10/2 Porcupine eggs, shutdown delayed, measuring Covid, rethinking levees, Caspian terns, tufted puffins, pond turtles, tree cover

 

Porcupine eggs

Regarding Sweetgum
Gene from the island writes: "We grew intimately familiar with sweet gum trees during our thirty years in Georgia. Sweet gum take over recently disturbed areas, growing quickly in thick, impenetrable stands, often competing well with kudzu. Those infamous hard, spherical, bristly gum balls are everywhere. They were sometimes sold in curio shops, displayed in bowls amidst the sharks’ teeth, polished rocks, and dragon figurines, labeled as “porcupine eggs.” I think they were targeting naïve Yankee tourists....They seem to be used as ornamentals on the west coast, often in parking strips.They're pretty useless as firewood because of very high moisture content, never really seem to dry. Burn them and you're basically boiling water."

ICYMI: Congress clears bill to avert shutdown, with vote promised later on Ukraine aid
Congress approved a bill Saturday night that would stave off a government shutdown until at least mid-November, though the measure doesn’t include Ukraine aid backed by both Republicans and Democrats. Jennifer Shutt reports. (Washington State Standard)

Measuring COVID-19 infections complicated by self-testing
Hospitalization rates and wastewater testing have become disease indicators when it comes to COVID-19. Questen Inghram reports. (Salish Current)

Rethinking levees to reduce flood risk
There is a balance in how we respond to floods or prepare for their inevitability — and the levees that tightly restrict water from where it would naturally flow are known to have problems. Lauren Gallop reports. (NW Public Broadcasting)

Most of Western Washington's largest Caspian tern colony is dead. Can the seabirds rebound?
More than 1,500 adult Caspian terns made Rat Island, near Port Townsend, their home. Now 80% of them are dead. Libby Denkmann and Sarah Leibovitz reports. (KUOW)

Salish Sea on cusp of losing tufted puffins
Endangered in Washington state since 2015, there was only one confirmed tufted puffin nesting pair active on Protection Island this breeding season, according to Scott Pearson, a senior research scientist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The 364-acre Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge is one of only two places in the Salish Sea/Puget Sound that has a puffin colony: Smith Island, roughly northeast of Protection Island, is the other. Pearson said Smith Island now has about 27 nesting pairs. Emily Matthiessen reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Northwest's pond turtles to get federal protection
Federal officials say pond turtles are nearing extinction from Washington state to Mexico. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed protecting the turtles as a threatened species on Friday. Fewer than 1,000 pond turtles are thought to live in Washington state. Populations in Oregon’s Willamette Valley have plunged 99%, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

Millions of dollars for ‘tree equity’ head to Snohomish County
Federal grants are giving the Snohomish Conservation District and the city of Lynnwood a total of $3.7 million for separate urban forestry projects. That means more trees in Everett, Marysville, south Lynnwood and the Tulalip Reservation. The new trees are going to areas with little canopy cover. Jordan Hansen reports. (Everett Herald)

A new roadmap to speed the spread of electric vehicles in Washington state
Larger incentives, chargers in light poles, and low-cost leasing are among the ideas in a blueprint for boosting ownership and reducing emissions. Jerry Cornfield  reports. (Washington State Standard)

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Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  230 AM PDT Mon Oct 2 2023   
TODAY  Light wind becoming SW to 10 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 12 seconds. Rain in the  morning then rain likely in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  5 ft at 14 seconds building to 7 ft at 15 seconds after midnight.  A slight chance of rain in the evening then a slight chance of  showers after midnight.

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