8/16 Lamb's quarter, K21, Fraser steelhead, pond turtles, sage grouse land, no Point No Point launch, Van Aquarium, toilets and trash

Lamb's quarters [Brittanica]

Lamb’s quarters Chenopodium album
Lamb's quarters, also called pigweed, is an annual weedy plant of the amaranth family (Amaranthaceae), of wide distribution in Asia, Europe, and North America. It can grow up to 3 metres (about 10 feet) but is usually a smaller plant. The blue-green leaves are variable in size and shape but are often white and mealy beneath. The tender young shoots in spring are sometimes gathered for potherbs and are a good source of vitamin A and iron. (Brittanica)

Did the oldest male southern resident orca die too young — at just 35?
He was last seen struggling against the current, terribly emaciated, one of the skinniest orcas ever seen alive. The dorsal fin that once towered from his trademark starburst saddle patch was completely collapsed across his back. He had lost so much body fat, he could barely keep his body afloat.K21 is presumed dead since that terrible sighting on July 29. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Extinction of B.C. Interior steelhead runs imminent: experts
Only 19 spawning adults returned to the Chilcotin watershed this spring, down from 418 in 2015 and a peak of 3,149 in 1985. Sarah Grochowski reports. (Vancouver Sun)

35 western pond turtles are released in Lakewood pond, bolstering endangered population
....The turtles, raised during a historic heat wave and a pandemic, were the latest batch to emerge from a desperate recovery program launched by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Woodland Park Zoo to help bring western pond turtles back from the brink of extinction in the state. Daniel Wu reports. (Seattle Times)

US Bureau of Land Management reconsiders protecting 10 million acres of sage grouse habitat
The Obama administration temporarily enacted a plan to withdraw what are called “sagebrush focal areas” from mining and drilling during the president’s second term, but called for a full environmental review to make the withdrawal permanent. The Trump administration, upon taking office, abandoned that plan, opening those 10 million acres for business. Bradley W. Parks reports. (OPB)

Army Corps blocks Point No Point boat launch, citing objections from Suquamish Tribe
A large waterfront parking lot at Point No Point sits waiting for angling activity, and it appears that it won't come any time soon, or maybe ever, after the Army Corps of Engineers blocked long-running plans for rebuilding a public boat ramp at the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula, citing objections raised by the Suquamish Tribe. The state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife has been pursuing construction of a new boat launch on Admiralty Inlet for years after it closed a launch at the site near the Point No Point Lighthouse for safety reasons in 2002. The agency submitted an application to the Army Corps of Engineers in 2009 and moved ahead with installing a parking lot for vehicles and trailers in anticipation of the ramp being built. Nathan Piling reports. (Kitsap Sun)

COVID-19: Vancouver Aquarium reopens iconic Stanley Park attraction to the public
The Vancouver Aquarium again opens its doors to the public Monday, after 14 months of closure and a brush with insolvency, which longtime volunteer and aquarium supporter Krista Tulloch welcomes as a "huge moment," for the storied Stanley Park institution. Derrick Penner reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Toilets and trash featured in Victoria exhibition about local history of water and waste
Using images, stories, and artifacts, Springs and Scavengers: Waste and Water in Victoria, 1842 to 1915 tells the story of basic human needs, and how those needs were dealt with back in the day. (CBC)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  238 AM PDT Mon Aug 16 2021   
TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming to 10 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 2 ft at 10 seconds. Rain likely. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming SW 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 7 ft at 8 seconds. A  slight chance of rain.

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