8/8 Western toad, smoky air, Chilcotin R, data center tax breaks, marine biotoxin, orca fine

Western toad

 

Western toad Anaxyrus boreas
Western toads occur in all nine Washington ecoregions: Northwest Coast, West Cascades, Puget Trough, North Cascades, Columbia Plateau, Okanogan, East Cascades, Canadian Rocky Mountains, and Blue Mountains. Within the Washington portion of the Columbia Plateau, the species’ distribution is limited to the edges of the ecoregion except in the southeast corner of the state. The toads are locally abundant in some areas, but local declines have been documented in others.  (WDFW)

Today's top story in Salish Current: Rocking out on a rock: Lopez festival spotlights sounds of the Northwest

Smoky air from Canadian, eastern Washington fires to drift over Puget Sound
Western Washington could see hazy skies through the weekend as wildfire smoke drifts in from Canada and eastern Washington. Air quality is expected to be moderate for most of the Puget Sound region on Thursday and unhealthy for sensitive groups in east Pierce County. (KING)

B.C. landslide surge roars down Fraser River into Lower Mainland
Witnesses describe power of pent-up water; Metro Vancouver cities close access to public areas along Fraser. Dirk Meissner reports. (Canadian Press)

More on the Chilcotin River
Dave Beatty of Bellingham  writes: "The Chilcotin Landslide articles in The Tyee and The Fraser Valley Current do not include the possible negative effects of the landslide on the Chilcotin River's summer run of sockeye salmon to Chilco Lake and Taseko Lake, especially for Chilko Lake.  Although the eventual overtopping of the landslide resulted in a more gradual release of upstream water to reduce any possible flooding downstream in the Chilcotin River and farther downstream in the Fraser River, it carried a large load of sediment and large woody debris that could prove to be very harmful, together with warmer river water, to migrating sockeye. See: (CBC)

How a Washington Tax Break for Data Centers Snowballed Into One of the State’s Biggest Corporate Giveaways
Companies have saved $474 million since 2018, with most of the windfall going to Washington-based tech giant Microsoft. Lawmakers repeatedly expanded who qualifies, and they lowered the number of jobs expected in return. Lulu Ramadan and Sydney Brownstone report. (Seattle Times/ProPublica)

What dinner in Burrard Inlet looked like 500 years ago
Tsleil-Waututh Nation hopes to use data on its ancestors’ diet to restore habitat and heal the heavily industrialized Burrard Inlet. Steph Kwetásel’wet Wood reports. (The Narwhal)

Shucks! It’s been a bad year for hot shellfish
It’s been an active year for toxic algal blooms within Washington’s waters. The Washington State Department of Health has detected paralytic shellfish poison in many of the state’s marine areas. That’s a naturally occurring marine biotoxin that’s produced by some algae. The toxin enters shellfish when they consume the algae. When humans consume that shellfish, they can get sick with this serious poison, which can be fatal. Many counties have recently closed recreational shellfish harvest, as ordered by the health department. More county closures could be on the way. Lauren Gallup reports. (Northwest Public Broadcasting)

Bellingham man fined $1,000 for steering yacht through orca pod
A Bellingham man has been fined $1,000 for driving his 51-foot recreational vessel through a pod of killer whales off the west side of San Juan Island in 2022. Matt Ryan acknowledged to NOAA Fisheries investigators that he was at the helm of the boat, M/V Cypress Point, heading into Roche Harbor when he passed through the pod, an incident caught on video by a wildlife photographer. Stephan Howie reports. (KUOW)
 

Have you read the Salish Current? 
Independent, fact based news for Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties. Community supported, free from ads. Read the latest weekly newsletter here.

Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  307 AM PDT Thu Aug 8 2024    
TODAY  NW wind around 5 kt, veering to E late this morning,  backing to NW early this afternoon, rising to 5 to 10 kt late.  Seas around 3 ft. Wave Detail: W 3 ft at 7 seconds.  
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 10 kt. Seas 3 to 4 ft. Wave Detail: W 3 ft  at 6 seconds.

---


"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.



Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate



Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told