Monday, November 14, 2022

11/14 Sea lemon, Boeing toxins, Anacortes dump, Gas Work Park, dikes, Arctic salmon, pricing nature, logging burns, island butterfly, fin whale, cedar poacher, carbon capture

 

Sea Lemon [Robin Agarwald/iNaturalist]

Sea Lemon Peltodoris nobilis
Peltodoris nobilis is part of a group of nudibranchs that frequently get lumped together as ‘sea lemons’. We have several very similar species on the Pacific Coast including in the state of Washington. The Sea Lemon smells like citrus thanks to the mucus chemicals they produce when disturbed. Their penis is unarmed, meaning there are no spines. They feed on sponges. (Kelly Brenner/Metro Field Guide)

Secret files reveal Boeing doctor warned of toxic risks, birth defects
In 1980, a doctor wrote factory chemicals would cause “life-long chronic illness, cancer and death.” Lawsuits claim his worst fears came true. Rachel Riley reports. (Everett Herald) 

Anacortes toxic city dump one of hundreds dotting the state
A landfill for four decades, a site on the edge of a forest in Anacortes is the target of a cleanup plan being negotiated by the City and the Department of Ecology. Richard Walker reports. (Salish Current)

Gas Works Park enters new phase of cleanup: Shoreline and lake bed to be dredged, capped
Since the ‘70s, the city, Puget Sound Energy and the state have worked to clean up what’s beneath the surface. Earlier this month, state Department of Ecology officials hosted a public meeting to share tentative plans for the last round of cleanup: removing some of the remaining contaminants along the shoreline and in the water, and “capping” polluted soils, possibly with a few feet of clean sand. Isabelle Breda reports. (Seattle Times)

More dikes and bigger dams could be a multi-billion dollar mistake: here’s how B.C. could ‘build back better’
A year after catastrophic floods in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, some are concerned the recovery is too focused on trying to fight water with bigger engineering, instead of embracing a global movement to work with water and prioritize nature-based solutions. Erica Gies reports. (The Narwhal)  Also: BC flood funding: A year after disaster, no protection upgrade answers  Gordon Hoekstra reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Salmon’s Arctic Expansion Has Communities Worried
Inuvialuit fishers are adapting to rising numbers of Pacific salmon in the western Canadian Arctic, but fears remain about impacts on native species. Dustin Patar reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Putting a price on nature can help municipalities adapt to climate change
White Tower Park is not only a lovely place for a stroll, but through its ponds and culverts, it can soak up water, helping protect the town from flooding. In 2012, Gibsons changed the definition of infrastructure to include "natural assets." By putting a value on things like wetlands, forests and coastlines, a municipality like Gibsons can make a financial case to invest in, protect and restore these ecosystems while also benefitting from the services they provide. Molly Segal reports. (CBC)

BLM agrees to reverse Trump administration post-fire logging rule
The Bureau of Land Management has agreed to reverse a rule put in place during the Donald Trump presidency that allowed the agency to log large areas of forests after a wildfire without first doing an environmental review. The 2020 rules increased the maximum area for “categorical exclusions” from 250 to 3,000 acres. Roman Battaglia reports. (Jefferson Public Radio)

Will this rare butterfly found only on San Juan Island go extinct?
The endangered island marble butterfly's recovery is fought for in a captive rearing lab in a cabin at American Camp at the San Juan Island National Historical Park while its island habitat declines due to development, construction and human activity, plus threats from nonnative species. Nicholas Turner reports. (Seattle Times)

Expert fears fin-whale protection will be reduced just as risks rise
Climate change and projected LNG shipments from Kitimat pose risks for the sleek whale. Rochelle Baker reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Fine hiked dramatically for man who 'wantonly and flagrantly' poached cedar from First Nation territory
A man who illegally harvested cedar from an area of major cultural significance in B.C.'s Great Bear Rainforest has seen his fine increased more than tenfold, in a decision the Wei Wai Kum First Nation's elected chief called a "game changer." Timothy Holland will now have to pay $131,759 for cutting and removing timber outside his legal tenure in Wei Wai Kum territory, following a recent decision from the Forest Appeals Commission. His original administrative penalty had amounted to $12,000. Bethany Lindsay reports. (CBC)

Public meeting set for carbon sequestration program
Jefferson County commissioners have questions about how inclusion in a proposed state carbon sequestration program would affect beneficiaries of state trust lands, among other concerns. A public meeting is planned from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 30 to allow county commissioners gather more information about the potential impacts of the program. It will be conducted at Jefferson County Library, 620 Cedar Ave., Port Hadlock. Peter Segall reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Have you read the Salish Current?
Independent, fact based news for Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties. Free to read, free from ads. Catch the Current here.


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  244 AM PST Mon Nov 14 2022   
TODAY
 SE wind 10 to 20 kt rising to 15 to 25 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 7 ft at 15 seconds. 
TONIGHT
 SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 1 to 2 ft. W swell 6 ft  at 13 seconds.


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