1/17 MLK Day "On," Nooksack R., Sauk-Suiattle sues, park co-management, planting trees, Cable Bay, Glacier Peak, Perkins Ln., missing indigenous people bills

MLK Day "On"
“We've got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point, in Memphis. We've got to see it through. And when we have our march, you need to be there. Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike, but either we go up together, or we go down together.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (April 3, 1968, Memphis)

The Nooksack River is in “grave danger,” warns Whatcom scientist with numbers to back it up
The Nooksack River is in “grave danger” of experiencing irreversible changes and ecosystem collapse if Whatcom County doesn’t rapidly reform the way it manages nearby human activity. That was the warning that Western Washington University environmental sciences associate professor John McLaughlin gave at the annual environmental caucus meeting for the Water Resource Inventory Area #1 on Monday, Jan. 10. The Water Resource Inventory Area #1 is the watershed designation for the Nooksack River system. If we continue along the path we are on, Chinook salmon are “virtually certain” to go extinct by 2050, water will become even more scarce for farmers and flooding will continue to devastate our communities, he said. Ysabelle Kempe reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Sauk-Suiattle tribe: Seattle City Light violating rights of salmon under "natural law"
For the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, the city of Seattle’s hydroelectric dams on the upper Skagit River have caused harm to tribal members, its collective tribal culture and the the tribe’s spiritual beliefs...The tribe has filed a third lawsuit in Sauk-Suiattle Tribal Court to address its concerns over what it calls natural law. According to the lawsuit, natural laws are unwritten and found instead in values, beliefs, practices, customs and traditions practiced and passed on through language, stories, songs, dances, ceremonies and the leadership of elders. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Vancouver Park Board chair proposes co-management of parks with First Nations
A motion calling for the co-management of parks that fall within the traditional territories of Vancouver's First Nations communities will be debated at a park board meeting later this month. Park board chair Stuart Mackinnon, who is proposing the motion, does not specify how parkland on Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh land would be co-managed but says it's overdue by about 300 years. Baneet Braich reports. (CBC)

New Westminster races to plant trees to guard against future climate emergencies
A city in Metro Vancouver at high risk of being affected by climate emergencies such as extreme heat and flooding is moving fast on an ambitious goal to plant thousands of trees as a mitigation tool. After coming up with an ambitious tree planting goal in 2019, to plant nearly 12,000 new trees across the 15-square-kilometre municipality, it has ramped up planting, with financial support from the federal and provincial governments. Chad Pawson reports. (CBC)

Our Community: Land at Galiano's Cable Bay protected, Elk Lake swim helps hospital
Two conservancy associations have ­partnered to purchase 26.5 hectares of waterfront land on Galiano Island, adding to a network of connected conservation areas totalling more than 500 hectares that spans the width of the island. The acquisition is the culmination of a multi-year partnership between the Galiano Conservancy Association, a community-based land trust and registered charity, and The Nature Trust of B.C., one of the ­province’s leading non-profit land-conservation organizations. Pedro Arrais reports. (Times Colonist)

At deadly Glacier Peak, one last hurdle for new seismometers
Snohomish County’s Glacier Peak, classified as one of America’s deadliest volcanoes, is a step closer to getting adequate seismometers to detect future eruptions. On Friday, the U.S. Forest Service announced it completed an environmental assessment and a draft decision for installing four new monitors and upgrading an old one, as part of a 30-year special use permit. Government officials estimate the GPS stations could detect and locate eight times as many earthquakes. Zachariah Bryan reports. (Everett Herald)

The inescapable power of water on a landslide-prone street
A little over a week ago, a landslide in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood pushed a home off its foundations. Perkins Lane is a tiny little street that runs along the side of Magnolia Hill. To the South, there’s a stunning view of downtown Seattle across Elliot Bay. To the North, there’s a steep hillside covered with trees and ivy and blackberries. And everywhere you look – there’s water. Joshua McNichols reports. (KUOW)

House bills target crisis of missing Indigenous people in Washington state
The House Public Safety Committee heard testimony Friday on two bills that would address the current crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women. House Bill 1571 would increase communications between county officials and the families of missing Indigenous people while also providing grants to aid human trafficking survivors’ rehabilitation efforts. House Bill 1725, sponsored by Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Bow, the state’s only Indigenous legislator, would create an emergency alert designation specifically for missing and endangered Indigenous people. Sarah Kahle reports. (Seattle Times)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  201 AM PST Mon Jan 17 2022   
TODAY  SE wind 10 to 20 kt becoming SW in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 5 ft at 12 seconds. Patchy fog. Showers  likely in the morning. Showers in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 6 ft  at 12 seconds. Showers in the evening then a chance of showers  after midnight.

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