1/17 Crocus, kill seals, forecasts, Meadowdale Park, Olaf Strad Cr, cosmetic chemicals, plastics, stray logs, BC forestry, flooding, stone artifacts, port noise, Amtrak, OPA90, Storming the Sound

 

Crocus

Crocus
Crocus is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennials growing from corms. Crocus are among the very first flowers to bloom each spring. In cold climates, their cheery blossoms will often open when there's still snow on the ground. Crocus flowers come in Easter-egg colors of purple, yellow, lavender, cream and white.

Sea lions, seals might be hampering WA salmon recovery. What can be done?
...State officials are now exploring whether to kill sea lions and seals in the Salish Sea and outer coast in a desperate effort to save salmon species from extinction. A new report commissioned by the state Legislature and completed by the Washington Academy of the Sciences says seals and sea lions are likely impeding salmon recovery, and the full impacts of predation on salmon may not be fully understood without lethal intervention. Isabella Breda reports. (Seattle Times)

A Murky Forecast on the Central Coast
Faulty weather stations are making it tricky for mariners to travel safely. Ironically, they’re hard to fix because of risky conditions. Josh Kozelj reports. (The Tyee)

Park near Edmonds gets makeover: Will the salmon return?
The nearly $20 million effort by Snohomish County, the Tulalip Tribes, BNSF and federal agencies to uproot 128 linear feet of two-track railroad and restore the area to its natural state is finally nearing completion... Biologists hope endangered juvenile Chinook will soon find their way back here, in Meadowdale Beach Park, and use it as a place of refuge as they fatten up for their adulthood in the mean straits of the Salish Sea. Isabella Breda reports. (Seattle Times)

For the second time, salmon get a breather in Olaf Strad Creek
Olaf Strad Creek is not the thundering mountain river you might picture when you think of salmon runs. There are no rocky rapids with fish jumping their way upstream, no bears waiting nearby for dinner to fling itself from the water. The creek 5 miles south of downtown Arlington is 600 feet long and only a few feet across, shallow enough in places to walk right over to the other side without soaking too much of your pantlegs. It’s a relatively small chunk of the larger Quilceda Watershed that drains 38 square miles of land north of Everett, but don’t be fooled by its unassuming stature. Since it was built from nothing in 2021, Olaf Strad has provided a crucial rest stop as salmon make the long haul home from the ocean. Riley Haun reports. (Everett Herald)

New state study fuels renewed efforts to ban toxic chemicals from cosmetics in Washington
A new report from the Washington State Department of Ecology found formaldehyde in 26 of 30 body lotions tested in a study of products marketed to people of color. It found lead in two dark-powder foundations and one lipstick. One dark-tint foundation also contained arsenic. The findings are fueling renewed efforts to ban a list of hazardous chemicals from cosmetics and personal care items sold in Washington. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Foam dock floats, laundry filters, hotel shampoo amongst newest bids to reduce plastic pollution
Everywhere they look, Pacific Northwest scientists find teeny-tiny plastic pollution. Broken down particles are in our water, falling out of the air, in salmon, shellfish and in our own bodies. Scientists, environmental advocates and Democratic lawmakers in Olympia and Salem have seen enough to make them seek more regulations. Tom Banse reports. (NW News Network)

 How stray logs in Puget Sound turn industrial shorelines green
...U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are on the water four days a week, tasked with keeping Puget Sound — and its shipping lanes, ferry routes, naval bases, ports and beaches — navigable and clear of debris. The logs enter the Sound on flooded rivers and king tides, washed off banks and shorelines by ever-rising and receding eddies and currents. Once gathered by the Puget crew, most will eventually return to riverbanks and shorelines. It’s a tidy little dance of intergovernmental holism. The logs will help restore tiny portions of our environmentally degraded waterways to their former splendor, nurturing plant life and providing valuable habitat and protection for migrating salmon. David Gutman reports. (Seattle Times)

B.C.'s forest industry faces a 'reckoning,' premier says, amid disagreement over who to blame
Union points to old-growth protection, conservation group blames industry mismanagement for job losses. Andrew Kurjata reports. (CBC)

The Storms Hitting California Start Near Hawaii. So Why Is It So Calm In The Islands?
Here at the starting point of “the Pineapple Express,” it’s a little hard to imagine being at one end of a 2,500-mile ribbon of moisture that in California fills rivers to overflowing, triggers mudslides and breaches levees. And yet, it’s right there on satellite maps: sometimes originating right over Hawaii, sometimes as much as hundreds of miles to the north, pointed like a dagger at the West Coast. Oddly, even as California copes with a seemingly endless parade of “atmospheric rivers,” Hawaii has been unusually calm and dry. John Hill reports. (Honolulu Civil Beat)

Ice jams, snow melt, king tide combine in Marietta flood deluge
A small community along Marine Drive in Whatcom County living mostly in RVs has braved seasonal inundation, ready to move at a moment’s notice — until caught by surprise. Kai Uyehara reports. (Salish Current) 

Early stone artifacts found in Idaho push history of the Americas back another 3,000 years
Oregon State University anthropology professor Loren Davis, in coordination with the Nez Perce Tribe and with research students from OSU, found 14 stone projectile points – some fragments. Carbon dating of adjacent animal bones date back nearly 15,800 years. Anna King reports. (NW News Network)

Ship-loading noise tests Bellingham port’s neighborliness
Nighttime scrap metal activity at Port of Bellingham draws noise complaints from hillside residents. Riley Weeks reports. (Salish Current)

Amtrak to resume round-trip service between Vancouver and Portland starting March
Amtrak is set to reintroduce a second round-trip on its passenger train service, from Vancouver to Portland, Ore., meaning the service will now run at pre-pandemic schedules. According to a statement from U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Committee of Transportation, the round-trip will resume on March 7. Akshay Kulkarni reports. (CBC)

OPA 90 liability limits being adjusted for inflation
The U.S. Coast Guard announced in the Federal Register that it is adjusting the limits of liability for vessels, deepwater ports and onshore facilities to reflect the increase in the Consumer Price Index since they were last adjusted in 2019. The regulatory inflation increases to the limits of liability are required by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) and are necessary to preserve the deterrent effect and “polluter pays” principle embodied in the act. The final rule is effective on March 23. (Professional Mariner)

Storming the Sound.
The annual conference for environmental educators in the north Puget Sound region will be held on Jan. 19 at Maple Hall in LaConner— in person! Register here.

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-  304 AM PST Tue Jan 17 2023   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH  WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON   
TODAY  S wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SE 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 10 ft at 11 seconds. A  chance of rain in the morning then rain in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  SE wind 10 to 20 kt rising to 15 to 25 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. W swell 8 ft at 11 seconds. A  chance of rain in the evening then rain after midnight.

--
"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

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told