7/25 Cordgrass, Capitol Lake, shad, culverts, natural gas, wildfires, PSE wind energy, SRKWs, seal dives, Hakai Magazine

English cordgrass [Island County]

English cordgrass Spartina anglica
Four species of Spartina are invasive in the Pacific Northwest. In Island County, Spartina anglica has been the most widespread. This species grows and spreads rapidly in the intertidal zone not only displacing native plant species such as eelgrass (Zostera marina), but also changing the very nature of the habitat. Watch for Spartina anglica in areas of mudflats, salt marsh, loose cobble or gravel beaches, and on sand beaches. (Sound Water Stewards)

Today's top story in Salish Current: Bellingham strives to protect trees on public, private land

If you like to watch: Is this finally the beginning of the end for Capitol Lake?
Teams of engineers are descending on a near-empty Capitol Lake to prepare for the removal of the Fifth Avenue Dam and the return of a natural tidal estuary. Tony Overman reports. (The Olympian)

There’s a new top fish of the Columbia River — and it doesn’t mind the warm water
Each spring, a chrome tide of fish native to the East Coast floods the Northwest’s mightiest river by the millions. Shad, not salmon, are thriving in the warm, still water created by hydroelectric dams throughout the Columbia River Basin. Some years, they make up more than 90% of fish migrating upstream. The 10-year average return of adult Chinook to the Columbia through 2023 was 690,906 fish. Shad? More than 3 million. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

WA nears a plan to remove key culverts for salmon — after spending $4B
As the Washington State Department of Transportation spends billions of dollars removing concrete and metal pipes that block spawning salmon, another state agency is finally finishing a strategy to fix all the state’s fish migration barriers. Department of Fish and Wildlife officials last week revealed key parts of a plan to prioritize which of tens of thousands of these man-made blockages would, if replaced, bring back the most salmon. Without the strategy — which has taken more than four years to produce — the Inslee administration has been sinking billions into stream restorations that, in many cases, are ineffective or useless today. Mike Reicher reports. (Seattle Times)

Voters to decide on pace of Washington’s transition off natural gas
State election officials on Wednesday certified an initiative for the November ballot that seeks to reverse Washington’s controversial tactics to phase out natural gas use in homes and other buildings. Supporters of Initiative 2066 began gathering signatures in mid-May and turned in 533,005 signatures earlier this month. State law required at least 324,516 be from registered voters. Jerry Cornfield reports. (Washington State Standard)  See also: Vancouver reverses ban on the use of natural gas in new homes The council voted 6-5 in favour of the change, with Mayor Ken Sim casting the tie-breaking vote remotely (CBC)

Smoke from Sooke-area wildfire blankets Greater Victoria
The fire was an estimated 169 hectares on Wednesday afternoon, with smoke spreading as far as Vancouver. Jeff Bell reports. (Times Colonist)

Puget Sound Energy building two massive wind energy projects in Montana
As Montana citizens and groups pressure the state’s largest public utility, NorthWestern Energy, to add more renewable energy to its portfolio while the company continues pushing a series of natural-gas power plants, a Washington-based utility is building an expansive wind farm that will send power to the Seattle area. Puget Sound Energy is also contracting with an energy developer for another project, and has a third project on the drawing board as a possibility. Darrell Ehrlick reports. (Daily Montanan)

Can B.C.'s southern resident orcas be taken off the path to extinction?
The southern resident killer whale known as Tahlequah captured global sympathy in 2018 when she pushed the body of her dead calf for more than two weeks in waters off British Columbia's south coast. Brenna Owen reports. (The Canadian Press)

For Seals, Big Hearts Mean Big Dives
Some seals and sea lions regularly hold their breath for more than 10 minutes as they forage for food along the ocean floor, and a new study indicates that the key to their lengthy breath holds lies in their hearts. Marina Wang reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Hakai Magazine to close down
Founding editor Jude Isabella wrote yesterday to readers: "The only way to deliver this bad news is bluntly: Hakai Magazine will cease to publish at the end of 2024. For nearly a decade, we’ve made our cozy berth within the Tula Foundation, voyaging alongside its core missions that conduct long-term ecological research in British Columbia and deliver essential healthcare of Guatemalan mothers and babes. It has been a privilege beyond measure.... We’re actively looking for new funding sources—if you have ideas, please get in touch, because we’re open to suggestions. Over the next six months, we will keep you informed of our progress in finding a new haven for our next chapter."

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Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  205 AM PDT Thu Jul 25 2024    
TODAY  W wind 5 to 10 kt. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave Detail: W 4 ft  at 9 seconds.  
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 10 kt, easing to around 5 kt after  midnight. Seas 3 to 4 ft. Wave Detail: W 4 ft at 9 seconds.

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