11/27 Boletes, Skagit birds, king tides, orcas, toxic hot spots, BC herring fishery, SnoCo farmland salmon program, beavers, bear kill, Galloping Gertie

 King Boletes [Mushroom Appreciation]

King Bolete Boletus edulis
The Boletaceae family is a vast group of mushrooms that encompasses several smaller families, including Boletus, Leccinum, and Suillus. These families share a common characteristic: the presence of tube-like pores instead of gills.  Within the Boletaceae family, there are over 700 known bolete species worldwide, with approximately 300 identified in North America alone. While the term ‘bolete’ is an umbrella term for a wide range of fleshy mushrooms, when most mushroom foragers talk about them, they’re often referring to the popular and delectable Boletus edulis, also known as ‘King Boletes’ or ‘Porcini.’ (Mushroom Appreciation)

Skagit’s white birds of winter are ambassadors among land use, values conflicts
Hunters, tourists, wildlife photographers, birdwatchers and farmers have distinct relationships and sometimes competing interests when it comes to these wintering flocks. Adam M. Sowards reports. (Salish Current)

King tides are coming. Is Seattle's South Park neighborhood ready?
Tuesday, Nov. 28 is the first king tide of the season. In South Park, business owners, residents and the government are hoping to avoid a repeat of last season's catastrophic flooding. A king tide occurs when the moon and the sun are perfectly positioned to drag tides to their highest level of the year. King tides peak in January. Joshua McNichols reports. (KUOW)

'Majestic' pod of playful orcas captivate Gulf Islands residents as reported sightings on the rise
Growing sea lion, harbour seal populations likely drawing killer whales to area. Moira Wyton reports. (CBC)

To protect orcas, group launches from Everett to gauge noise pollution
Noise pollution from large commercial vessels is a significant threat to southern resident orcas who reside in Puget Sound throughout the winter. But according to Rachel Aronson, program director for Quiet Sound, crew members cut their noise pollution by almost half when they reduce ship speed by 30% to 50%. (Everett Herald)

West Coast toxic hot spots threaten endangered salmon and killer whales
Newly identified toxic metal hot spots on the West Coast further threaten endangered killer whales and their key food source, a recent study shows.  Southern resident killer whales and the chinook salmon they depend on for survival are both already in a dangerous state of decline, said Ocean Wise research scientist Joseph Kim. Rochelle Baker reports. (Island Insider/National Observer)

Group wants herring fishery pause in Strait of Georgia
Saanich Inlet Protection Society wants the allowable catch to be zero and a recovery plan for some areas of the strait. Andrew A. Duffy reports. (Times Colonist)

Farmland, salmon habitat find delicate balance in county program
Over 12 miles of habitat have been restored via the Floodplain Solutions program — like the Roth family farm near Monroe will soon be. Ta'Leah Van Sistine reports. (Everett Herald)

Where beavers deemed nuisance live before they’re returned to the wild
Beaver LBM-M1-23, better known as Norman, temporarily moved into a drained pool at Columbia Springs in east Vancouver, Wash., to get sorted out after being booted from his Camas dwelling. The nonprofit environmental education center operates a seasonal “AirbnBeaver” for those like Norman, who are labeled a nuisance for damaging or flooding property. Lauren Ellenbecker reports. (The Columbian)  See more: A beaver dam blocked spawning salmon at Carkeek Park. Now humans are giving nature a nudge Libby Denkmann reports. (KUOW)

‘Sometimes a fine is not enough,’ says judge who jailed guide
Paying money may not always be a deterrent, Judge Alexander Wolf said at the sentencing of a man who "executed" a mother bear and cub in a tree outside his Tofino home.Louise Dickson reports. (Times Colonist)

Here’s how Galloping Gertie’s iconic collapse 83 years ago shapes bridge designs today
Engineers still study the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which fell into Puget Sound 83 years ago this month. The project to build the original span during the 1930s was $6.4 million...Just over four months after its opening, the bridge collapsed during a windstorm on Nov. 7, 1940. Aspen Shumpert reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

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Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  315 AM PST Mon Nov 27 2023    
TODAY  E wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 4 ft  at 13 seconds.  
TONIGHT  SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  4 ft at 12 seconds.

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