4/23 Broadleaf dock, culvert removal, PFAS, EPA DEI, Haller Farm purchase option, Chuckanut Dr rockslide, slime, first 100 days

Broadleaf dock [Richard Old]

Broadleaf dock Rumex obtusifolius
Broadleaf dock, commonly known as bitter dock, broad-leaved dock, bluntleaf dock, dock leaf, dockens or butter dock, is a perennial plant in the family Polygonaceae. Broadleaf dock is commonly found in fields, meadows and pasture lands. It favors wet or poorly drained areas of undisturbed soils such as ditches and roadsides. (Wikipedia/OSU Horticulture)

Today's top story in Salish Current: Earth Day 2025:  places, players and perspectives

Up a creek: $5B culvert removal plan appears dead in WA Legislature
A Senate plan for new borrowing to pay for the tear-out and replacement of pipes and other fish barriers ran into opposition from local governments and the governor. Jake Goldstein-Street reports. (Washington State Standard)

WA lawmakers want PFAS testing for human waste fertilizer
Lawmakers voted unanimously last week to send Senate Bill 5033 to Gov. Bob Ferguson. The bill would require the state Department of Ecology to test fertilizers made from human waste for levels of toxic chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which cause cancer and a host of other health problems. Conrad Swanson reports. (Seattle Times)

Edmonds launches technology to destroy PFAS
Edmonds is the first city in the country to implement new technology at a wastewater treatment facility that eradicates “forever chemicals,” otherwise known as PFAS. Within the next week, the city will start the new system on a 6-month trial run to collect data and train Public Works staff. Eliza Aronson reports. (Everett Herald)

EPA to fire or reassign more than 450 staffers working on environmental justice, DEI
The move is part of the Trump administration’s push to close the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. Amudalat Ajasa reports. (Washington Post)

Skagit County commissioners sign option agreement to purchase Haller Farm
...The Haller Farm property makes up the majority of a top-ranked project area on the Skagit River estuary for Chinook salmon recovery. The area is known as Sullivan Hacienda. The $10 million property includes about 110 acres of the Sullivan Hacienda area, a 107-acre undeveloped upland area that is an important cultural site to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, 180 acres of farmland that would be placed under an easement through the Skagit County Farmland Legacy Program to ensure it be used for agriculture, about 100 acres used by Gielow Pickles, and part of the Pleasant Ridge upland area. Emma Fletcher-Frazer reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Large 20-foot rockslide blocks Chuckanut Drive, no reopening time estimated
A rockslide is fully blocking Chuckanut Drive, covering both lanes just south of the Skagit County border, near Blanchard Road. Jack Belcher reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Slime Sense
A wildly variable group of single-celled organisms shows intelligent behavior. Photograph by Andy Sands/Story by Sarah Gilman. (bioGraphic)

The First 100 Days

• As Tesla profits plunge 71%, Elon Musk says he'll spend less time on DOGE (NPR)
  
• Federal judge blocks Trump administration from dismantling Voice of America (Associated Press)
  
• National Science Foundation terminates hundreds of active research awards  (NY Times)
  
• Marco Rubio wants to cut 15% of State Department staff in the US (Associated Press)
  

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Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  153 AM PDT Wed Apr 23 2025    
TODAY  E wind around 5 kt, backing to NE late. Seas 3 to 4 ft.  Wave Detail: W 4 ft at 10 seconds.  
TONIGHT  NW wind around 5 kt, backing to SE after midnight.  Seas 3 to 4 ft. Wave Detail: W 4 ft at 11 seconds.

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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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