10/29 Slime tube worm, bulkhead removal, piers and docks ban, Canada carbon count, MPAs, container ships, saving salmon, science forum, week in review

Slime tube worm [Dave Cowles/Walla Walla U]

It's slime time!
Jimmy Norris in Eyes Under Puget Sound treats us kids with: "Sliiiime. Just saying the word conjures up images of viscous, sticky monsters from scary movie classics like The Blob, The Thing, and Ghostbusters (although, who doesn’t secretly love Slimer)? Children of the '80s might remember Nickelodeon’s Saturday morning sketch series You Can’t Do That on Television, where letting slip an “I don’t know” would get you doused with a vat of green goop. But to the slime tube worm, all this revolting ooze looks like Home Sweet Home." (Dept. of Ecology)

Puget Sound meets 2020 bulkhead-removal goal; new indicators will chart the future
In a turnabout that offers hope for Puget Sound’s nearshore ecosystem, old bulkheads are now being removed faster than new bulkheads are being constructed, according to permit figures provided by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. In fact, officials with Puget Sound Partnership recently announced that the agency’s 2020 goal for reducing shoreline armoring had been reached — just barely — by the end of last year. Specifically, the goal, or target, was to remove more bulkheads, seawalls and other armoring (measured in length) than what was added from 2011 to 2020. One caveat: Not all armoring projects were captured in the permit data. Now that we’re past 2020, new targets are in the works along with new Vital Signs and indicators of ecosystem health. Last year, 13 revised Vital Signs along with 34 indicators were approved by the Puget Sound Leadership Council, as recommended by staffers. Chris Dunagan writes. (Puget Sound Institute)

Proposed rules would ban new piers, docks on much of Gig Harbor and Key Pen shoreline
New piers and docks would be forbidden on large swaths of shoreline along the Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula under proposed revisions to Pierce County's Shoreline Management Plan. The ban would apply to about 39 miles of shoreline. Kerry Webster reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Canada underestimating 80 megatonnes of emissions from boreal logging: report
New research finds that by overcounting the carbon storage of intact forests and undercounting emissions from logging, the Government of Canada is vastly underreporting the climate impacts of clearcutting in one of the country’s greatest carbon sinks. Stephanie Wood reports. (The Narwhal)

Most of Canada’s marine protected areas still threatened by oil and gas, dumping and trawling: report
A new assessment from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society finds only a fraction of established ocean conservation regions actually enjoy enough protections to meet goals of preserving or restoring marine life. Ainslie Cruickshank reports. (The Narwhal)

As storms roll in, new plans to keep container ships safe
On Thursday, as another storm arrived, U.S. Coast Guard officials said six container ships were waiting offshore and three were doing laps in the relatively protected Strait of Juan De Fuca. Three more large container ships were anchored in Puget Sound. As winter storms approach, the number of safe anchoring spots in Washington waters for the largest ships is down to 12 from 14 this summer. Two spots in Bellingham Bay are too exposed to south winds from winter storms. Graham Johnson reports. (KIRO)

WA fish researchers use tiny sensors and other tech to save salmon
Ecologists are piloting a technology that is expected to help restore waterways like the Green River to eventually produce more fish. Hannah Weinberger reports. (Crosscut)

Cherry Point Science Forum
Sign up for the virtual Cherry Point Science Forum featuring local scientists speaking on marine mammals and the implications of the summer heat wave and on longer-term patterns of environmental and ecological change in our coastal marine ecosystems. Oct. 30, 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Hosted by RE Sources, reservations required.

Salish Sea News Week in Review 10/29/21:  Lemur Friday!, Lummi Tribe, Van Is glaciers, Steven Guilbeault, ESA rules, Navy jets, climate plan, shipping carbon, CB climate plan, protecting wilderness, orca study, PS bulkheads, carbon storage, MPAs

Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  317 AM PDT Fri Oct 29 2021   
TODAY  NW wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  9 ft at 11 seconds. 
TONIGHT  NW wind 5 to 15 kt becoming E 10 to 20 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 9 ft at 10 seconds  subsiding to 6 ft at 10 seconds after midnight. 
SAT  E wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 5 ft at  10 seconds. 
SAT NIGHT  SE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell  3 ft at 10 seconds. 
SUN  SE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 3 ft at  10 seconds.

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