1/11 Snowy owl, more rain, WA climate bills, OR coast climate, planting half million trees, BC ferries, Electron Hydro charges, flooded salmon eggs, Elwha hotel

Snowy owl [Ian Davies/All About Birds]

Snowy owl Bubo scandiacus
The snowy owl, also known as the polar owl, the white owl and the Arctic owl, is a large, white owl of the true owl family. Snowy owls are native to the Arctic regions of both North America and the Palearctic, breeding mostly on the tundra. (Wikipedia)

Coastal B.C. residents urged to prepare for atmospheric river packing several powerful rainstorms
Special weather statements cover most of the inner south coast, including Metro Vancouver, as the weather office says another atmospheric river packing heavy rain is due to hit Tuesday and continue for 24 to 48 hours. David Carrigg reports. (Vancouver Sun) Another atmospheric river on the way to Seattle area, but a dry weekend likely around the corner  Christine Clarridge and Mike Lindblom report. (Seattle Times)

WA legislators prepare for long list of climate change bills
Lawmakers could look at more than a dozen climate proposals addressing carbon reduction and other environmental issues. John Stang reports. (Crosscut)

Climate change degrading Oregon coastal ecosystems, study suggests
Researchers find ecological communities in the intertidal zone are becoming less resilient to disturbances like marine heatwaves and disease. Bradley W. Parks reports. (OPB)

This new nonprofit is planting half a million trees in Whatcom. Where will they all go? 
The Whatcom Million Trees Project is a new nonprofit...[that] will plant — and protect — a million trees between 2022 and 2026. “We are planting a lot of trees,” said Michael Feerer, executive director of the Whatcom Million Trees Project who has lived in Bellingham for about three decades. “But half of the million is planting and half of that is protecting.” Ysabelle Kempe reports. (Bellingham Herald)

B.C. Ferries warns of staff shortages, service disruptions in the coming months due to Omicron
B.C. Ferries says a combination of the fast-spreading Omicron COVID-19 variant, a global shortage of mariners, severe weather and the flu season has the potential to disrupt ferry service over the next few months. The problem may hit inter-island routes hardest, the company said in a statement. It says crewing regulations require that positions on ferries be filled with the appropriate crew or a vessel can't sail. (BC)

Criminal charges filed in Puyallup River pollution case. Dam operator faces jail time, fines
The Washington State Attorney General’s Office filed 36 criminal charges Monday against Orting’s Electron Hydro dam operator after turf polluted the Puyallup River during a construction project in 2020. The charges brought forth in Pierce County Superior Court against Electron Hydro and chief operating officer Thom Fischer include violations of the state’s Water Pollution Control Act, Shoreline Management Act and Pierce County Code. If convicted, Fischer faces a maximum penalty of 90 or 364 days in jail, depending on the charge, and fines of up to $1,000, $5,000 or $10,000 for each count. As a business, Electron Hydro faces a maximum penalty of $250,000 for each of the 36 counts, the state said in a news release on Monday. Josephine Peterson reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Can salmon eggs survive Washington's heavy floods?
When rivers flood, it can damage the salmon eggs held within them, setting back those populations. This is true for big rivers like Washington's Nooksack and Skagit, and also for small creeks that run through urban areas, some of which support the Northwest's healthy salmon populations. Joshua McNichols reports. (KUOW)

Shoreline permit OK’d for Elwha hotel
A shoreline permit was approved for the four-story Elwha Hotel, allowing the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe to submit a building permit by July for the central downtown project...Michael Peters, the tribe’s hotel project manager, said Monday he was not surprised by the approval, describing it as a milestone...A shoreline permit is required because a portion of the planned hotel lies within 200 feet of the shoreline as measured from the ordinary high water mark, subjecting it to shoreline development regulations. Forty-five feet of the 1.16-acre footprint falls within the Shoreline Master Program’s jurisdiction. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  259 AM PST Tue Jan 11 2022   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT   
TODAY  S wind 15 to 25 kt becoming E 5 to 15 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. SW swell 12 ft at 15 seconds  building to W 14 ft at 15 seconds in the afternoon. Rain. 
TONIGHT  E wind 10 to 20 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 11 ft at 14 seconds. Rain.

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