3/22 Chickweed, WA forests, Nooksack water, lege bills, HEAL Act, pipeline fight, permafrost thaw, restoration grants, green crabs, seals and salmon, Gerado Rodarte, OR shorebirds

Chickweed [Dreamstime.com/Seattle Times]

 
Chickweed Stellaria media
Chickweed is an annual that flourishes in previously cultivated soil that’s rich in organic material and nutrients, which is why you’ll often find it carpeting the vegetable garden. The tender plants and their delicate roots are easily removed with a hand fork. As the name suggests, chickweed is a flavorful and nutritious treat for chickens — and it’s not too shabby in an early spring herb salad, either. It’s especially satisfying to eat your weeds. (Lorene Edwards Forkner, Seattle Times)

Amid climate crisis, a proposal to save Washington state forests for carbon storage, not logging
Hilary Franz, state commissioner of public lands, is kicking off an examination over the next three to four months of all older forests on DNR lands west of the Cascades not already in conservation status — about 10,000 acres --to evaluate alternative uses to logging, including biodiversity, carbon storage, water quality and recreation. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

A next step to resolve Nooksack water rights waits on legislative budget decision
The state Department of Ecology has announced its intent to resolve the contentious issues around water rights in the Nooksack Basin through the legal action of adjudication, and money to move that process forward is proposed in the budget under consideration by the Legislature. Alex Meacham reports. (Salish Current)

The bills we’re tracking in the 2021 Washington state Legislature
Pandemic relief, climate change, police accountability, taxes and more — here’s what we’re watching halfway into the session. Mohammed Kloub reports. (Crosscut)

Washington ‘HEAL’ Act would steer key state agencies toward environmental justice
The Washington Healthy Environment for All Act, or "HEAL Act," has passed the state Senate and is working its way through the House. Its aim is to implement the recommendations from an environmental justice task force that wrapped up its work last summer...The seven agencies named in the bill are Agriculture, Commerce, Ecology, Health, Natural Resources, Transportation and the Puget Sound Partnership. All have been at the table with the environmental justice task force, working on the policy. Other departments of government would be encouraged to follow their lead. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

For BC’s Two Pipeline Fights, It’s Spring Forward
TMX and Coastal GasLink face resurging opposition across the province as Trudeau invites Biden to talk climate change. Braela Kwan reports. (The Tyee/Investigate West)

Looking for climate solutions within the problem of permafrost thaw
Thawing permafrost in rapidly warming Arctic regions creates a problem for climate change from the carbon dioxide and methane released in the process. A scientific discussion, centred in Vancouver, is mulling over how to cope with the problem and possibly even slow the rate of permafrost thaw through big-picture interventions such as solar geo-engineering. Derrick Penner reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Samish Island, Stillaguamish delta salt marsh projects get federal funding
From the shores of Samish Island in northwest Skagit County to the Stillaguamish River delta to the south, coastal wetland projects recently secured grant funding. Out of $3.6 million awarded in February to projects in Washington through the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program, $1 million will go toward a project led by the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians along Port Susan Bay and $875,000 for a project led by the Skagit Land Trust between Samish and Padilla bays. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Washington’s Crabby New Resident
Researchers, tribes and volunteers work to fight the rising tide of European green crabs on Washington shores.
Morgan MacIntryre reports. (The Planet Magazine)

Seals and Sound Waves
Seals prey predominantly on salmon during summer and fall, coinciding with salmon spawning season. Now, Puget Sound scientists are testing a new underwater alarm to see if the noise can scare seals from Whatcom Creek and help preserve valuable salmon. The device was developed by Scottish company GenusWave, and is now being used by the Seattle-based Oceans Initiative and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Abi Hoodenpyle reports. (The Planet Magazine)

Skagit County shellfish grower receives award from Latino Civic Alliance
The Latino Civic Alliance recognized a Skagit County shellfish grower and business owner Tuesday at the annual Latino Legislative Day Civic Awards. Gerardo Rodarte, who owns Samish Gold Seafoods in Bow, was one of six award recipients. He received the Business Achievement Award. Jacqueline Allison reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Voices Unbound: New perspectives on environmental challenges
A group of researchers at the University of Washington Tacoma asked more than a thousand people in Pierce County what they viewed as their most important environmental challenges. Nursing professor Robin Evans-Agnew will present some of the findings from the Voices Unbound project on March 22 at 10 a.m. via zoom

Threatened shorebird protected on Oregon beaches
It’s that time of year again when Oregonians are asked to help protect the nesting areas of a small coastal shore bird. The western snowy plover is threatened. In 1993, the known population dropped to 55 breeding adults. Tiffany Eckert reports. (KLCC)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  257 AM PDT Mon Mar 22 2021   
TODAY  W wind 15 to 25 kt becoming 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 2 to  4 ft subsiding to 1 to 3 ft. W swell 9 ft at 11 seconds. A slight  chance of rain. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt easing to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft subsiding to 1 ft or less. W swell 9 ft at  11 seconds.

--
"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