5/12 Ladybeetle, BC audit, gray whales, orca 'grand slam,' creosote removal, CG base, offshore wind farm, 'brownfields,' sage grouse, Geoff James named

 

Harmonia axyridis [entomart]

Harmonia axyridis
Harmonia axyridis, most commonly known as the harlequin, multicolored Asian, or Asian ladybeetle, is a large coccinellid beetle. This is one of the most variable species in the world, with an exceptionally wide range of color forms. It is native to eastern Asia, but has been artificially introduced to North America and Europe to control aphids and scale insects. It is now common, well known, and spreading in those regions, and has also established in Africa and widely across South America. This species is conspicuous in North America, where it may locally be known as the Halloween ladybeetle. It earns this name as it often invades homes during October to overwinter. When the species first arrived in the UK, it was labelled in jest as the "many-named ladybird" due to the great quantity of vernacular names. Among those already listed other names include multivariate, southern, Japanese, and pumpkin ladybird.(Wikipedia)

B.C. auditor general flags province’s inadequate management of lands, fish and wildlife
An audit of the province’s conservation program shows how B.C. is failing to address a biodiversity crisis, including monitoring and enforcement gaps and a lack of collaboration with First Nations. Matt Simmons reports. (The Narwhal)

Special group of gray whales returns each year for shrimp ‘buffet' around Whidbey Island
Every spring, gray whales migrate up the West Coast on a 12,000-mile round-trip from their calving grounds in Mexico to the Alaskan Arctic, where they feed on tiny crustaceans. Since early 2019, an unusual mortality event has reduced their population by more than 20 percent. Whales wash up severely emaciated or sometimes suffer from ship strikes or entanglements made worse by lack of food. But researchers in Washington have identified a small group of gray whales that returns to Puget Sound every year in what seems to be a survival strategy. Nicknamed “the Sounders,” they engage in a risky feeding maneuver in the tidelands around Whidbey and Camano islands. Their ranks appear to be growing. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (kNKX)

Rare grouping of whales spotted near Friday Harbor over Mother’s Day weekend
The Pacific Whale Watch Association said that at least two whale watching companies got a “grand slam,” which in the whale world, means seeing four species of whales in the same trip. Some companies celebrate grand slams by hanging out trophies to the crew or taking a cold plunge into the Salish Sea. (KIRO)

State officials removing tons of toxic debris from Camano Island
A relic of the past is causing problems on Camano Island, again. In 2009, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) pulled 100 tons of creosote-coated pilings from the area. But the tide has carried more into Elger Bay. Michael Crowe reports. (KING)

Coast Guard could triple base size on Seattle waterfront as U.S. ramps up Arctic presence
The U.S. Coast Guard is proposing a renovation and expansion of its Seattle waterfront base that during the next decade will be home to three new icebreakers, and probably other vessels. The Coast Guard’s aging Seattle operations hub supports Pacific Northwest and polar missions. It will have a higher profile role in the coming years as the U.S. ramps up its presence in an Arctic region rapidly changing as the climate warms. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

Interior Department approves first large-scale offshore wind farm in the U.S.
The Biden administration on Tuesday approved the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States, a project that envisions building 62 turbines off Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and creating enough electricity to power 400,000 homes. Vineyard Wind is the first of several massive offshore wind-farm proposals that could put more than 3,000 wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to North Carolina. Joshua Partlow reports. (Washington Post)

EPA sets grants to restore ‘brownfields’ at blighted sites
The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday announced more than $66 million in grants to 151 communities nationwide to assess and clean up contaminated or abandoned “brownfields” — industrial and commercial properties that contain a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. An estimated 450,000 brownfields, including abandoned industrial facilities, waste disposal sites and former gas stations, plague cities, towns and rural areas throughout the country. Matthew Daly reports. (Associated Press)

BLM will revisit sage grouse protections after Trump’s attempt to open habitat for mining
The Bureau of Land Management announced Tuesday that it will revisit a key provision of sage grouse protection plans that would limit mining and drilling on the birds’ habitat. Environmental groups see this as a chance to build upon a landmark deal reached in 2015 to safeguard the iconic birds and their delicate sagebrush-steppe habitat across the American West. (radley W. Parks reports. (OPB)

Port of Port Angeles picks new executive director
Port of Port Angeles commissioners selected former NATO officer Geoff James as the tax district’s new executive director following an executive session Tuesday. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  247 AM PDT Wed May 12 2021   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 10 seconds. A chance of  rain in the morning. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  3 ft at 10 seconds.

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