12/13 Burke ichthyology, Nooksack flood, talking turkey, Eagle Wing Tours, logging landslides, Gig Harbor culvert, bee kill, WA redistricting, Haida Gwaii secrets

Burke Museum Ichthyology {Andrew Waits]

Burke Museum Ichthyology: Juvenile and Adult Specimens
There are approximately 400,000 specimens in 55,000 lots, representing some 4,100 species in 1,390 genera and 330 families. About 15% of the lots are freshwater fishes, mainly from the states of Washington, Oregon and Alaska. The remaining 85% are marine fishes collected primarily from the eastern North Pacific, the Aleutian Islands to Baja California, the western tropical Pacific, Christmas Island to Guam and the Philippines. The collection also includes smaller numbers of lots from many other locations around the world. All specimens are stored in glass jars or stainless steel tanks containing 70% ethanol. (Ichthyology at the Burke Museum)

Tensions rise as Whatcom contemplates this flood prevention strategy
Removing sediment from the Nooksack River has become a contentious topic in Whatcom County, as community members who have lost everything are desperate to see immediate, tangible action to prevent flooding that climate change will make more frequent and severe...But the decision to remove sediment from the river is far from simple, say officials, tribal leaders and environmentalists: It could destroy salmon habitat and have unintended consequences on communities downstream. Ysabella Kempe reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Talking turkey in the San Juans: strutting the line between welcome wildlife and pest
The American wild turkey, introduced for hunting in the San Juan Islands around 1980, seems to have learned well how to live near humans — to the extent of unwelcome encroachment, in the minds of some. Given mixed responses in human-dominated environs, what makes a wild creature a charming neighbor to some and a pest to others? Gretchen K. Wing reports. (Salish Current)

Road to Recovery: How a Victoria company became the first carbon neutral whale watching business in Canada
Eagle Wing Tours prides itself on being the first — and still the only — carbon-neutral whale watching company in Canada. Brett Soberg, owner-operator of Eagle Wing Tours, speaks about the many logistical hurdles his company needed to jump through in order to achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral. Kevin Charach reports. (CHEK)

B.C. forest conservationist warns of increased risk of landslides from logging
A B.C. conservationist and forest management expert is sounding the alarm about logging and climate change, with a warning that logging roads built on hillsides can increase the frequency and severity of landslides. Concerns have been raised in the past by B.C.'s independent watchdog for forestry management practices about unsafe logging roads being built. Michelle Gomez reports. (CBC)

It’ll cost many millions to fix salmon barriers in Gig Harbor. Culvert removal ahead
It’s not easy for fish to cross Harborview Drive next to Donkey Creek Park in Gig Harbor. First, depending on tide and water flow, they have to jump about a foot to make it into the culvert underneath the road. “A small-height jump for them is a big waste of energy,” Harbor WildWatch education director Rachel Easton said. Then, without any places to take a break, they have to swim about 60 to 70 feet upstream to make it into North Creek on the other side. Alexis Krell reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

What killed millions of honey bees at this Everett farm?
In the summer, a beekeeper lost 240 hives on Ebey Island. An investigation found they died from pesticides, but whose? State investigators and entomologists suspect pesticides that can be bought over the counter were the cause of death. Likely, they surmised, the bees foraged nectar and pollen from flowering plants ladened with the toxic chemicals, or drank from a contaminated water source. But they couldn’t figure out where the pesticides came from. Nor could they confirm the exact death toll. By the time investigators got to the farm, the beekeeper had cleaned out some of the hives and moved many others to a nearby property, fearing more would get poisoned. Zachariah Bryan reports. (Everett Herald)

Watchdogs sue WA redistricting panel over secret deal-making
A new lawsuit argues that members of Washington state’s bipartisan Redistricting Commission broke the law by crafting new political maps in secret — and that their work should be thrown out as a result. The allegations of secret deal-making, outlined in a complaint filed Thursday by the Washington Coalition for Open Government, are backed up by screengrabs and other information legislative staffers provided to Crosscut this week. Melissa Santos reports. (Crosscut)

Archaeologists Have Unearthed Exciting Secrets on Haida Gwaii
Archaeological excavations have revealed the oldest domestic dog remains ever reported in the Americas, roughly 11,000-year-old stone tools, and the tantalizing signs of far more to come. Devon Bidal reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  218 AM PST Mon Dec 13 2021   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT   
TODAY  SE wind 20 to 30 kt becoming E 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft subsiding to 1 to 3 ft in the  afternoon. W swell 14 ft at 15 seconds subsiding to 12 ft at  15 seconds in the afternoon. Showers. 
TONIGHT  N wind to 10 kt becoming SW after midnight. Wind waves  2 ft or less. W swell 10 ft at 15 seconds. Showers in the evening  then a chance of showers after midnight.

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