Salmonberry, BC LNG, BP Cherry Pt, orca moms, killing geese, Black homesteaders, Lushootseed language, Teck Coal

Salmonberry [Native Plants PNW]

Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis
Rubus, derived from ruber, a Latin word for red, is the genus of plants generally called brambles. The epithet spectabilis means spectacular due to Salmonberry’s showy flowers and fruits.  The common name Salmonberry is thought to have come from the natives’ fondness for eating the berries with salmon roe, but it could also be due to the orangy-pink color of the berries. (Native Plants PNW)

‘We should avoid monitoring’: feds quietly backed off while Coastal GasLink pipeline work killed fish
For months, Fisheries and Oceans Canada wouldn’t say anything about its role in monitoring the Coastal GasLink pipeline and protecting fish habitat. Internal documents show the agency was keeping an eye on construction — until it wasn’t. Matt Simmons reports. (The Narwhal)

Corps’ BP Cherry Point limit no limit at all, environmental groups say
Environmental groups are unhappy with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ January 23 modification to its 1996 permit that limits the volume of crude oil BP can handle at its Cherry Point facility. They say the ceiling would allow the oil company to double its shipping capacity. The Corps will limit BP’s capacity to 191 million barrels per year. This limit will be enforced through requiring annual vessel call and crude oil volume reports. However, according to BP’s website, the Cherry Point terminal can process 250,000 barrels of crude oil per day, or slightly more than 91 million barrels per year. Ian Haupt reports. (The Northern Light)

Orca mothers make 'lifelong sacrifice' for sons
A study of orcas in the North Pacific has revealed that mothers make a "lifelong sacrifice" for their sons. Rearing a son significantly reduced a female killer whale's chance of reproducing in the future. The energy they need to feed sons appears to compromise their health, leaving them less able to reproduce and raise other young. Victoria Gill reports. (BBC)

Canada goose management plan gets go-ahead from CRD
The plan, which includes egg addling, culls and education to reduce damage to farmers’ fields and sensitive ecosystems, was approved by Capital Regional District board members on Wednesday. Karla Wilson reports. (Times Colonist)

Lawmakers consider banning octopus farms in Washington
Washington's lawmakers are making a push to ban an industry before it takes root. That industry is octopus farming, a controversial idea that has gathered interest globally. Legislators took public testimony on the issue in Olympia Wednesday during a House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources hearing. Jennifer Dowling reports. (KCPQ13)

First Nations, B.C. groups launch coalition to save Pacific salmon from extinction
A leader with the First Nations Fisheries Council of B.C. says collaboration, not politics, will be the only thing that saves dwindling Pacific salmon populations. Jordan Point says salmon runs in B.C. are collapsing and extinction is not an option. The council is joining with the Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance, the Pacific Salmon Foundation, the First Nations Summit and the Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance to find solutions. (The Canadian Press)

WA geographical sites renamed after Black homesteaders
A lake and a wetland in Washington state are soon to have new names in honor of two early Black settlers on the Kitsap Peninsula. A 10.5-acre acre lake near Tahuya, Wash. will soon be called "Nathaniel Sargent Lake." Sargent was a Black man born into slavery who homesteaded near Seabeck. He died in 1954. A nearby 18-acre wetland will now be known as Rodney White Slough. White was also born into slavery in Missouri. He began homesteading in Mason County in 1890, started an orchard, and lived there until his death in 1913. Both the geographical sites near where Sargent and White lived in Mason County previously had names which included a racial slur toward Black people. Kim Malcomb reports. (KUOW)

Lushootseed [Dxʷləšucid] is Awake
The staff of the Lushootseed Language Department is working to expand traditional language curriculum within the Tulalip Tribes and share Lushootseed with children from a young age to keep the language alive. Mikaela Keator reports. (The Planet Magazine)

B.C. fines Teck Coal $16 million for contaminating Kootenay waterways
A Canadian mining company has been fined more than $16 million for polluting waterways in B.C.'s East Kootenay. The B.C. Ministry of Environment has imposed three administrative penalties on Teck Coal Limited, a subsidiary of Teck Resources, citing the company's failure to have water treatment facilities ready by a required date to limit emissions of nitrate and selenium from its Fording River operations in the Elk Valley.  Winston Szeto reports. (CBC)

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Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  247 AM PST Thu Feb 9 2023   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON PST TODAY THROUGH  FRIDAY AFTERNOON   
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 12 seconds. Rain  likely in the morning then rain in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  S wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 9 ft  at 13 seconds building to 12 ft at 13 seconds after midnight.  Rain.

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