10/15 Maize, Nov 8 border opening, Lower Snake R dams, Kirner Pond swans, no new kind of orca, sea otters, BC groundwater, week in review

Maize

Maize Zea mays
Maize, also known as corn, is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The leafy stalk of the plant produces pollen inflorescences and separate ovuliferous inflorescences called ears that yield kernels or seeds, which are fruits. (Wikipedia)

U.S. to open border to fully vaccinated travellers starting Nov. 8
The United States is set to reopen its borders to fully vaccinated travellers starting starting Nov. 8, and will apply to those travelling by air, land or passenger ferry. Air travellers will need to show proof of vaccination on arrival to the U.S., but will still need to show a pre-departure negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of travel prior to boarding their flight. Non-essential travellers crossing at a land border will be required to show proof of vaccination or attest to their vaccination status upon request by a border agent, but unlike air travellers there will be no requirement for them to show a negative COVID-19 test. Darren Major and Katie Simpson report. (CBC)

Inslee says Lower Snake River dams report should be ready this summer
The fate of the four controversial Lower Snake River dams will be a topic of study this summer. Washington politicians said they plan to weigh in then on the fate of the four controversial Lower Snake River dams. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says a report should come out this summer on the four controversial dams on the Lower Snake River. Courtney Flatt reports. (NW News Network)

Swan-saving project complete at Kirner Pond
A multi-agency, private-public effort to help trumpeter swans safely depart from their seasonal home on Kirner Pond is complete...Local bird advocates came together to start a GoFundMe fundraiser that kicked off on Jan. 25, and it quickly raised more than the goal of $65,000. Those funds, along with in-kind labor and efforts from Clallam PUD, helped fund the work to bury the power lines clearing the way for the trumpeter swans to take off from the small pond located about a mile west of the Woodcock/Sequim-Dungeness Way intersection. Michael Dashiell reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

No discovery of 'new kind of killer whale' off western North America
In a news release, cetacean scientists wrote on Oct. 8: "On October 4th, Hakai Magazine published an article with a headline reporting the discovery of “a new kind of killer whale”. Other media outlets subsequently reported similar headlines in Canada, the USA and internationally, and although some content has since been corrected in these articles, others continue to report false information.  The fact is that no new type of killer whale has been discovered and that many of the whales in question are part of the known Bigg’s (transient) killer whale population that prey on marine mammals."

Sea Otters Are Reshaping the Genetics of Eelgrass Meadows
The once-imperiled marine mammal could help this vital coastal ecosystem adapt to a changing world. Isobel Whitcomb reports. (Hakai Magazine)

BC’s Groundwater Licensing System Is Still in Crisis
Experts warn of chaos and economic disruption, but say it’s not too late to save the needed initiative. Andrew MacLeod reports. (The Tyee)

Week in Review 10/15/21: Mushroom Friday!, northern goshawk, snow crab, Fairy Cr protest, Indigenous Peoples Day, FortisBC LNG, starving SRKW, border opening, bigleaf maples, Connie Gallant

Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  237 AM PDT Fri Oct 15 2021   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON   
TODAY  SE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 7 ft  at 13 seconds. Rain. 
TONIGHT  SE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell  8 ft at 12 seconds. Rain. 
SAT  SE wind 20 to 30 kt becoming S 15 to 25 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. W swell 5 ft at 10 seconds.  Rain. 
SAT NIGHT  SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW  swell 7 ft at 8 seconds becoming W 4 ft at 9 seconds after  midnight. 
SUN  Light wind becoming W to 10 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 11 seconds.

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