6/29 Yellow flag, orca lesions, land protection tax, eco corridors, fish pen removal, glaciers

 

Yellow flag [Donald Hobern/Creative Commons]

Yellow flag Iris pseudacorus
Yellow iris is widespread in the northeastern United States, where it has been found in the wild for close to 140 years. Although recorded from over 40 states, yellow iris is not equally distributed or problematic throughout. It is relatively new to the western United States, where notable early records from California and western Montana date to the 1950s. Iris pseudacorus is reported as invasive in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. (US Fish & Wildlife Service)

Scientists find worrisome lesions on endangered southern resident orcas
The peer-reviewed research published in the Public Library of Science on Wednesday suggests 99% of the orcas studied had photographic evidence of skin lesions. Researchers evaluated photos from nearly 20,000 orca sightings from 2004 to 2016, finding that lesions — often gray patches and gray targets on the orcas’ skin — generally became more prevalent over time. Isabella Breda reports. (Seattle Times)

Snoqualmie implements a first of its kind land protection tax
The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe hopes to preserve the Snoqualmie Falls and other ancestral sites for future generations through a new 2 percent land protection tax. Leaders say it’s a model for other tribes working to reclaim their ancestral lands. Nika Bartoo-Smith reports. (Indian Country Today)

Long-term ecological corridors envisioned for Island
An initiative by Parks Canada and an Indigenous-led partnership will see local knowledge used to conserve ecological corridors on the coast from Victoria to Tofino. Darron Kloster reports. (Times Colonist)

Hope Island fish pens removed
After years of conflict, the aquaculture fish pens near Hope Island in Skagit Bay have been removed. Cooke Aquaculture, which leased the area from the state Department of Natural Resources, finished removing the pens at the end of May, the department confirmed. In November, Natural Resources banned all commercial finfish net pen aquaculture on state-owned aquatic lands managed by the department. Emma Fletcher-Frazer reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Finding Glaciers in the West
David B. Williams, “an evangelist for the practice of paying attention,” writes: "For many years, the Cascades didn’t have glaciers, or so said the geologists. They weren’t referring to a time long ago when the mountains were bare of ice; the men of science simply didn’t think that glaciers were here. Nor did they think there were any glaciers in the United States, outside of Alaska, at least until 1871, when geologist Clarence King declared their discovery in the mountains of the Pacific Coast..." (Street Smart Naturalist)

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Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  242 AM PDT Thu Jun 29 2023   TODAY  W wind to 10 kt rising to 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft in the afternoon. W  swell 3 ft at 10 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  3 ft at 9 seconds. Patchy drizzle.

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