4/19 Dowitcher, No on 2117, orca calf, Arctic road, PFAS polluter pays, build 'em in BC, BLM lease rule, Deepwater Horizon, grizzly restoration, week in review

 

Short-billed Dowitcher [Dorian Anderson]

Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus
In breeding plumage, Short-billed Dowitchers are lovely orange, brown, and golden shorebirds with chunky bodies and very long bills (despite the name). Look for them in wetlands across North America, from coastal mudflats to sewage ponds and flooded fields. (All About Birds)

Today's top story in Salish Current: Climate change complicates the Nooksack adjudication

Campaign to defend Washington state's climate law raises $11 million, far outpacing opposition
A campaign focused on defending Washington’s Climate Commitment Act from repeal by voters launched Wednesday. The “No on 2117” campaign announced it has obtained more than $11 million in pledges from environmental groups, unions, tribes, and corporations...Some of the more surprising funders of the campaign to preserve the state regulatory scheme include companies with a carbon impact like Amazon, Microsoft, and the oil company BP, which operates the largest refinery in the Northwest at Cherry Point, north of Bellingham. Amy Radio reports. (KUOW)

Violinist tries to serenade B.C. orca calf to freedom, as others ready nets and boats
Carol Love watches the tides at a Vancouver Island lagoon, and when the time is right, she starts to play her violin. She plays for an audience of one, a killer whale calf that has been trapped alone in the lagoon for almost a month. Dirk Meissner reports. (Canadian Press) 

Biden Shields Millions of Acres of Alaskan Wilderness From Drilling and Mining
The administration has blocked a proposed industrial road needed to mine copper in the middle of the state, and has banned oil drilling on 13 million acres in the North Slope. Lisa Friedman reports. (NY Times)  See: Interior Department to Reject Road Through Arctic Preserve Joel Connelly writes. (Post Alley)

E.P.A. Will Make Polluters Pay to Clean Up Two PFAS Compounds
The Biden administration is designating two “forever chemicals,” man-made compounds that are linked to serious health risks, as hazardous substances under the Superfund law, shifting responsibility for their cleanup to polluters from taxpayers. The new rule announced on Friday empowers the government to force the many companies that manufacture or use perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as PFOA, and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, known as PFOS, to monitor any releases into the environment and be responsible for cleaning them up. Those companies could face billions of dollars in liabilities. Coral Davenport reports. (NY Times)

Marine workers, unions want new ferries built in B.C.
Labour unions and marine workers in British Columbia are calling on B.C. Ferries to build its new hybrid vessels locally, bringing more jobs to the coast. B.C. Ferries says it plans to have seven new vessels built, the first of which could be ready for operation by 2029. Courtney Dickson reports. (CBC)

The Deepwater Horizon’s Very Unhappy Anniversary
A recent scientific expedition to the Gulf of Mexico seafloor shows just how little things have improved near the broken well. Xander Peters reports. (Hakai Magazine)

BLM to finalize rule allowing federal leases targeted at protection of natural areas
The Bureau of Land Management will publish a final rule soon allowing the nation’s public lands to be leased for environmental protection. The rule, which both proponents and detractors say marks a shift in the agency’s focus toward conservation, directs land managers at the agency to identify landscapes in need of restoration and to create plans to fill those needs. Jacob Fischler reports. (Washington State Standard)

Federal agencies release final environmental impact statement on grizzly restoration
Two federal agencies released last month the final version of the environmental impact statement, or EIS, that details the options for restoring grizzly bears to the North Cascades. The last time a grizzly bear was documented in the North Cascades was in 1996. Emma Fletcher-Frazer reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Salish Sea News Week in Review 4/19/24: Garlic Friday!, Haida Gwaii, Puyallup Tribe, PFAS limits, WA drought, carbon storage, wind farm halved, cattle flu, No on 2117.

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Here's your weekend tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  303 AM PDT Fri Apr 19 2024    
TODAY  SE wind 5 to 15 kt rising to 15 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 2 ft at 11 seconds.  
TONIGHT  SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 2 ft  at 11 seconds.  
SAT  E wind 15 to 25 kt becoming SE 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. E swell 4 ft at 4 seconds.  
SAT NIGHT  SW wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell  6 ft at 9 seconds.  
SUN  W wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 6 ft at  10 seconds.

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. It is included as a daily feature in the Salish Current newsletter. Click here to subscribe. Questions? Email mikesato772 (@) gmail.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.



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