12/20 Green heron, Bessie timber sale, climate adaptation, BC forestry, spotted-owl, coyote attacks, Doug Ericksen

Green heron [Alan Fritzberg]

Green heron Butorides virescens
Small, dark heron with a blue-green back, rusty-colored neck and dark cap. Usually in a crouched position, partly concealed in vegetation, waiting patiently for prey. In flight, looks like an awkward crow with broad wings, neck tucked in, and legs extending just beyond the tail. Often vocal when flushed; gives a sharp "skeiw!" (eBird)

Washington plans to log a century-old Whatcom forest, but opponents aren’t giving up yet
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources plans to sell the estimated $2.2 million in timber in spring 2022 called the Bessie timber sale. It sits on Anderson Mountain, between the southern tip of Lake Whatcom and Sedro-Woolley. These are trees that have lived through pivotal inventions, world wars and social revolutions. Some are four feet in diameter, a challenge for even the longest-limbed tree hugger. Ysabelle Kempe reports. (Bellingham Herald/paywall)

Adapting to Climate Change Will Only Get More Expensive
A new estimate puts the cost of adapting and repairing coastal infrastructure damaged by climate change in the United States at hundreds of billions annually. The sooner adaptation planning begins, the less expensive it will be. Michael Allen reports. (Hakai Magazine)

For B.C.'s forestry industry, unpredictability expected to be the norm
Timber supply crunch, volatile weather and legislation seen in 2021 forbearing an increasingly unpredictable future for the forestry industry. Matt Scace reports. (Vancouver Sun)

The Northwest Spotted-Owl Wars: No Happily Ever After
Northern Spotted Owls caught a break on November 10, when the Biden administration announced it would restore nearly all of the 3.4 million acres that the departing Trump administration tried to cut from the threatened owl’s critical habitat. That cut represented more than one-third of the 9.6 million acres that in 2012 the feds had deemed “critical habitat” – that is, the area needed to prevent jeopardizing the species, which may require special management. Dan Chasen writes. (Post Alley)

Coyote attacks in Vancouver's Stanley Park drop to zero following September cull, province says
In the three months since the B.C. Conservation Officer Service trapped and killed the last of 11 aggressive coyotes in Vancouver's Stanley Park, there have been no reports of people being bitten by the remaining animals. injured. Forty-five people, including children, reported being bitten or nipped in the park by a coyote between December 2020 and late August of this year. Chad Pawson reports. (CBC)

Washington state Senator Doug Ericksen dead at 52; follows COVID diagnosis
Longtime Washington state Sen. Doug Ericksen, a Whatcom County Republican, has died following a COVID-19 diagnosis while traveling in El Salvador last month. He was 52. Austin Jenkins reports. (NW News Network)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  207 AM PST Mon Dec 20 2021   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT   
TODAY  E wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 4 ft  at 9 seconds. 
TONIGHT  SE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. SW swell  3 ft at 11 seconds. A slight chance of rain after midnight.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to mikesato772 (@) gmail.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