4/9 Vole, sewage pollution, plastic ban, border talk, BC wood, eelgrass restoration, grasshopper mouse, week in review

Vole [Dave Pehling/WSU]

Vole
Although not a mouse, voles are sometimes called “meadow mice” based on their close resemblance. The two species most often responsible for vole-related backyard and garden damage in Washington are the Townsend’s vole (west of the Cascade Mountains) and the Montane vole (east of the Cascade Mountains). These voles prefer succulent grasses, forbs, roots and bulbs but will also readily feed on the bark and roots of woody plants during winter when other food sources are scarce. (WSU)

Washington Wastewater Plant Polluting Puget Sound, Lawsuit Says
Contaminants from a municipal wastewater treatment facility in Washington state are polluting nearby Puget Sound, an environmental advocacy group says in a new lawsuit in federal district court. The contaminants leaving the Lynnwood, Wash., facility exceed the amounts allowed by its state-issued permit, and may be increasing the amount of total suspended solids in regulated waters, Waste Action Project says in its Wednesday filing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Sylvia Carignan reports. (Bloomberg Law)

Law to reduce plastic waste, ban Styrofoam statewide passes House floor vote
It looks increasingly likely that Washington will ban Styrofoam, reduce plastic waste and strengthen recycling markets. A bill to that effect is nearly through the Legislature. E2SSB 5022 passed a house floor vote Wednesday night, 73-24. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

It's too soon to talk about reopening Canada-U.S. border, says Dominic LeBlanc
There's too much uncertainty about the pandemic's path in the coming months for the federal government to engage in discussions about reopening the Canada-U.S. border, said Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc. (CBC) And: B.C. announces record-breaking 1,293 new COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths  (CBC)

B.C. trees are being turned into wood pellets — and that's bad for the climate and workforce, critics say
Piles and piles of raw logs stacked in the yards of wood pellet mills in northern British Columbia were one red flag. Now, a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) think-tank has caught the attention of environmental groups and a forestry workers' union, who are concerned about companies chipping whole trees into pellets and exporting them for biofuel. They say the practice harms the environment and generates little employment, and are calling on the province to suspend the approval of new wood-pellet mills and conduct an independent review of the industry's activities. (CBC)

Eelgrass restoration continues in Porpoise Bay
Eelgrass restoration work took place March 30 and 31, with 1,200 eelgrass shoots planted in a 14-by-5-metre area located between the Public Dock and MacKenzie’s Marina in Porpoise Bay. (Coast Reporter)

If you like to watch: Grasshopper mouse
Byron Rot writes: "Check out the grasshopper mouse. It is the only rodent that is carnivorous, and it “howls.”  The video is for the Southern grasshopper mouse; the Northern grasshopper mouse shares the carnivorous and howling characteristics.

Salish Sea News Week in Review 4/9/21: G&T, Billy Frank, Jr., Britt Slough, Sequim lab, Kiksilah R., BC fish farms, Skagit dam, port emissions, plastic ban

Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  228 AM PDT Fri Apr 9 2021   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM PDT THIS MORNING THROUGH LATE TONIGHT   
TODAY  SW wind 5 to 15 kt becoming S 15 to 25 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. W swell 4 ft at 8 seconds. A  chance of rain in the morning then rain in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt becoming 20 to 25 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. W swell 8 ft at 8 seconds. Rain  in the evening then a chance of rain after midnight. 
SAT  W wind 15 to 25 kt becoming 15 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 10 ft at 10 seconds. A chance of  rain in the morning. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind 15 to 20 kt becoming NW to 10 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 9 ft at 13 seconds. SUN  Light wind. Wind waves less than 1 ft. W swell 6 ft at  12 seconds.

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