1/8 Elk, BC weather watch, WA legislature, BC fire season, glacial blood, Galiano Is habitat, butterfly adaptation

Elk [Ginger Holser]

Elk Cervus canadensis
Elk are members of the deer family and share many physical traits with deer, moose, and caribou. They are much larger than deer, but not as large as a moose. Roosevelt elk (Cervus canadensis roosevelti) are found in the coastal ranges of the Olympic Peninsula, southwest Washington, and the western slopes of the Cascade Range including Western Washington river valleys. Olympic National Park and surrounding forests host the largest number of Roosevelt elk living anywhere -- about 5,000. Adult elk weigh 600 to 800 pounds, and adult cows typically weigh 400 to 500 pounds. With thick bodies, short tails, and long legs, adult elk stand 4.5 to 5 feet high at the shoulder. (WDFW)

Heavy snow, rain and wind warnings in place along coastal, inland B.C.
Up to 15-20 centimetres expected in Whistler, Howe Sound and Hope; 4 centimetres in Metro Vancouver. (CBC)

The Washington Legislature kicks off today. Here's what to watch
Lawmakers are expected to focus the 2024 session on behavioral health, housing and homelessness, the environment, public safety and transportation. Donna Gordon Blankinship reports. (Crosscut)  See: Legislator priorities in the 40th and 42nd Districts: mental health, housing and more (Salish Current)

Winter drought holds potential for dire 2024 B.C. fire season
Fire ecologist Lori Daniels admits 'coexistent' seems counterintuitive but is necessary with climate change edging toward a hotter, drier future. Derrick Penner reports. (Vancouver Sun) 

New study investigates threat of 'watermelon snow' to mountain glaciers
Watermelon snow, also known as glacial blood, is caused by algae that turns the snow a startling shade of red. The algae blooms in summer, forming on the snowfields that linger on glaciers, frozen lakes, rugged peaks and icy valleys in the upper reaches of mountain terrain. The darker the snow, the faster it melts — and new research sheds light on the threat snow algae poses to shrinking glaciers across northwestern North America. Wallis Snowdon reports. (CBC)

Conservation group buys land on Galiano Island
The Galiano Conservancy Association has purchased a 47-hectare parcel of Quadra Hill on Galiano Island that will help connect a corridor of protected habitats on the island stretching from Trincomali Channel to the Strait of Georgia. Michael John Lo reports. (Times Colonist)

Can butterflies adapt to survive climate change?
Dr. Gwen Shlichta, a biology professor at Edmonds College and researcher for a University of Washington study, is returning to her research 25 years later to answer this question. Dr. Shlichta and her lab tech Taylor Hatcher collect and study cabbage white butterflies to monitor their feeding patterns at controlled temperatures. This data, compared to Dr. Shlichta’s data from 25 years ago, can be used to predict how other organisms may adapt to climate change in the future. (Crosscut)

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Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  247 AM PST Mon Jan 8 2024    
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY  EVENING    
TODAY  SE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 4 ft  at 13 seconds. Rain.  
TONIGHT  SE wind 20 to 30 kt becoming SW 25 to 35 kt after  midnight. Combined seas 4 to 7 ft with a dominant period of  13 seconds. Rain.

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