4/12 Tree frog, Boeing pollution, Fairy Cr protest, Anacortes refinery permits, BC herring, derelict vessels, BC tugs, citizen science, BC fishing ban, armoring loans, Jerry Gorsline, sea rice

Pacific Tree Frog [Heidi Rockney/Burke Museum]

Pacific Tree Frog Pseudacris regilla
The Pacific tree frog, also known as the Pacific chorus frog, has a range spanning the Pacific Northwest, from Northern California, Oregon, and Washington to British Columbia in Canada and extreme southern Alaska. (Wikipedia)

State order targets Boeing Everett plant’s polluted history 
...[T]he Boeing Co.’s Everett plant, in operation since the late 1960s, is the source of a plume of contaminated groundwater that extends roughly 2,800 feet from the head of a steep canyon, northward into the creek, until about a mile from where the small waterway empties into Puget Sound. The tainted water, which comes from beneath an asphalt-lined stormwater basin on the northern reaches of Boeing’s property, is laden with Trichloroethylene. TCE is a solvent that’s used to degrease metal parts during the manufacturing process — and a known carcinogen to humans. Rachel Riley reports. (Everett Herald)

Echoes of B.C.’s War in the Woods as Fairy Creek blockade builds on Vancouver Island
Tensions are on the rise as hundreds of activists prevent fallers from accessing work sites in the old-growth forests of the Caycuse watershed near Port Renfrew. Jesse Winter reports. (The Guardian/The Narwhal)

Permits being reviewed for refinery sewer systems
The state Department of Ecology is taking public comment on draft permits for the Marathon Anacortes and Shell Puget Sound refineries on March Point. The permits, called “oily water sewer dangerous waste permits” set requirements for the refineries to monitor their oily water sewers and clean up any groundwater or soil contamination. (Skagit Valley Herald)

‘It’s collapsing’: B.C. First Nations, Pacific Wild warn of herring population decline amid commercial fishery
Advocates are calling for a moratorium on the province's last-remaining commercial fishery for herring, a declining food source for at-risk chinook salmon which, in turn, feed endangered killer whales. Cara McKenna reports. (The Guardian/The Narwhal)

Everett couple writes check to clean up the Snohomish River
In November, Phil and Kelly Johnson of Everett read a Daily Herald article about the county’s struggling to haul three derelict vessels from the river, a project that depleted the budget of the county’s Surface Water Management department...So he and his wife, Kelly, donated $50,000 to the Northwest Straits Foundation, a funding partner of the Marine Resources Committee, a citizens advisory group that works with the county. Joseph Thompson reports. (Everett Herald)

Ingenika tugboat tragedy raises safety questions on B.C. coast
Small tugs are critical to the B.C. coastal economy but operate with little oversight: Part 1 of a two-part investigation. Glenda Luymes reports. (Vancouver Sun) 'Race to the bottom': Weak federal regulations compromise safety of B.C. tugboats  In the absence of effective safety regulations, some B.C. tugboat companies are creating their own. But it comes at a cost. Glenda Luymes reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Community science could help us save Washington’s amphibians
With state biologists unable to monitor every amphibian species as completely as they would like, community volunteers fill an important gap. Hannah Weinberger reports. (Crosscut)

Three banned from fishing, holding licences in Canada after overfishing violations in B.C.
Three people have been banned from fishing or holding a fishing licence anywhere in Canada after pleading guilty to overfishing on Vancouver Island in 2019...When police found the individuals, only one of the three had a valid fishing licence and the group had dozens of fish, including salmon, which were not properly recorded. (Canadian Press)

Could a revolving loan fund help Puget Sound shorelines?
Since 2014, local Shore Friendly programs have offered technical assistance and financial incentives to encourage voluntary armor removal projects on residential parcels. “Armoring” is the practice of using physical structures to protect shorelines from coastal erosion, which can damage beaches and erode habitat...A revolving loan fund is an innovative approach to providing low-cost financing as an inventive approach. Cynthia Harrison writes. (Puget Sound Estuary Program)

Remembering Jerry Gorsline
Stephen Grace writes: "Jerry’s legacy is large in many places I care about, including Kah Tai Prairie, a remnant of the wildflower-strewn meadows that once carpeted much of the land around Port Townsend. Jerry’s legacy also lives on in many people I admire..." (Rainshadow Journal)

The rice of the sea: how a tiny grain could change the way humanity eats
Ángel León made his name serving innovative seafood. But then he discovered something in the seagrass that could transform our understanding of the sea itself – as a vast garden. Ashifa Kassam report. (The Guardian)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  248 AM PDT Mon Apr 12 2021   
TODAY  E wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 3 ft  at 10 seconds. 
TONIGHT  NW wind 5 to 15 kt becoming E after midnight. Wind  waves 2 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 9 seconds.

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