8/8 Vole, carbon-pricing repeal, BC to WA pollutants, baby orcas, BC farm water, saving mature forests, oil spill fines

Townsend's vole [Princeton University]

Townsend's vole Microtus townsendii
The native Townsend's vole is a favorite food of the red fox, and depends on a healthy landscape to thrive. They live in underground burrows and open grasslands, and are primarily vegetarian with a diet of stems, leaves and roots of green plants. They breed all year and can have 2 to 3 litters per year with an average litter size of 4 to 6. This high reproduction rate is crucial because they have a good many predators, from owls and hawks to foxes, snakes, and great blue herons. (National Park Service)

Group petitions to dump Washington’s new carbon-pricing system
Advocacy organization Let’s Go Washington is gathering signatures on a petition to ask the Washington Legislature to repeal the state’s new carbon pricing system. Conservatives are saying the new program is causing Washington to have the highest gasoline prices in the nation. Oil companies with refineries in Washington must buy carbon allowances to keep emitting carbon dioxide. They appear to be passing those costs onto customers at the gas pump. John Stang reports. (Crosscut)

Province confirms poor water quality in Washington state river is coming from B.C.
The province has confirmed water of poor quality flowing through the Nooksack River in Washington state is coming from multiple sources in B.C. This comes a month after Washington farmers and officials called upon B.C. to investigate and address high levels of fecal bacteria coming from the Canadian side of the border. Michelle Gomez reports. (CBC)

Two new baby orcas with no deaths over the past year could make for a remarkable census
This year’s census for the Southern Resident killer whales apparently will document two new calves but no deaths for the 12-month period ending July 1. According to my unconfirmed records, this will be the first time in nearly 30 years that no deaths will be reported in the annual census update. Consequently, the overall population for the three orca pods rises from 73 in 2022 to 75 in 2023. Christopher Dunagan writes. (Puget Sound Institute)

‘Train Wreck’ Feared as BC Water Use Rules Begin to Bite
Farmers who failed to seek licences face risk of losing water access in drought. Andrew MacLeod reports. (The Tyee)

Activists race to document mature forests in hopes of preserving them as carbon sinks
The League of Women voters and the Sierra Club’s Sno-Isle Group joined forces with the statewide Center for Responsible Forestry to launch a campaign, to protect all legacy forests in Snohomish County. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Oil spill fines aid restoration projects in Washington
Efforts to remove creosote-treated pilings, collect derelict fishing gear and replace a fish passage barrier are among the environmental restoration projects that will benefit from oil spill penalties, the state Department of Ecology announced Monday. Seven organizations in six counties will receive a share of $318,478 in funding. That money comes from an account into which fines are paid by a party found liable for an oil spill. Jerry Cornfield reports. (Washington State Standard)

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Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  303 AM PDT Tue Aug 8 2023   
TODAY  SW wind to 10 kt becoming W 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 2 ft at 7 seconds. Patchy fog in  the morning. A slight chance of rain in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SE after midnight. Wind  waves 2 ft or less. W swell 2 ft at 10 seconds building to 4 ft  at 9 seconds after midnight. A chance of rain in the evening then  rain after midnight. Patchy fog after midnight.

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