8/30 Crocosmia, War in the Woods, Fairy Cr protest, Columbia steelhead, blue carbon, earthworms, Pebble Mine, bull kelp, derelict boats

Crocosmia

Crocosmia
Crocosmia, also known as montbretia, is a small genus of flowering plants in the iris family, Iridaceae. It is native to the grasslands of southern and eastern Africa, ranging from South Africa to Sudan. One species is endemic to Madagascar.  The alternative name montbretia is still widely used. The genus name is derived from the Greek words krokos, meaning "saffron", and osme, meaning "odor" – from the dried leaves emitting a strong smell like that of saffron (a spice derived from Crocus – another genus belonging to the Iridaceae) – when immersed in hot water. (Wikipedia)

How Clayoquot Sound’s War in the Woods transformed a region
Almost 30 years after the ‘war in the woods’ stopped most industrial logging in Clayoquot Sound, the area has experienced a massive tourist boom. We visited the region to learn about solutions that emerged from the conflict and what challenges remain. Stephanie Wood reports. (The Narwhal)

Protests over old-growth logging on Vancouver Island have sparked change, expert says
In the year since the first camp was set up to prevent old-growth logging around the Fairy Creek watershed on southern Vancouver Island, an expert in Canadian environmental movements says the protests have made a mark on politics and public discourse. Advocates have been calling for an end to old-growth logging in British Columbia for decades, but the issue flared again recently with more rallies, people speaking out, and media attention, said David Tindall, a professor in the sociology department at the University of British Columbia. Brenna Owen reports. (Canadian Press)

Record-low steelhead returns on Columbia River prompt call for fishing shutdown
Columbia River steelhead are in hot water. The number of steelhead returning from the Pacific Ocean to the river this year is the lowest ever recorded. As of this week, just over 29,000 steelhead passed Bonneville Dam since July 1 — that’s less than half the average of the past five years. The low number has led a coalition of conservation and fishing organizations to call for a shutdown of all recreational steelhead fishing in the Columbia Basin for the fall season. Bradley W. Parks reports. (OPB)

Local researchers examine blue carbon from Salish Sea to Arabian Gulf
How much of what is called blue carbon that various kinds of shoreline habitats are able store is a question scientists worldwide, including those in Skagit County, are trying to answer. The answer is one piece of the global puzzle for mitigating climate change. Stored blue carbon — primarily in the form of plant matter that gets buried under wet sediment, where oxygen can’t reach it to start the decomposition process — reduces the amount of climate change-inducing carbon dioxide that gets into the atmosphere. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Invasive earthworms are remaking our forests, and climate scientists are worried
For the past 300 years, a slow-motion invasion has been unfolding under our feet. Year by year, a plethora of invasive earthworms have been quietly burrowing their way through our forests' leaf litter, grasslands and backyard gardens. Although earthworms are beneficial for growing food, research shows they are harming our forests, and could potentially be contributing to climate change. Maya Lach-Aidelbaum reports. (CBC)

Inside the latest Indigenous push to stop a massive copper mine
For nearly 20 years, plans to mine near the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery have alternately raced forward and backward, with more whiplash than resolution for residents and fishermen in southwest Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. Now, in an unusual move that represents the latest stumbling block in that saga, an Alaska Native group is preparing to give up development rights to nearly half its land along a key area for the Pebble Mine. While few are willing to declare the controversial mine stopped, the land deal is viewed as a major setback for the mine's backers. Ashley Braun reports. (Crosscut)

Kelp is struggling in central and south Puget Sound. Are Whatcom’s kelp beds next? 
... Thriving bull kelp can also soften the blow of climate change, with Washington state’s bull kelp forests absorbing 27 to 136 metric tons of carbon each day, according to the Puget Sound Restoration Fund. Over the course of a year, that offsets the emissions of approximately 2,000 to 10,500 vehicles. The species is also culturally important to tribes in the Pacific Northwest, and the Samish Indian Nation has been researching populations in Skagit and San Juan counties since 2016.Ysabelle Kempe reports. (Bellingham Herald)

6 derelict boats in Everett on track to be hauled away
Six old and abandoned boats in Everett are nearing their final days in local waters. Snohomish County’s Public Works Department has placed legal notices on four derelict vessels — three in Steamboat Slough with a fourth at the Everett boat launch, and the city of Everett has claims for two more that are beached at Howarth Park. If the owners don’t take responsibility in the next 30 days, they’ll lose custody and the boats will be removed. Joseph Thompson reports. (Everett Herald)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  244 AM PDT Mon Aug 30 2021   
TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 6 ft  at 8 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SW to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 8 seconds.

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