5/25 Knotweed, vanishing salmon, salmon city, Bristol Bay, PT Paper, Polley pollution, BC pipe, murder hornets, fake reefs, BC climate adaptation, monarch return

Japanese knotweed [Jennifer Andreas]

 
Japanese knotweed Polygonum cuspidatum
It is a perennial species with spreading rhizomes and numerous reddish-brown, freely branched stems. Plants can reach 4 to 8 feet in height and is often shrubby. It is a very aggressive escaped ornamental that is capable of forming dense stands, crowding out all other vegetation and degrading wildlife habitat. It can also create a fire hazard in the dormant season. It is difficult to control once established.

The US has spent more than $2B on a plan to save salmon. The fish are vanishing anyway.
The U.S. government promised Native tribes in the Pacific Northwest that they could keep fishing as they’d always done. But instead of preserving wild salmon, it propped up a failing system of hatcheries. Now, that system is falling apart. Tony Schick (OPB) and Irena Hwang (ProPublica) report. See also: About the data: How we analyzed salmon and steelhead survival About the data: How we analyzed salmon and steelhead survival (OPB/ProPubica)

The city where salmon might be the most famous residents
The Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, just a half-hour drive from downtown Seattle, is one of many hatcheries in the state. They aim to boost local salmon populations. Though there’s debate among some scientists and conservationists about these facilities, hatcheries breed fish and provide protected places for their young to grow. Diana Opong reports. (KUOW)

EPA proposes protections for world’s biggest sockeye salmon fishery
The Biden administration’s decision to protect Bristol Bay deals a blow to a huge proposed gold and copper mine in southwest Alaska. The iconic sockeye salmon there has been a source of food for Alaska Natives for generations and today attracts big-spending fishing enthusiasts from around the world. Dino Grandoni reports. (Washingtonn Post)

Port Townsend Paper fined for water quality violations
Port Townsend Paper has been fined $27,000 by the state Department of Ecology for repeated water quality violations. Ecology said in a press release that between November and March, the mill spilled more than 800 gallons of untreated process wastewater into Port Townsend Bay. Ken Park reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Ecological impact of Mount Polley mine disaster confirmed by new study
Research shows higher levels of metals in invertebrates taken from Polley and Quesnel lakes. Winston Szeto reports. (CBC)

Wet’suwet’en Warn of More Damage from Pipeline
A recent inspection with government officials showed continued erosion and sedimentation, despite two recent fines. Amanda Follett Hosgood reports. (The Tyee)

Scientists will set 1,000 traps for murder hornets this year
...Scientists believe the hornets, first detected in the Pacific Northwest state in 2019, are confined in Whatcom County, which is located on the Canadian border north of Seattle. (Associated Press) Researchers confirming first ‘murder hornet’ of 2022 has been found in Whatcom County   (Bellingham Herald)

Could artificial reefs protect B.C.'s coastlines from climate change?
Only ever used on a piece of public art in B.C., Metro Vancouver will trial biorock technology as a way to create new habitat for sea creatures, regrow coastal infrastructure and protect shorelines threatened by climate change. Stefan Labbé reports. (Times Colonist)

B.C. to release 'full' climate adaptation strategy this spring
The B.C. government expects to release a climate adaptation strategy in the coming weeks, but it is unclear whether the plan will include elements that experts say are needed to make it effective. Gordon Hoekstra reports. (Vancouver Sun)

After years of declines, numbers of wintering monarch butterflies rise by 35% in Mexico
Mexican experts said Monday that 35 per cent more monarch butterflies arrived this year to spend the winter in mountaintop forests, compared to the previous season. Experts say the rise may reflect the butterflies' ability to adapt to more extreme bouts of heat or drought by varying the date when they leave Mexico. (Associated Press)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  244 AM PDT Wed May 25 2022   
TODAY  SW wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell  3 ft at 8 seconds. A chance of rain in the morning. 
TONIGHT  NW wind 5 to 15 kt in the evening becoming light. Wind  waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 9 seconds.

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