7/14 Gumweed, Elwha fish, WA gas prices, BC drought, water rule, low tides, week in review

Puget Sound Gumweed [Amy Barlow]

Puget Sound Gumweed Grindelia integrifolia
Puget Sound gumweed, a member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae), is a native, perennial, tap-rooted, herbaceous to semi-woody subshrub that grows 8 to 40 inches tall. Puget Sound gumweed is a locally common wildflower found along beaches, rocky shores, wet meadows, wetland prairies, ditches, pastures and salt marshes.(USDA)  

Strong fish counts seen in Elwha
Fish species on the Elwha River are coming back now that dams that once blocked the river have been removed, but river restoration is still in its infancy, according to Sam Blenkman, chief fisheries biologist with Olympic National Park. More than 4,000 Chinook salmon had returned to the river by 2022, and more than 25,000 trout were surveyed in 2019, up from the roughly 3,000 in 2007, but the moratorium on most fishing remains in effect. Peter Segall reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

High gas prices fuel talk of anti-gouging measures, cap-and-trade tweaks
Washington’s new climate policy is taking heat for the state’s highest-in-the-nation prices at the pump. But the law’s backers say oil companies are to blame. Laurel Demkovich reports. (Washington State Standard)

Drought conditions at highest level in parts of B.C. as province warns of tightening water restrictions
Leaders in British Columbia are sounding the alarm about looming water scarcity and future use restrictions as drought levels in parts of the province have been elevated to the most severe end of the scale. (CBC)

The West's water system is grappling with a racist past and hotter future
As droughts strain water supplies across Western states, some cities and farmers have struggled with mandatory cutbacks. Determining who gets cut is decided by the foundational pecking order of Western water: the older your claim to water, created as the country expanded westward, the better protected it is. When there's a shortage, those with newer water rights have to cut back first, sometimes giving up their water completely before older claims lose a single drop. It's known as "first in time, first in right." But "first" is a relative term. Lauren Sommer reports. (NPR)

Upcoming low tides will provide great tide pooling opportunities
As summer rolls along, upcoming seasonal low tides will provide a chance to get up close to marine creatures in rocky tide pools. Extreme low tides will occur July 14-20 and July 29-Aug. 4, according to a state Department of Fish and Wildlife news release. Emma Fletcher-Frazer reports.(Skagit Valley Herald)

Salish Sea News Week in Review July 14 2023: Shark day, geoduck farm, green crabs, LNG exports, NW forests, deer Covid, ship LNG, Elwha fish, WA gas prices.

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Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  241 AM PDT Fri Jul 14 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 2 ft at 10 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 2 ft at 8 seconds. 
SAT  W wind to 10 kt rising to 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft in the afternoon. W  swell 2 ft at 9 seconds.
SAT NIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell  2 ft at 11 seconds. 
SUN  W wind to 10 kt rising to 15 to 25 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft in the afternoon. W  swell 2 ft at 9 seconds.

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