8/4 Varnish clam, Gorge Dam, Protection Is, western forest fires, wildfire lessons, emperor penguins

Varnish clams [WDFW]

Varnish clam Nuttallia obscurata
Varnish clams have an oval shaped shell that is thin, flat, and up to 3½ inches long. They have a thick, shiny periostracum, which is the fibrous layer on the outside of the shells. They typically have purple coloration on the interior of the shell. Varnish clams are buried up to 14 inches deep in sand or gravel substrate. Varnish clams can be found from the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia to Alsea Bay, OR. (WDFW)

Washington tribe calls on Seattle City Light to remove the Gorge Dam
To help salmon and free a culturally important stretch of the Skagit River, the Upper Skagit tribe demands that Seattle tear down the dam. Rico Moore reports. (High Country News)

Wildfire threatening 'crucial' bird habitat on island near Port Townsend
A wildfire burned Tuesday on an island west of Port Townsend that is an important habitat for birds and marine mammals. Protection Island is a "crucial site" and one of the last remaining undeveloped habitats for burrow-nesting seabirds in the Salish Sea, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is a nesting site for 70% of Washington’s Salish Sea population of breeding seabirds and is one of two remaining breeding sites for tufted puffins in the Salish Sea. (KING)

New research models possibly devastating consequences of climate change and wildfires for western forests
Wildfires are an increasingly dangerous threat to people, wildlife, and property in the American West, but that threat could eventually taper off. That’s not necessarily a good thing. Paige Browning and Andy Hurst report. (KUOW)

Bootleg, Biscuit, Rosland and Milli: lessons from past and current fires
Picture an unusually dry summer, a record heat wave, and so many Western fires burning that crews are stretched thin across the country. And a fire started that “spread so quickly, and burned so hot, and moved so fast” that “it looked like Mount St. Helens erupting.” And with winter rains nowhere in sight, “it felt like it was gonna go on forever.” Debates about the best way to prevent such fires raged: Do you thin the trees? Conduct prescribed burns? Put fires out as soon as they start, or let them burn? Summer of 2021? Nope. Those quotes are from an award-winning episode of “Oregon Field Guide” that documented the 2002 Biscuit fire. Erin Ross reports. (OPB)

Virtually all emperor penguins doomed for extinction by 2100 as climate change looms, study finds
The United States is moving to list emperor penguins as a threatened species based on new evidence that colonies are imperiled by shrinking sea ice. Rachel Pannett reports. (Washington Post)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  225 AM PDT Wed Aug 4 2021   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt becoming NW 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 8 seconds. TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 2 ft  at 11 seconds.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter. 

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told