (WA Policy Center)

Southern resident orca born last year confirmed as female
A small barrel roll gave Washington whale watchers a gender reveal over the weekend and reason to be hopeful about a pod of endangered southern resident orcas that frequent Puget Sound. The Center for Whale Research confirmed that the J pod's newest calf, J58, is a female after the 6-month-old calf was seen rolling onto her back, allowing researchers to determine the gender, SeattlePI.com reported. The calf was born last September to J41 near Vancouver, British Columbia. (OPB)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  411 AM PST Tue Mar 9 2021   
TODAY  E wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 6 ft  at 11 seconds. A chance of showers. 
TONIGHT  N wind to 10 kt in the evening becoming light. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 10 seconds. A slight chance  of showers in the evening.

--
"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