4/27 Spring rhythms, heat dome recovery, levee removal, BC logging, Site C dam, kelp restoration, bring Tokitae home

"Sappy" on the job [Laurie MacBride]

Spring Rhythms and Routines
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "In these unpredictable and troubling times, it’s good to have a few things you can rely on. This spring, one dapper bird and a whole lot of small amphibians provided me with just that. For a month or longer,”Sappy”, the bird in the photo above, would show up at his worksite (or perhaps her worksite – the sexes look alike). There, at the old, multi-trunked Bigleaf maple just outside our front door, he/she would put in a lengthy shift, working up and down the main trunk, tapping and poking the rough bark for sap and insects. The routine never varied, which I found comforting..."

Months after mass die-off of sea creatures in B.C. heat dome, researchers return in search of signs of life
At the height of B.C.'s heat dome in June of 2021, Chris Harley, a professor at UBC's Department of Zoology, headed to West Vancouver's Lighthouse Park to measure water temperatures and observe how the marine animals that inhabit B.C.'s coastlines were faring under the extreme conditions...In the days that followed, Harley and his students estimated that billions of sea creatures died as temperatures soared above 40 C, and water temperatures reached as high as 56 C. Ten months after the catastrophe on B.C.'s shores, the researchers have returned to comb B.C.'s beaches, checking for signs that the vital populations of seaweed, crustaceans and shellfish native to the coast are seeing a resurgence. ichelle Ghoussoub reports. (CBC)

King County tore out a levee near Auburn. Now the salmon are returning
The $6.5 million effort — one of the largest of its kind on the Green River — began more than five years ago with King County’s removal of an old levee. This, along with the installation of natural blockages, not only reduced flood risk but also rejuvenated aquatic habitats by making the channels slower and deeper. The removal of the levee opened three channels previously blocked from the river and a flood plain spanning nearly 30 acres. Nicholas Turner reports. (Seattle Times)

COFI to hold convention for industry for under pressure of change
British Columbia’s forest industry will make a diplomatic push for government to bring stability to a sector under pressure from substantial change when it gathers for its first major convention since 2019 in Vancouver this week...It is an ask being made, however, at the same time the province is making big changes to forest policy and being pushed to take stronger action on protecting old growth forests by the frequent protests by the group Save Old Growth that has been blocking the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge. Derrick Penner reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Site C went beyond halfway mark without fraud assessment
The BC NDP cabinet-appointed board of BC Hydro did not assess the potential for fraud at the $16 billion Site C dam project until after B.C.’s auditor general began to investigate. Bob Mackin reports. (Business Intelligence for BC)

Port of Seattle and Seattle Aquarium Collaborate to Restore Kelp Forests in Elliott Bay
The Port of Seattle Commission approved a project for research being led by the Seattle Aquarium to study and map the presence of kelp forests along the urban waterfront of Elliott Bay as well as East and West Waterways of Seattle Harbor. The Commission championed funding to restore kelp forests in the Port’s 2022 budget.  The study will begin this summer with findings to be shared publicly early next year. (Port of Seattle)

'Let's bring her home'; Hopes renewed to bring Tokitae the orca back to Puget Sound
A team of independent veterinarians has been invited to the Miami Seaquarium to examine Tokitae the orca, and many are hoping she is in good health to one day return to Puget Sound.In order for her to return home, the United States Department of Agriculture must issue a clean bill of health. The new owners of the Miami Seaquarium will now allow a health exam to be conducted, and plan on sending the diagnosis to the mayor's office and releasing that information to the public. (Q13 Fox News)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  239 AM PDT Wed Apr 27 2022   
TODAY  E wind to 10 kt becoming NW in the afternoon. Wind waves  2 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 10 seconds. A slight chance of  showers in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming NW to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 9 seconds.

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