4/18 Spartina, OR intertidal ecosystem, environmentalism, glacier retreat, Jamestown S'Klallam water, humpback chase

Spartina [Sound Water Stewards]

 

English cordgrass Spartina anglica
Spartina anglica belongs to the grass family. It is derived from hybridization between Spartina maritima, which is native to Europe and Spartina alterniflora, a native of the American East Coast. Watch for Spartina anglica in areas of mudflats, salt marsh, loose cobble or gravel beaches, and on sand beaches. This species grows and spreads rapidly in the intertidal zone not only displacing native plant species such as eelgrass (Zostera marina), but also changing the very nature of the habitat. This impacts the entire web of organisms that depend on that habitat, including invertebrates, fish, and birds. (Sound Water Stewards)

Oregon’s Intertidal Ecosystem Is Approaching a Tipping Point
Oregon’s intertidal ecosystems are recovering from disturbance more slowly than they were even a few years ago. This, combined with documented changes in community structure, suggests the ecosystem is approaching a tipping point. Rebecca Dzombak reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Environmentalism Is for Everyone
How youth-led groups and thinkers are making the environmental movement more diverse. Marieta-Rita Osezua  reports. (The Tyee)

The retreating glaciers of Puget Sound
Puget Sound's glaciers are melting rapidly due to climate change. The North Cascades mountains have lost about 56% of their glacial ice while estimates show that glaciers in the Olympics could be gone within the next 50 years. Scientists say salmon and other species could be hard hit as the region loses its “giant storage tank” of ice. David B. Williams reports. (Salish Sea Currents Magazine)

EPA grants Jamestown water testing oversight on reservation, trust lands
The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe has received approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to administer the Clean Water Act’s water quality standards and certification programs on its reservation and trust lands. The tribe assumes Clean Water Act authority to manage and protect its surface waters on almost 645 acres near the Dungeness River and Sequim Bay, said Bill Dunbar, spokesperson with the Environmental Protection Agency, in a press release. Matthew Nash reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Naturalist, whale-watching guides astounded by humpback whale chasing after orcas in Salish Sea
A scientist who set out with a group of tourists for a whale-watching tour on the Salish Sea was thrilled by a rare sight last Tuesday — a humpback whale following and then confronting a pod of transient orcas. U.S. naturalist Olivia Esqueda witnessed the conflict in the Georgia Strait, and said she hasn't ever seen anything like it. (CBC)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  251 AM PDT Mon Apr 18 2022   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING   
TODAY  SE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. SW swell 5 ft  at 8 seconds building to 7 ft at 10 seconds in the afternoon.  Rain. 
TONIGHT  SW wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 10 to 20 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. SW swell 6 ft at 9 seconds  becoming W 3 ft at 11 seconds after midnight. Rain in the evening

--
"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