1/2 Baby orcas, Kitsap forest, orca distance, Allen Cr habitat, invasive species, Burley Lagoon, avian flu teen

Editor's note: Thank you very much for your donation to the Salish Current fundraiser which ended on Dec. 31. We met and exceeded our goal with a total of $113,705 donated to take the Current into 2025. Mahalo. Mike Sato.

Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono
The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness
Hau'oli Makahiki Hou
Happy New Year

Today's top story in Salish Current: Social justice eludes many, impacts the whole community

Newborn southern resident orca calf confirmed, another feared dead
Excitement over a newborn southern resident orca calf that was spotted with the population's J pod earlier this week has been muted by news that another calf has died. The newly observed calf has been designated J62. Researchers say they don't yet know much about it. The deceased J61 calf was first seen travelling with J pod on Dec. 20 in Puget Sound. The newborn female orca was later determined by a team of researchers and scientists to be the offspring of mother J35, also known as Tahlequah, which gained global attention in 2018 when she carried the body of her newborn for 17 days. Karin Larsen reports. (CBC)  See also: Famous orca mom carries another dead calf around Puget Sound John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

Conservation effort in North Kitsap continues with $6.3 million purchase of forest
Over 450 acres of forest land has been acquired by Great Peninsula Conservancy, completing a major piece of the historic Kitsap Forest & Bay preservation effort near the North Kitsap community of Port Gamble. Melissa Conner reports. (Kitsap Sun)

New law requires boaters to stay 1,000 yards away from Southern Resident orcas
Starting January 1, boaters in Washington waters must stay 1,000 yards away from SRKW at all times, which is approximately a half-nautical mile. There are currently just over 70 Southern Resident orcas, consisting of three pods: J, K, and L. The new law creates a uniform policy for everyone on the water, commercial, recreational and even kayakers and paddleboarders. Denise Whitaker reports. (KOMO)

Tulalip Tribes aim to boost salmon habitat at Allen Creek
Last month, the Tulalip Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Tulalip Tribes, acquired 33 acres surrounding a stretch of Allen Creek outside Marysville, just east of the Kellogg Marsh Grange Hall. An additional 4 acres of farm land were dedicated as a conservation easement. The tribes’ Cultural and Natural Resources Department plans to rebraid creek channels, replant native vegetation and remove culverts — all in the name of restoring coho habitat. Eliza Aronson reports. (Everett Herald)

Climate change is helping invasive species take root in Washington
Non-native plants are crowding out native ones in the Pacific Northwest and posing new challenges for the organizations that manage them. Cassie Diamond reports. (CascadePBS) 

It would be Pierce County’s largest geoduck farm. Locals fought it. Now the state decides
Burley Lagoon, a body of saltwater that connects under the Purdy Bay Bridge to Henderson Bay, has been a site for shellfish cultivation since the 1930s, beginning with a farm operated by Tyee Oyster Company. It’s now managed by Taylor Shellfish Farms, a giant in Washington state’s shellfish industry. The fifth-generation family-owned company began managing the approximately 300-acre Burley Lagoon farm on a lease from Western Oyster Company in 2012, The News Tribune reported. Since that change in management, residents who live near the lagoon have voiced concerns about Taylor Shellfish’s proposal in 2014 to convert part of the farm to raise the large clams (pronounced “gooeyducks”). The company currently raises Manila clams and Pacific oysters there. Julia Park report. (Tacoma News Tribune)

B.C. teen with avian flu off oxygen, no longer infectious, Canadian health officials tell medical journal
A letter sent to the editor of The New England Journal of Medicine signed by Canadian health officials says the British Columbia teenager who tested positive for avian flu has been taken off supplemental oxygen and is no longer infectious. (Canadian Press)

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Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  229 AM PST Thu Jan 2 2025    
TODAY  E wind 15 to 20 kt. Seas 5 to 7 ft. Wave Detail: E 4 ft  at 5 seconds and W 6 ft at 13 seconds. Rain until late afternoon,  then a chance of rain late.
TONIGHT  E wind 15 to 20 kt. Seas 5 to 7 ft. Wave Detail: E  4 ft at 5 seconds, W 7 ft at 14 seconds and W 2 ft at 19 seconds.  A chance of rain after midnight.

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