3/29 Golden-crowned kinglet, orca calf rescue, EPA truck emissions, WA transportation budget, Delta jetty, salmon closure, feral rabbits, Quimper Corridor, week in review

 

Golden-crowned kinglet [Ryan Schain]

Golden-crowned kinglet Regulus satrapa
Golden-crowned Kinglets are boldly marked with a black eyebrow stripe and flashy lemon-yellow crest. A good look can require some patience, as they spend much of their time high up in dense spruce or fir foliage. To find them, listen for their high, thin call notes and song. Though barely larger than a hummingbird, this frenetically active bird can survive –40 degree nights, sometimes huddling together for warmth.

Today's top story in Salish Current: Skagit agritourism controversy is about more than weddings in barns

Killer whale rescue team continues efforts to coax calf to ocean
A flotilla of up to 10 vessels, taking advantage of the best tidal flows in days, was on the waters of a remote lagoon off northern Vancouver Island Thursday in an effort to coax a young killer whale back to the open ocean, but "a successful outcome is not guaranteed." Six days of efforts to entice a two-year-old orca calf out of the lagoon and back to the ocean following the death of its mother last weekend have included the use of recorded killer whale calls, specialized directional guide lines and the pounding of Indigenous drum beats, but with no success. Dirk Meissner reports. (Canadian Press)

EPA sets strict emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks and buses in bid to fight climate change
The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday set strict emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks, buses and other large vehicles, an action that officials said will help clean up some of the nation’s largest sources of planet-warming greenhouse gases. Matthew Daly and Tom Krisher report. (Associated Press)

Inslee signs final transportation budget, warns of tough sledding
Washington governor says with revenues declining and project costs rising, lawmakers and his successor will face difficult decisions in coming years. Jerry Cornfield reports. (Washington State Standard)

Provincial approval of new jetty for LNG exports a 'slap in the face,' says environmental group
Environmental groups say the province's approval of a new jetty in Delta, B.C., to facilitate exporting liquefied natural gas is inconsistent with its climate goals. The FortisBC Tilbury LNG project consists of building a jetty on the south arm of the Fraser River adjacent to the company's existing Tilbury LNG facility. It will be used to fill ships exporting LNG, as well as to provide fuel for bunkering ships that then refuel ships in other locations that run on LNG. Tessa Vikander reports. (CBC)

Anglers push back against proposed salmon closures
Recreational anglers say the federal government is using outdated predictive modelling and isn’t consulting the locals in its proposal to add further closures to the chinook fishery around Port Renfrew to protect the endangered southern resident killer whales. Darron Kloster reports. (Times Colonist)

Shelter space dwindling as feral rabbit colonies multiply
Every day, rabbit rescues in B.C.'s Lower Mainland get calls from people looking to surrender pet rabbits, or to report feral ones in their communities. And as more rabbits end up in parks or other parts of cities, the faster they reproduce, according to Sorelle Saidman, founder of Rabbitats Rescue Society. Courtney Dickson reports. (CBC)

More than 100 acres added to Quimper Wildlife Corridor
About 107 acres have been transferred to Jefferson County to expand the Quimper Wildlife Corridor in Port Townsend...The county purchased three parcels totaling 107 acres from the state Department of Natural Resources last year through the department’s Trust Land Transfer program. Peter Segall reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Salish Sea News and Weather Week in Review 3/29/24: March, beached orca, calf rescue, sewage plant, WA drought, PFAS, ocean oxygen, orca species, bridge crash, truck emissions.

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Here's your weekend tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  232 AM PDT Fri Mar 29 2024    
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON    
TODAY  E wind 5 to 15 kt becoming to 10 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 11 ft at 12 seconds subsiding to  9 ft at 11 seconds in the afternoon.  
TONIGHT  NW wind 5 to 15 kt easing to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 6 ft at 12 seconds.  
SAT  E wind to 10 kt becoming N 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 11 seconds.  
SAT NIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming SE to 10 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft subsiding to 1 ft or less after  midnight. W swell 5 ft at 11 seconds.
 SUN  E wind to 10 kt becoming NE in the afternoon. Wind waves  1 ft or less. W swell 6 ft at 11 seconds.

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