8/20 Red-twig dogwood, Tokitae, ocean plastic, retired ferries, BC salmon return, Stilly Revisited timber, hydropower sales, drone fine, NW bees, lands commissioner race

 

Red-twig dogwood [Native Plants PNW]

Red-twig dogwood Cornus sericea
Red-Twig Dogwood is found throughout most of northern and western North America, extending into Mexico in the west. It usually grows in moist soil, especially along streams and lakesides, in wet meadows, open forests and along forest edges. (Native Plants PNW)

Today's top story in Salish Current: Seattle City Light and federal fisheries agency still at loggerheads over fish

One year after Tokitae's death, Lummi Nation and community honor the orca's life
The community came together Sunday to pay respect to Tokitae, who died Aug. 18, 2023, after over 50 years in captivity. Quixem Ramirez reports. (KING)

B.C. tour guides haul 32.5 tonnes of plastic debris from ocean
The crew removed discarded fishing tackle, polystyrene floats, plastic bags and bottles and more from the Great Bear Sea coastline during the 24-day trip. Tiffany Crawford reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Two retired WA ferries set sail for Ecuador, ending Puget Sound legacy
After years of sitting idle, two decommissioned Washington State ferries are being towed across 3,700 miles of open ocean to their final destination in Ecuador. The vessels, the Klahoya and Elwha, were sold for $100,000 each in a deal that Washington State Ferries (WSF) officials describe as a win for taxpayers. Lauren Donovan reports. (FOX/AOL)

Report shows salmon numbers slowing from B.C. landslide
A new report is providing some early insight on how last month's landslide into the Chilcotin River affected the run of salmon that swims up the Chilcotin and Fraser rivers every year to reproduce. Monitoring efforts reveal the number of salmon that head upstream during August has slowed — but the exact scale of the disruption isn't yet clear. Isaac Phan Nay reports. (CBC)

Legacy Forest Defense Coalition set on halting timber sale near Arlington
The Stilly Revisited timber sale, on state land about 13 miles northeast of Arlington, is largely filled with Douglas firs and western hemlocks — many that have lived for over a century. In a lawsuit filed with the Snohomish County Superior Court last month, the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition and the North Cascades Conservation Council contested the 152-acre sale. The groups argued the state Department of Natural Resources is putting forests on the chopping block it is legally bound to save, as outlined in DNR’s Policy for Sustainable Forests. Ta'Leah Van Sistine reports. (Everett Herald)

Drought in the West has cost hydropower industry billions in losses
Persistent drought in the West over the last two decades has limited the amount of electricity that hydropower dams can generate, costing the industry and the region billions of dollars in revenue. The sector lost about 300 million megawatt hours of power generation between 2003 and 2020 due to drought and low water compared with the long-term average, researchers from the University of Alabama found. That equals about $28 billion in lost revenue. Alex Baumhardt reports. (Washington State Standard)

B.C. film company fined for flying drone too close to orcas
A Vancouver-based film company and its drone operator have been fined a total of $30,000 for operating a drone too close to a group of killer whales. River Road Films pleaded guilty in July to unlawfully capturing footage by operating too close to a pod of northern resident killer whales "beach rubbing" on Vancouver Island. (CBC)

Here a Bee, There a Bee, Everywhere a Wild Bee
Biologists are finding new bee species all over the Pacific Northwest—highlighting how little we know about native pollinators. Anne Casselman reports. (Hakai Magazine)

WA Public Lands Commissioner primary likely headed for a recount
By Monday evening, Upthegrove had 395,812 votes and Kuehl Pederson had 395,619, a difference of 193 votes – about 0.02% of their total votes. There were an estimated 1,350 votes left to count around the state, including 300 in King County, where Upthegrove got 34% of the vote, and 377 in Benton County, where Kuehl Pederson has received about 34% of the vote. Venice Buhain reports. (CascadePBS)

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Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  249 AM PDT Tue Aug 20 2024    
TODAY  E wind 5 to 10 kt. Seas around 3 ft. Wave Detail: SE  2 ft at 4 seconds and W 2 ft at 8 seconds. A slight chance of  tstms. Showers until late afternoon, then a chance of showers  late.  
TONIGHT  W wind around 5 kt. Seas around 3 ft. Wave Detail: W  3 ft at 10 seconds. Showers likely after midnight.

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