8/16 Belgian hare, sea stars, coastal cleanup, pipeline safety, toxic limits, week in review

 

Belgian hare

Belgian hare Oryctolagus cuniculus
The once famous Belgian Hare is the breed responsible for the United States’ domestic rabbit movement. Although the original rabbits can be traced to Belgium, the credit for their perfection is given to the British. The London Zoological Gardens imported a few rabbits for display as early as 1856, but it was Winter “William” Lumb and Benjamin Greaves who had the greatest impact on the development of the breed after their importation of several animals from Antwerp in early 1873. Some claimed the Belgian Hares were actually a fertile mule – a cross between a rabbit and the European hare – however, Winter Lumb prevailed in his stand that it was a rabbit bred to resemble wild hares.

Today's top story in Salish Current: Youth leadership the focus of 2024 canoe journey

San Juans’ sea stars start long crawl back from near-extinction
Twenty pint-sized predators—the first of their kind to be bred in captivity and released into the wild—are now crawling around the San Juan Islands. The colorful sea creatures are called sunflower stars. The fastest of all sea stars, they are thought to be the most endangered as well. A mysterious wasting disease killed an estimated 5 billion of them, or 90% of their global population, over the past decade, disrupting underwater ecosystems from Alaska to Baja California. John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

Funding will help Island projects clean up the coast
Vancouver Island communities and several capital region beaches will benefit from cleanup projects through the Clean Coast, Clean Waters initiative. Ten Island projects are among 17 around the province that received a total of $8 million in funding on Wednesday. They will be carried out in concert with First Nations, small businesses and non-profits to focus on dealing with marine debris and plastic pollution. Jeff Bell reports. (Times Colonist)

Bellingham-based pipeline safety oversight group awarded $1 million federal grant
A Bellingham-based organization that monitors the safety of fuel pipelines nationwide received a $1 million federal grant this week. The Pipeline Safety Trust was formed with $4 million from fines levied in the wake of the June 10, 1999, Whatcom Falls Park disaster, when 273,000 gallons of gasoline leaked from an underground pipeline and ignited in a massive fireball, fatally burning 10-year-old Wade King and Stephen Tsiorvas and killing 18-year-old Liam Wood, who was overcome by fumes and drowned while fly-fishing in Whatcom Creek. Robert Mittendorf reports. (Bellingham Herald)

State sets new limits for toxic chemicals in water
With this rule, Washington has limits for 42 chemicals. This includes limits for both marine and fresh water, and limits to protect aquatic life from both immediate (acute) effects, such as death, and long-term (chronic) effects, such as changes in growth and reproduction. Ecology developed these changes to the state’s aquatic life toxics criteria based on updated science and new research, new methods and modeling tools, and recommendations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Tribal governments. (Dept. of Ecology)

Salish Sea News Week in Review 8/16/24: Roller coaster Friday, tribe refuge management, sniffing invasives, Capitol Lake, WSF, biotoxins, Bigg's whales, oldest humpback.

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Here's your weekend tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  156 AM PDT Fri Aug 16 2024    
TODAY  NE wind around 5 kt, backing to W this afternoon. Seas  around 3 ft. Wave Detail: W 3 ft at 8 seconds. TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 10 kt, easing to around 5 kt after  midnight. Seas around 3 ft. Wave Detail: W 3 ft at 7 seconds.  
SAT  N wind around 5 kt. Seas around 3 ft. Wave Detail: W 2 ft  at 8 seconds.  
SAT NIGHT  W wind 5 to 10 kt, backing to SW after midnight.  Seas around 2 ft or less. Wave Detail: W 2 ft at 7 seconds. A  chance of showers in the evening, then showers after midnight.  
SUN  S wind 5 to 10 kt. Seas around 2 ft or less. Wave Detail:  W 2 ft at 7 seconds. Showers.

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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 msato at salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.



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