12/15 Burke otoliths, Growlers, WA salmon recovery, Cascadia climate, natural gas buildings, Wishkah, BC grizzly habitat, Zim Kingston, Fred Koontz

Burke Museum Otoliths [Burke Museum]

Burke Museum Ichthyology: Otoliths
The Otolith Collection is comprised of roughly 2.4 million pairs of fish otoliths, representing 83 species in 41 genera and 17 families, collected by AFSC personnel over the past 40 years in conjunction with North Pacific Groundfish Observer programs and annual shelf and slope surveys along the West Coast of the U.S., from California to Alaska, and from the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea and Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean. (Ichthyology at the Burke Museum)

Federal magistrate finds flaws in Navy environmental study of Growler jet impacts
A U.S. federal magistrate has found that the Navy in an environmental impact statement “turned a blind” eye to data that did not support the goal of increasing Growler jet operations from an air station at Whidbey Island. Chief Magistrate Judge J. Richard Creatura, in a sometimes scathing 38-page report filed in U.S. District Court this month, found the Navy failed to disclose the basis for greenhouse gas calculations from the jets, and failed to quantify the impacts of the noisy, often low-flying EA-18G Growlers on classroom learning. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times) See also: Whidbey anti-noise group gets wins in Navy Growler lawsuit  Jessie Stensland reports. (Whidbey News-Times)

Gov. Inslee unveils new $187 million plan for Washington salmon recovery
Gov. Jay Inslee wants to invest $187 million in salmon recovery as part of his 2022 budget and policy proposals. The governor unveiled his salmon proposals on Tuesday, Dec. 14, at the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community reservation’s Swadabs Park. Inslee announced proposed legislation that would set new standards for salmon habitat protection and conservation efforts. It is called the Lorraine Loomis Act, in honor of the prominent Swinomish tribal elder and salmon advocate who died this summer. (Ysabelle Kempe reports. (Bellingham Herald)

After a year of climate disaster, B.C. grapples with the urgent need to adapt to its dangerous future
‘Climate change is upon us,’ but B.C.’s not yet prepared to face the heat, wildfires and floods ahead.  Ainslie Cruickshank reports. (The Narwhal)

Cascadia’s Chance for a Zero-Carbon Future: What We Learned
Lessons from a year of reporting on climate solutions for the bioregion spanning BC, Washington and Oregon. Worried about the climate crisis? You’ve got plenty of company after the events of 2021: heat waves, hurricanes, fires and floods hit new and deadly extremes. Global leaders belly-flopped well short of the pool at a pivotal climate-protection summit, even after the United Nations declared a “code red” emergency. Robert McClure and Peter Fairley write. (Investigate West)

Natural gas furnaces, water heaters in crosshairs of some Northwest policymakers
Fossil fuel use in buildings looks to be the next frontier for climate activists at the state and local level. There's a convergence of activity in the Pacific Northwest aimed at phasing out natural gas furnaces and water heaters. Cities from Eugene to Bellingham have teed up bans on natural gas in new commercial buildings. But natural gas has its defenders, too, who have beaten back proposed phase outs before. Burning fossil fuels in homes and businesses is the second biggest source of global warming pollution in the Northwest, after the transportation sector. That prompted Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to propose an array of new measures Monday to transition away from natural gas for heating and hot water. Tom Banse reports. (NW News) See also: Bellingham poised to join electrification movement against climate change   Robert Mittendorf reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Washington state’s next ferry officially has a name 
The next Washington state ferry will bear the name Wishkah when it sails in 2024. That name honors the river flowing south from the Olympic foothills into Grays Harbor, the ancestral home of the Lower Chehalis people. The Wishkah River was formerly crossed by a ferry called Wishkah Chief. Mike Lindblom reports. (Seattle Times)

B.C. couple gifts property with pristine grizzly habitat to conservation group
A B.C. couple has gifted a large parcel of land near Bella Coola containing pristine old growth forest and rich riverside habitats to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Harvey and Carol Thommasen donated the 122-hectare parcel, now called the Snowshoe Creek Conservation Area, through the federal government's ecological gifts program. (CBC)

Battered ship finds a port. 105 of its cargo containers presumed sunk
The ship that spilled more than a hundred cargo containers off the Washington coast, then caught fire has made it safely into port. The same cannot be said for much of the Zim Kingston’s cargo. Two months after it left Busan, South Korea, the Zim Kingston docked on Saturday at the Port of Nanaimo on Canada’s Vancouver Island. John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

Washington wildlife commissioner resigns, citing ‘politicized quagmire’
A member of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has resigned, saying in his resignation letter that the commission is stuck in a “politicized quagmire.” Fred Koontz was appointed on Jan. 5 by Gov. Jay Inslee to a six-year term. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is appointed by the governor and sets policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Some hunters and hunting organizations believed Koontz’s appointment nearly a year ago, alongside Jefferson County resident Lorna Smith, threw the commission off balance and disenfranchised hunting. (Associated Press)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  452 AM PST Wed Dec 15 2021   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING   
TODAY  SE wind 20 to 30 kt becoming E 25 to 30 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 6 to 8 ft. W swell 6 ft at 11 seconds. Rain  likely. 
TONIGHT  E wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 3 to 5 ft subsiding to 1 ft after midnight. W swell  10 ft at 14 seconds. A chance of showers.

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