11/17 Stormin', Hood Canal, microbes, BC LNG, Gates fuels, future floods, Billy Frank, Jr., green audit, VW suit

Surf smelt

If you like to watch: Forage Fish of the Salish Sea
Forage fish are a critical keystone species in the marine food web. This film sponsored by Friends of Skagit Beaches and WA Dept. of Ecology highlights the importance of these small fish to the ecology, economy, and identity of the Pacific Northwest. This is the fourth in a series of student made films featuring the work of promising young filmmakers from Western Washington University and Anacortes High School. The film created by Jesse Nichols (WWU) was premiered as part of the Friends fall film series "Films with Friends" in October 2015.

Severe wind warning issued for Metro Vancouver, Vancouver Island  (CBC) and Northwest forecast: 65-mph wind gusts, falling trees, full rivers, mountain snow  (Seattle Times)

Senate hearing to explore DNR easement to Navy that blocks pit-to-pier
A state Senate committee has scheduled a hearing this week to determine whether the state Department of Natural Resources acted properly in determining the amount the Navy would pay for a 55-year easement that restricts development on Hood Canal aquatic land. The easement blocks a project known as “pit-to-pier.” The Accountability and Reform Committee is scheduled to address the topic at 8 a.m. Thursday in Senate Hearing Room 2 in the John A. Cherberg Building, 304 15th Ave. S.W., Olympia. The pact between DNR and the Navy, which went into effect in August 2014, is a barrier to a Thorndyke Resources proposal to build a 998-foot pier on state-owned tidelands 5 miles south of the Hood Canal Bridge. Charlie Bermant reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Microbes that are key indicators of Puget Sound’s health in decline
Paleontologists with the University of Washington’s Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture find that tiny organisms called foraminifera have a big story to tell about the health of Puget Sound. Two recent studies about the health of Bellingham Bay and inlets in the Bremerton area found the diversity and number of foraminifera — single-celled marine organisms that live on the sea floor — deteriorated significantly. The decline of these microscopic organisms is consistent with the deterioration of snails and other larger marine animals, even though analysis showed a reduction of chemical pollutants in Bellingham Bay and Bremerton over the same period of time. Andrea Godinez reports. (UW Today)

B.C. LNG project in Tsawwassen to be voted on by First Nation
The Tsawwassen First Nation will proceed with a vote on plans to build an LNG export facility just north of the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, it announced on Monday. "The preliminary concept looks at a plan somewhere between three million and five million metric tonnes per annum," said Tsawwassen First Nation spokesman Chris Hartman.  "In terms of tanker traffic associated with that, probably somewhere in the range of four to five LNG carriers a month, or about one a week." (CBC)

Gates Foundation cuts fossil fuel investments — but why?
Almost every day for the past several months, protesters gathered outside the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Seattle headquarters, exhorting the world’s richest philanthropy to fight climate change by pulling its investments from fossil-fuel companies. As usual when it comes to questions about its portfolio, the foundation responded with silence. But tax documents posted Monday show that the foundation has significantly scaled back its holdings in some of the world’s biggest oil, coal and gas companies. Sandi Doughton reports. (Seattle Times)

UW study: Puget Sound area may face more flooding as climate gets warmer
A University of Washington climate-change study for Puget Sound forecasts a temperature rise of 2.9 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit by midcentury, resulting in wide-ranging shifts as more storms bring rain rather than snow. A warming climate is expected to result in an increase in flood risks even as overall precipitation is predicted to remain roughly the same. That’s because the climate models indicate more rain will fall during the winter when rivers already are at higher levels, and intense storms will become more frequent. Sea-level rise also can contribute to flooding as storm surges become a bigger threat. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

The late Billy Frank Jr. and Ruckelshaus to receive Medal of Honor
Two influential figures from Washington state, each with a long record of environmental leadership, were named Monday as recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Billy Frank Jr., the former chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission and a treaty-rights leader, and William D. Ruckelshaus, the first administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are receiving the highest civilian honor in the U.S. The two advocated for and worked on environmental issues for decades. Rachel Lerman reports. (Seattle Times)

If you like to watch: Video: Billy Frank Jr. Street Gets First Sign In Bellingham
Bellingham has renamed Indian Street Billy Frank Jr. Street in honor of the late Native American fishing rights activist. A small group gathered Monday morning, Nov. 16, to watch public works' Tom Oberlander post the first sign at Laurel Street. (Bellingham Herald)

Environmental groups no longer under audit threat  
They’re handing out Vancouver Island’s National Philanthropy Day awards at The Empress this afternoon, rewarding those who volunteer for non-profits. Happily, supporters of environmental charities need not wear fake noses and glasses this year. Buried among all the changes announced in Ottawa last week was this: After three years of using tax audits to threaten Canadian green groups, the federal government in changing course. This goes back to 2012, when the Harper government allocated $8 million to audit the political activities of charities — the threat being that those deemed too political could lose their tax status. The Conservatives denied that the audits were politically motivated, but it was hard to ignore that they were introduced at the same time Harperites were muttering about “radical” environmentalists bogging down the Northern Gateway pipeline-approval process. Jack Knox reports. (Times Colonist)

Washington Takes Legal Action Over Volkswagen's Diesel Pollution
Washington is taking legal action against Volkswagen in the wake of a diesel vehicle scandal. Back in September, Volkswagen admitted to installing special software in some of its diesel vehicles, causing them to give false readings during pre-sale air quality tests. Forty-seven states, including Washington and Oregon announced investigations.  Now Washington has given the company formal notice that they violated the state’s Clean Air Act. Jes Burns reports. (EarthFix)

Groundwater is mostly non-renewable, study finds
The water that supplies aquifers and wells that billions of people rely on around the world is mostly a non-renewable resource that could run out, a new Canadian-led study has found. While many people may think groundwater is replenished by rain and melting snow the way lakes and rivers are, underground water is actually renewed much more slowly. In fact, just six per cent of the groundwater around the world is replenished within a "human lifetime" of 50 years, reports University of Victoria hydrogeologist Tom Gleeson and his collaborators in a new study published in the journal Nature Geoscience today. Emily Chung reports. (CBC)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 246 AM PST TUE NOV 17 2015
STORM WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
SW WIND 30 TO 40 KT...RISING TO 40 TO 50 KT. COMBINED SEAS 14 TO 16 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 12 SECONDS...BUILDING
 TO 19 TO 20 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 12 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN.
TONIGHT
W WIND 35 TO 45 KT...EASING TO 20 TO 30 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. COMBINED SEAS 17 TO 20 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF
 12 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY IN THE EVENING...THEN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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11/2 Galloping Gertie, whale-watch boat, Vic sewer, green chemicals, Triangle Cove, Hood Canal awards

Galloping Gertie (Tacoma Public Library/News Tribune)

The man blamed for the fall of Tacoma’s Galloping Gertie
On the day the first bridge over Puget Sound collapsed 75 years ago this week, a mixed-breed cocker spaniel named Tubby was the only life lost with the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in what now is known as one of history’s most spectacular engineering failures. Photos and film of the last moments of Galloping Gertie are iconic to this day. The bridge’s fall on the windy morning of Nov. 7, 1940, is still taught in schools. It is regarded as the birthing event of the field of wind engineering in building design. Derrick Nunnally reports. (Tacoma News Tribune) See also:  Video: Galloping Gertie's collapse is an enduring Tacoma narrative  (Tacoma News Tribune) And also: Black and blue and lucky to be alive, the last person to escape Galloping Gertie tells his story  Howard Clifford recalls. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Tofino whale-watching vessel had passed stability test: Transport Canada
The whale-watching ship that capsized off British Columbia’s coast, killing five people, passed a stability test after an observation deck was added when it was converted from a tugboat, Transport Canada said Thursday. MV Leviathan II, originally built in 1981, was once a forest-industry tug and was lengthened and had a deck added 15 years later for the whale-watching industry. “The owner prepared a stability assessment, including an incline experiment, at that time. Transport Canada approved this work and certified the vessel,” said a Transport Canada statement. The ship capsized on Sunday with 27 people on board, about 15 kilometres from the tourist community of Tofino, which is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Dirk Meissner reports. (Canadian Press)

Victoria mayor muses on combining casino, sewage plant
It could give a whole new meaning to a royal flush. Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps has mused publicly about the possibility of combining a casino with a new regional sewage treatment plant. The B.C. Lottery Corporation is considering a second casino closer to downtown Victoria than the existing one in View Royal and has asked six communities — Victoria, Esquimalt, Saanich, Oak Bay and the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations — if they would host a casino smaller than View Royal’s. Bill Cleverley reports. (Times Colonist)

After 25 Years Of Pollution Prevention, Wash. State Working Toward Greener Chemicals
It has been 25 years since the federal government passed the Pollution Prevention Act. The 1990 law is credited with reducing industrial waste by as much as 60 percent since it was enacted, by getting companies and governments to look upstream at what goes into the manufacturing process and stopping pollution at the source. But the effectiveness of that approach appears to have limits. With many toxic chemicals remaining, especially in consumer products, additional strategies are needed. And that’s where states come in. Washington is considered a pioneer. Ken Zarker, a section manager for pollution prevention with the State Department of Ecology,  says Washington has 8 or 9 laws on the books that are looked to by experts as model legislation for the reduction of toxic chemicals. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KPLU)

Margaret Atwood's tweet 'spooks' Surrey truck parking lot proposal
Canadian literary icon Margaret Atwood has tweeted out a spooky warning to sign a petition against a semi-truck parking lot in Surrey or be haunted by her "in the form of a dead salmon." … The outspoken author is the latest critic of the 77-acre parking lot for big rigs that critics say jeopardizes a nearby salmon hatchery. (CBC)

Camano Island 3-year watershed improvement project a winner
A three-year project to clean up the Triangle Cove watershed brought hundreds of property owners together for lessons on protecting their water supply. As grant funding for the work comes to an end, organizers say results have exceeded expectations. The Snohomish Conservation District and Island County Public Health received a $400,000 Pollution and Identification Correction grant to improve water quality in Triangle Cove, specifically dealing with bacteria, oxygen levels and acidity. Work started in 2013 and the grant is up at the end of this year. Kari Bray reports. (Everett Herald)

Hood Canal council names winners of environmental awards
Beards Cove Community Organization and Newberry Hill Heritage Park Stewards are this year’s winners of the Hood Canal Environmental Achievement Awards. The awards, sponsored by the Hood Canal Coordinating Council, recognize people and groups that have taken actions and fostered relationships to improve the health of the Hood Canal environment. Chris Dunagan writes. (Watching Our Water Ways)

State committee approves new geographic names
The Washington State Committee on Geographic Names has approved new names for geographic features in Grays Harbor, Jefferson and Pierce counties. At its regular semi-annual meeting this past week, the committee approved proposals from Washington residents to officially designate three previously unnamed geographic features in the state. Their selections will go before the Board of Natural Resources for a final decision at one of its regular public meetings. (Associated Press)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST MON NOV 2 2015
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON PST TODAY
TODAY
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING NW TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 11 FT AT 13 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 9 FT AT 12 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
NW WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING N AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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10/20 Liberal win, weather cams, Hood Canal shellfish, Shell oil trains

Kingfisher (Tony Angell/BirdNote)

Tony Angell Reflects on Nature
Tony Angell, gazing on Puget Sound, writes: "From the beach below, that evocative perfume of the sea, decaying kelp, is wafted up on the breeze... Near the shore, disputing kingfishers rattle in their mercenary manner, chasing one another... Behind me, in the woods, a Cooper's hawk chants and ravens chortle and croak, composing poems and telling jokes. For the moment, at least, all is right with the world." You can read more in Puget Sound Through an Artist's Eye. (BirdNote)

Justin Trudeau to be prime minister as Liberals surge to majority
Justin Trudeau will be Canada's next prime minister after leading the Liberal Party to a stunning majority government win, dashing the hopes of Stephen Harper, who had been seeking his fourth consecutive mandate, CBC News has projected. This will be the second time Canada will be led by a Trudeau, as the Liberal leader follows in the footsteps of his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who served as prime minister for almost 16 years before retiring in 1984. Mark Gollom reports. (CBC) Results: Everything you want to know about last night's election  (CBC) Election 2015: 5 B.C. storylines from election night  (CBC)

If you like to watch: Best Northwest Weather Webcams
One of the great advances in weather observations during the past few years has been the advent of high-definition weather webcams that allows one to enjoy high-resolution views of sky, usually including informative animations.    In addition, there has been an explosion of moderate-resolution webcams all over the region and nation that allows one to explore the weather virtually. Cliff Mass reports. (Weather Blog)

S’Klallam Tribe proposes shellfish nursery to aid Hood Canal
The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe is looking to boost the oyster population in Hood Canal by building a shellfish nursery. The Kitsap Sun reports the tribe has submitted a development permit for a 1-acre structure that would float in the middle of Port Gamble Bay and produce up to 12 million oysters annually. S’Klallam Natural Resources Director Paul McCollum says the oyster population in the Hood Canal has declined over the years, which scientists attribute to ocean acidification. He says the nursery would increase the survival rate. (Associated Press)

Residents raise concerns about additional oil trains
Hundreds of people gathered Monday in Lynnwood to raise concerns about Shell's plan to transport additional oil trains through the region. Crude oil shipments have been transported by train from Montana and North Dakota to Washington since 2012. But additional trains carrying crude oil to a proposed Shell Oil rail unloading facility in Anacortes is creating pushback from the public.  The new site would be approximately 50 acres and would include three miles of new train track. On Monday night there was a protest outside the Lynnwood Convention Center before a planned public hearing. Russ Bowen reports. (KOMO)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 241 AM PDT TUE OCT 20 2015
TODAY
SE WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
SE WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. SW SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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9/4 Pit-to-pier, culvert work, Dabob Bay woods, Inslee's climate plan

This September, Salish Sea News and Weather begins its 5th year of publishing its weekday news clippings. There are 537 subscribers receiving this post by email-- thank you for reading. The web link is tweeted and, depending on what interest it generates in retweets, web pageviews can range up to the hundreds. Some readers have asked how long I expect to continue Salish Sea News and Weather as a community service; my answer usually is for as long as I'm able to and as long as I'm interested in the health and well-being of the Salish Sea. (News paywalls are a bother but not insurmountable.) A few have asked if I'd ask for financial support from readers or advertisers; my answer has been that I'd prefer to remain as independent as I can and to continue this endeavor as a labor of love: I labor and readers love it if it pleases. Two things you, as reader, can do for this endeavor: the first is to let others who might be interested know they can subscribe for free and receive the compilation by email (compiling one posting and sending out to one reader is the same labor as sending out to a thousand); the second is to send me news and feature links (no polemics, however) you think other readers might find interesting. Thanks for your support! Mike Sato

Judge dismisses lawsuit against easement that blocks 'pit-to-pier' project on Hood Canal
A federal court judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the Navy challenging a conservation easement that would block development of a 998-foot pier and gravel-loading project sought by Hood Canal Sand and Gravel. U. S. District Judge Benjamin Settle on Tuesday granted a motion to dismiss, ruling that the Navy did not exceed its authority in granting the 55-year easement on state-owned tidelands along Hood Canal…. The easement is an agreement between the Navy and the state Department of Natural Resources announced in July 2014 that would block development on more than 4,800 acres of state land along Hood Canal, stretching from the Hood Canal Bridge south to just below the border between Jefferson and Mason counties. (Peninsula Daily News)

Progress made on fish barrier project on Highway 9
A bridge is taking shape where Highway 9 crosses Lake Creek near Lake McMurray, as work progresses on the state Department of Transportation’s first court-mandated culvert replacement project. Crews started pouring the concrete deck for the bridge last week, according to a Department of Transportation news release. The project is expected to be completed in mid-September. The $2.5 million Lake Creek project is one of many to come. In response to litigation between area tribes and the state, the U.S. District Court ruled in 2013 that undersized culverts on certain state lands must be fixed by 2030. The rule requires the Department of Transportation to correct 825 such culverts that are barriers to fish. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

State to buy 1,310 acres of forest land near Dabob Bay for $3.96 million
The state will buy 1,310 acres of working forest near Dabob Bay. The state Board of Natural Resources approved the $3.96 million purchase Tuesday. Jefferson County will receive $65,000 as compensation for lost tax revenue. The state Department of Natural Resources will purchase the land from Ecotrust Forest Management, an Oregon forest investment management and advisory services company. No recreational uses for the forest are planned, according to Bob Redling, DNR spokesman, although the public will be allowed to enter it. Mark Swanson reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Another strike against Inslee’s climate plans
A top state Republican lawmaker says Gov. Jay Inslee’s plan to use executive action to trim carbon emissions is not supported by state law, citing an informal opinion released this week by the state’s attorney general. The opinion concluded that specific targets for reducing climate changing gases, set in a 2008 law, are not legally binding. It’s the latest move in a two-year chess game between a green wonk governor who has made fighting climate change one of his top priorities, and a Republican-controlled Senate that says carbon emission caps will cripple state industries. John Stang reports. (Crosscut)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 236 AM PDT FRI SEP 4 2015
TODAY
E WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING NW IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
NW WIND 10 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
SAT
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING W 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES LESS 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 3 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING S AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. SW SWELL 4 FT AT 16 SECONDS.
SUN
SW WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING W 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. SW SWELL 3 FT AT 17 SECONDS.

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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8/10 Humpbacks, BC salmon, pinks, tribal fish, derelict gear, Hood Canal deal, shrimp spray, no tankers, mine waste

Humpback whale (NOAA)

If you like to listen: It Took A Musician's Ear To Decode The Complex Song In Whale Calls
Humpback whales don’t just sing songs — they compose with the whales around them, singing a song that changes, and evolves over time. Scientists didn’t know that until they started recording whale sounds in the 1960s and spent years listening…. Katy Payne, a researcher in acoustic biology at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and her husband Roger were the first scientists to realize that the intricate and eerie calls of some humpback whales are actually songs. Bill McQuay and Christopher Joyce report. (NPR)

Mountain School makes the magic of the wilderness real for kids
The three-day mountain camp strives to give school children a visceral connection to the Northwest wilderness. Ron Judd reports on the 25-year-old program by the North Cascades Institute. (Seattle Times) See also: Kids get outdoors in ‘Experience The Wild’ camp There is a summer camp where campers climb to the top of a mountain, then descend to the shores of the sea over the course of five days. Vince Richards reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

New blog: Into The (Sort Of) Wild
"I spent parts of this past weekend at Deception Pass State Park with a thousand or more campers. But with the right camera angles, it can still be remembered as a few days in a wildness of sorts. But what was the experience?…"

Salmon on Vancouver Island threatened by heat wave
River levels in Southern B.C. are at record lows and water temperatures are at record highs. This is threatening the millions of salmon coming home to spawn and the billion-dollar freshwater fishing industry that depends on healthy rivers. Greg Rasmussen reports. (CBC News)

Crews to prep Dungeness River this week for huge run of pink salmon
Work could begin this week on creating as hospitable an environment as possible for hordes of pink salmon expected to return to the Dungeness River later this month. A preseason prediction that 1.3 million pinks will return to the Dungeness this year may not come to pass, said Mike Gross, biologist with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, who is based in Montesano. That estimate was based on a run of 400,000 pinks in the Dungeness two years ago. (Peninsula Daily News)

Court upholds Suquamish’s right to share fishing with Tulalips
A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court’s decision that recognized the Suquamish Tribe’s rights to fish in Port Gardner and other nearby waters. The result is that the Tulalip Tribes, who had filed the appeal, will have to share those fishing grounds with the Suquamish, who are based across Puget Sound in Port Madison. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled July 27 that the Tulalip Tribes did not provide ample evidence that fishing grounds on the east side of Puget Sound should not be shared with the Suquamish. Chris Winters reports. (Everett Herald)

Traditional fishing revival launched by First Nations man
Almost a century after fishing practices unique to First Nations in B.C.'s Salish Sea were outlawed, members paddled canoes back to traditional waters and dropped their full-sized reef net. It was the start of a long-term mission to revitalize the once-celebrated technique for gathering food and bonding community for the Strait Salish people. The web-like net — about the length of a city bus — was suspended between two canoes in an endeavour by a University of Victoria doctoral student who envisions bringing his nation's fishing style "back to life." Tamsyn Burgmann reports. (Canadian Press)

Initiative’s feat: Ridding waters of nets
Knowing the deadly consequences abandoned fishing nets pose for marine life, a nonprofit has worked to remove 550 from Puget Sound this year alone. That brings to 5,600 the number of derelict nets the Northwest Straits Initiative and its partners have dragged out since 2002. The effect: restoring 800 acres of marine habitat. The group’s efforts to remove nets identified in shallow Puget Sound waters concluded in June. A celebration is scheduled Thursday in Everett to commemorate the milestone. Noah Haglund reports. (Everett Herald)

State won’t audit shoreline deal Navy got at half the $1.7M value
The acting state auditor has turned down a request by two state senators asking for an audit of a Hood Canal land-lease deal between the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Navy. As her reason, Auditor Jan Jutte cited a Jefferson County Superior Court judge’s opinion in May that said DNR had authority to grant the shoreline lease and that the way the agency determined its $720,000 value “was not arbitrary, capricious or unlawful.” (Seattle Times)

Back to the drawing board for control of oyster-killing shrimp
They’ve tried smashing, cementing, shocking and shaking them, but now that pesticides are off the table — at least temporarily — what’s the option for ridding oyster beds of ghost shrimp? Sandi Doughton reports. (Seattle Times) Meanwhile: Shellfish spraying in Willapa Bay continues — on clam beds  After neurotoxin controversy, oyster growers aren’t spraying to kill shrimp. But herbicide applications to kill nonnative eel grass are still allowed. Sandi Doughton reports. (Seattle Times)

Gabriola Island residents rally against tanker moorage proposal
Concerned residents of B.C.'s Gulf Islands are planning to round up their boats near Gabriola Island today to draw attention to a proposal to moor large vessels in the area….. The proposal comes from the Pacific Pilotage Authority of Canada, which says the new anchorage space is needed, partly because ships are getting larger… the authority's CEO Kevin Obermeyer says the authority is currently gathering more research on the issue and will hold a meeting with Gabriola Island residents in early 2016, after which they'll have 90 days to respond. (CBC)

EPA Says It Released 3 Million Gallons Of Contaminated Water Into River
In an event that has led to health warnings and turned a river orange, the Environmental Protection Agency says that one of its safety teams accidentally released contaminated water from a mine into the Animas River in southwest Colorado. The spill, which sent heavy metals, arsenic, and other contaminants into a waterway that flows into the San Juan National Forest, occurred on Wednesday. The EPA initially said that 1 million gallons of wastewater had been released, but that figure has risen sharply.  (NPR, KUNC)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON AUG 10 2015
TODAY
VARIABLE WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS.  W SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT AND TUE
VARIABLE WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

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8/3 Toxin rule, Vibrio, drought, Navy deal, BC spill, Shell drill, BC derailment, North Cr., Kayak Pt., Duwamish

(PHOTO: Laurie MacBride)

Summer School for Seals
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "Perhaps we resembled kindly grandparents. Or perhaps the distance around our boat was just right to safely challenge a young harbour seal. Whatever the reason, we were delighted that out of half a dozen boats anchored in the bay that day, Momma Seal chose ours for her pup’s swimming lesson…."

Water quality rules might be up to feds after Inslee drops rewrite
Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday scrapped a major rewrite of the state's clean water rules, opening the door for the federal government to impose its standard on the state. Inslee, in a much- anticipated decision, directed the state Department of Ecology to not proceed with a stricter water quality standard based in part on how much fish people consume. He explained in a press release that updating this standard was part of his two-prong approach to cleaning up the state's water ways. The other prong — a bill aimed at keeping toxins from being released into rivers by regulating the source of the pollutants — failed to pass in the Legislature this year. Jerry Cornfield reports. (Everett Herald) See also: Inslee backs off water-quality standards; his next move is unclear  Christopher Dunagan reports. (Watching Our Water Ways)

B.C. weather linked to 'unprecedented' rates of illness from raw oysters
n unprecedented number of people in British Columbia reported raw shellfish-related illnesses in June and July, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) said Friday. The majority of the 35 cases of Vibrio parahaemolyticus-related infections reported were traced to B.C. oysters served raw in restaurants, the BCCDC said…. Warmer ocean temperatures in the summer mean higher concentrations of the naturally-occurring bacteria are generally found at this time, and this year's unseasonably high temperatures could be contributing to the rise in contamination levels, the BCCDC notes. (CBC)

B.C. drought restrictions expanded for fishing, agriculture
Drought conditions are forcing the provincial government to ban fishing and impose water restrictions for farms in parts of southern British Columbia in a bid to help fish stocks through a hot, dry summer. The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations is suspending fishing in streams for most of Vancouver Island because of low flows and high water temperatures. Beginning on Aug. 4, the only rivers or streams where people will be allowed to fish are the Campbell, Qualicum and Quinsam rivers. The ministry has also restricted water use on farms in B.C.'s Interior in a bid to help salmon that are expected to begin spawning soon on the Coldwater River south of Merritt, where water levels are low because of dry weather. (Canadian Press)

State senators want investigation of Commissioner Goldmark over ‘low’ lease deal
Two Washington state senators have asked the acting state auditor to investigate Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark for an “artificially low” deal with the Navy restricting shoreline development in the Hood Canal. State Sen. Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch, in a letter to Acting State Auditor Jan Jutte Thursday, wrote: “As reported by The Times, Commissioner Goldmark agreed to an artificially low price on a lease of state aquatic bedlands in the Hood Canal.” State Sen. Mark Miloscia, R-Federal Way, also signed the letter. Will Drabold reports. (Seattle Times)

'Confusion', 'miscommunication' slowed Vancouver fuel spill response: report
Misunderstandings, uncertainty and technical difficulties slowed the emergency response to a toxic fuel spill in Vancouver's English Bay by nearly two hours, a review has found. The review released Friday also found that Canadian Coast Guard staff were unsure of their roles and a faulty provincial alert system meant the city was not notified until 12 hours later. "The MV Marathassa incident was an operational discharge of a persistent fuel oil with high consequences," said report author John Butler. "The response was delayed by one hour and 49 minutes due to confusion of roles and responsibilities, miscommunications and technology issues." Laura Kane reports. (Canadian Press)

Judge says Port of Seattle free to host Shell rigs
The much-disputed lease of Port of Seattle property as a base for Shell’s Arctic drilling fleet was affirmed Friday by a King County Superior Court judge who ruled that the Port didn’t need to conduct an environmental review to use Terminal 5 for that purpose. Coral Garnick reports. (Seattle Times)

Refineries face more liability for wastewater permit violations
A Court of Appeals decision filed at the end of July will increase liability for refineries that fail a wastewater discharge test. In 2012, three environmental organizations appealed language in state Department of Ecology permits for the BP oil refinery at Cherry Point that allowed the refinery to fail whole effluent toxicity tests (WET) without it being a permit violation. WET tests measure the impact of all pollutants in a sample of wastewater on living aquatic animals and are an important component of water quality standards, according to a news release. Shelby Rowe reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Greenhouse gas: Obama to order steeper cuts for power plants
 President Barack Obama will impose even steeper cuts on greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants than previously expected, senior administration officials said Sunday, in what the president called the most significant step the U.S. has ever taken to fight global warming. A year after proposing unprecedented carbon dioxide limits, Obama was poised to finalize the rule at a White House event on Monday…. Opponents vowed to sue immediately, and planned to ask the courts to put the rule on hold while legal challenges play out. Many states have threatened not to comply. (Associated Press)

CP crews dealing with coal train derailment near Sparwood, B.C.
A Canadian Pacific Railway freight train carrying coal has derailed near the southeastern British Columbia community of Sparwood. Eighteen cars went off the tracks in the accident at about 3:30 p.m. Friday. (Canadian Press)

Environmental concerns void Bothell development ordinance
A Bothell ordinance to allow increased residential development in the environmentally sensitive North Creek watershed has been rejected by a state Growth Management Hearings Board…. Longtime environmental activists in the city challenged the council’s approval of a November 2014 ordinance that reduced standards for preserving forest cover, eliminated limits on impervious surfaces and allowed for more extensive site excavation. They argued the new ordinance would irreparably harm the watershed, about 220 acres that include streams as well as North Creek, which support spawning runs of coho salmon and steelhead. Lynn Thompson reports. (Seattle Times)

$2.6M Skagit River levee repair project starts Monday
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will start work Monday to repair 4,050 feet of the Skagit River levee system at nine sites. The $2.6 million project, which includes levees within four diking districts, is expected to be complete in mid-September. The corps and dike districts cost-share the project, paying 80 and 20 percent respectively. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

State regulators break precedent with OK of Island County net pen ban
Washington’s Department of Ecology is willing to let Island County ban fish farming from its waters, but only temporarily. In a reversal of position, the Ecology Department said in June that the county’s Shoreline Master Program (SMP) can continue its ban on so-called net pen aquaculture, but added that the prohibition will likely not be permanent. Dan Richman reports. (South Whidbey Record)

Study at Kayak Point Park will determine if clamming can return
Biologists and volunteers took to the beach last week to dig up, identify, measure and weigh clams at Kayak Point Park. The Pacific Shellfish Institute and Stillaguamish River Clean Water District have partnered to study clam populations along that stretch of shoreline. Research biologists with the shellfish institute are investigating whether Kayak Point could be seeded with clam larvae and eventually reopened for public digging. They plan to have a feasibility study done by the end of the year. Kari Bray reports. (Everett Herald)

$500,000 send-off for Greater Victoria sewage program boss  
The head of the Seaterra sewage program will walk away with almost $500,000 in severance pay at the end of September. Despite the payout, the decision to terminate Seaterra’s remaining project staff — including Albert Sweetnam — was made to cut losses, said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps…. Sweetnam was hired on a five-year contract in 2013 to manage a staff of more than 20 people. His $290,000 annual salary put him at the top of the Capital Regional District’s salary list for 2014. Amy Smart reports. (Times Colonist)

‘Duwamish Revealed’ project means to inspire river’s revitalization
An eclectic series of public-art installations and performances along Seattle’s Duwamish River this summer is meant to draw attention to clean up efforts and the value of the city’s waterway. Andie Waterman reports. (Seattle Times)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON AUG 3 2015
TODAY
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 3 FT AT 6 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING SW TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 3 FT AT 6 SECONDS...BUILDING TO W
 5 FT AT 6 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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7/15 Orcas, Navy easement, Shell drill, undersea habitat, WDFW priorities, toilet-to-tap

(PHOTO: Laurie MacBride)

Protecting our Coastal “Salad Bowl”
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "While our planet’s oceans are clearly facing serious health challenges these days, we’re fortunate that many marine and coastal habitats are still alive and relatively healthy. In our little corner of the world, the Salish Sea teems with life in many places, including some of the shores of Haro Strait at the southeastern end of Vancouver Island…."

Listening To Orcas: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us
If you ever thought of Puget Sound Orcas as some kind of magical being, you’re not alone. A new book by local author and investigative journalist David Neiwert details some of their most impressive qualities. “Of Orcas and Men –What Killerwhales Can Teach Us” weaves personal narratives with the latest science. Neiwert says killer whales also have an advanced underwater culture that demonstrates values he thinks humans could learn a lot from. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KPLU)

Navy easement on hold until lawsuit settled
The Navy has suspended its application for a restrictive easement along Hood Canal’s Kitsap County shoreline until a lawsuit over a similar easement on the Jefferson County side is settled. Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor applied with the state Department of Natural Resources in August 2013 for an easement from the Hood Canal bridge south to the county line near Holly that would prohibit new commercial wharves, piers, docks and floats. It would comprise a strip of state-owned bedlands from 18 feet below the average low tide to 70 feet down. Ed Friedrich reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Groups want Shell's Arctic plans stopped after ship damaged
Ten environmental groups say a missing icebreaker should be a deal-breaker for Arctic offshore drilling by Royal Dutch Shell PLC off Alaska's northwest coast. The groups in a letter Tuesday called on Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to reject permits sought by Shell to drill in the Chukchi Sea because of the absence of the 380-foot icebreaker Fennica while it undergoes repairs…. The groups signing the letter to Jewell are the Alaska Wilderness League, Center for Biological Diversity, League of Conservation Voters, Oceana, Audubon Alaska, Greenpeace USA, Ocean Conservancy, Natural Resource Defense Council, Northern Alaska Environmental Center and Sierra Club. Dan Joling reports. (Associated Press) See also: Key Piece Of Shell's Arctic Drilling Fleet Headed To Portland For Repairs  Cassandra Profita reports. (EarthFix)

Dreaming of an undersea habitat off the coast of Vancouver
Phil Nuytten is not the first person to dream of setting up an undersea habitat, but the businessman is in a rare club of people with an adequate supply of diving suits, mini subs and other equipment to possibly get it done. Over a career that began when he set up a Vancouver-area dive shop at age 15, the president of Nuytco Research Limited has accumulated gear that includes Iron Man-style suits that allow diving to depths of 1,000 feet without subsequent decompression…. But he is also dreaming of something much more ambitious: an undersea habitat about 200 feet below the surface near Vancouver that would serve as a pilot project for a deeper outpost to mine undersea vents. Ian Bailey reports. (Globe and Mail)

The Warm Pacific Helps Keep the Northwest Toasty
Climate scientist Cliff Mass writes: "If one looks at the recent temperatures at Northwest stations for the past month,  one is struck by the fact the minimum temperatures have persistently shifted towards warmer temperatures….  One reason is that we have had very warm water off our coast; the air reaching us has to transverse this warm H2O…." (Weather Blog)

Shellfish management, poaching a WDFW priority
Shellfish poaching is an expensive problem. In a two-hour tide, a poacher can make anywhere from $200 to $800 and sell their take at a reduced price, edging out legitimate businesses. Even worse, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) enforcement are in constant pursuit and they can't catch every offender. This and other findings were shared with a group of about 30 people in a presentation by the WDFW's Rich Childers and Mike Cenci at the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce member lunch meeting Monday, July 13. Jonathan Glover reports. (Port Townsend Leader)

San Diego's unusual water recycling program
San Diego’s $3.5 billion plan to fight the drought by recycling sewage into drinking water is forcing state regulators to rewrite their water recycling rule book. State rules call for purified sewer water to be pumped into large natural basins under ground before it can enter the local water supply, partly because that’s how it’s done where water recycling essentially began in Orange County. San Diego’s lack of adequate groundwater basins and aquifers, however, will force local officials to pump the recycled water directly into city reservoirs. David Garrick reports. (San Diego Union Tribune)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 248 AM PDT WED JUL 15 2015
TODAY
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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6/29 Drought, Navy in Hood Canal, geoducks, conservation fund, humpbacks, gas tax, McTaggart Cowan

Don Moyer’s Sketchbook
(moyersketchbook.blogspot.com/2013/07/fish.html)

Running dry: Drought sparks concerns over fish survival
The mountains are bare. The streams are low. The banks of the Skagit River are exposed…. This year’s drought will be worse than the last statewide drought in 2005, and the region’s fisheries are expected to suffer. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald) See also: Warming Northwest Rivers Raise Risk Of Fish Kills  Courtney Flatt reports. (EarthFix) And also: B.C. heat wave sparks worries about wildfires, water supplies and fish habitats Gemma Karstens-Smith reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Navy stealthily targets Hood Canal development
The U.S. Navy has quietly restricted development across thousands of acres of water and land near Hood Canal in western Puget Sound. Last year, in the name of national security, the Navy may have gone too far. Will Drabold reports. (Seattle Times)

Harvesting geoducks is lucrative, but it's also brutally hard work
The sound of labored breathing crackles over the radio aboard the fishing boat Rawdeal on an overcast morning in late May. Anchored about 100 yards off the eastern coastline of Whidbey Island, within sight of the Clinton ferry landing, the crew on the 26-foot aluminum fishing boat is after geoduck. The giant clams, which grow wild in the Pacific Northwest, are pound for pound the most-valuable seafood being harvested from Puget Sound today. Ian Terry reports. (Everett Herald)

Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund gets tangled in politics
Two members of the Washington’s congressional delegation — Reps. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, and Dave Reichert, R-Auburn — are expressing confidence that the Land and Water Conservation Fund will be reauthorized. But with so many dollars on the line for conservation purposes, many supporters are growing nervous about when it will happen and what the final bill will look like. After all, what could possibly go wrong in a Congress famous for getting nothing done, with less than 100 days left to go before the law expires? Chris Dunagan reports. (Watching Our Water Ways)

Humpback whale entanglement an international problem
Four humpback whales have been found entangled in fishing gear in the last two weeks, with one near Powell River effectively "hog-tied" and anchored to the ocean floor, says Fisheries and Oceans Canada. "It was amazing how wrapped up it was. The tail had significant wraps, loose rope and ends all over. Then it was actually up, underneath the body, through the mouth three times," said Paul Cottrell, Marine Mammals Coordinator, and lead whale disentangler for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. (CBC)

Lawmakers reach deal on gas tax increase, transportation funding
State lawmakers have reached a deal to raise the gas tax to pay for highway improvements, with leaders from both parties saying they’re optimistic lawmakers will approve a package by Tuesday. Gov. Jay Inslee said Sunday that he would accept a deal even if it restricts his ability to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from gasoline and diesel fuel — wiping out the biggest point of contention on the highway and mass-transit package. Jordan Schrader and Melissa Santos report. (Olympian)

Ecologist’s archive offers a glimpse of B.C. wilderness
A lifetime of material compiled by Ian McTaggart Cowan — known as the “father of Canadian ecology” — has found a home at the University of Victoria. McTaggart Cowan, who died in 2010 at the age of 99, came to Canada from Scotland with his family at age three and grew up in North Vancouver. He was UVic’s chancellor from 1979 to 1984, taught for 35 years at the University of B.C. and worked at what is now the Royal B.C. Museum. Jeff Bell reports. (Times Colonist)

If you like to watch: First Nations war-canoe races return to Victoria's harbour
The first war-canoe race in more than 100 years took place place Saturday in Victoria's Inner Harbour. Five First nations from across Vancouver Island kicked off the event with traditional dances and ceremonial blessings. (CBC)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON JUN 29 2015
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING NW 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS...BUILDING TO 1 TO 3 FT IN THE
 AFTERNOON. W SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 9 SECONDS.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html

6/12 Sea Aquarium, Shell $, Hood Canal, more coal, BC LNG, Vic sewer, saving steelhead, EPA rule, parking lot

Seattle Aquarium

Seattle Aquarium aims to make splash with huge expansion
The Seattle Aquarium is planning a grand expansion that will add at least 40 percent more exhibit space and cost at least $90 million to build. The expanded aquarium will be equipped to attract nearly twice as many visitors as today along the future park-like post-viaduct waterfront. Steve Goldsmith reports. (Puget Sound Business Journal)

Port commissioner getting donations from executives involved in Shell deal
As Port of Seattle Commissioner Bill Bryant raises money for his gubernatorial campaign, he’s getting help from executives in companies involved in the deal to bring Shell Oil drilling equipment to a Seattle port terminal. Bryant, a Republican who declared his run last month to challenge Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, has received $2,500 in campaign donations from Paul Stevens, CEO of Foss Maritime, according to campaign filings. Records also show that Mark Tabbutt, listed as the chairman of Saltchuk Resources, the maritime conglomerate that owns Foss, has given $1,500. Joseph O'Sullivan reports. (Seattle Times)

New website reveals strategies for improving Hood Canal ecosystem
If you want to know how the Hood Canal Coordinating Council is working to protect and restore Hood Canal, take a look at a new website created by the council. It is called OurHoodCanal.org. The website is an attractive and functional companion to the “Hood Canal Integrated Watershed Plan” (PDF 325 kb), a five-year strategic plan focused on programs that can be accomplished by the coordinating council and its members. Hood Canal Coordinating Council is made up of county commissioners from Kitsap, Mason and Jefferson counties, along with leaders from the Skokomish and Port Gamble S’Klallam tribes. Christopher Dunagan reports. (Watching Our Water Ways)

Coal is coming: Wyoming company aims to ship 24M tons of coal through Washington ports
If the terminals in Longview and Bellingham are approved, more than 20 million tons of coal a year could move through them. That's just from one company. Washington state is well positioned to become the next major hub for oil and gas refinement and exporting because of its proximity to Asia. Now, the coal industry wants in on the action. Wyoming-based Cloud Peak Energy Resources LLC (NYSE: CLD), a major player in U.S. coal mining, wants to see the contentious proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal in Bellingham and Millennium Bulk Terminal in Longview, Wash. developed. Then, it wants to use the terminals to ship huge quantities of coal to Asia. Sarah Aitchison reports. (Puget Sound Business Journal)

Petronas-led group gives conditional okay for B.C. LNG project
A Malaysian-led consortium has given conditional approval to press ahead with plans to export B.C. liquefied natural gas. State-owned Petronas and its Asian partners said Thursday that the Pacific NorthWest LNG joint venture will proceed, subject to the completion this fall of a federal environmental assessment of the terminal to be built near Prince Rupert in northern British Columbia…. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) launched its review of Pacific NorthWest LNG in April, 2013, but has halted the process several times since then because the regulator sought more information from the proponent. Brent Jang reports. (Globe and Mail)

Eight sites favoured for Victoria’s sewage plant
Eight sites, including Clover Point and the University of Victoria, are considered to have a high level of public support for at least a secondary sewage-treatment plant, according to results of a public consultation. Victoria, Saanich and Oak Bay are in the midst of deciding where to build a sewage-treatment plant with the hope of narrowing down sites by the end of this month…. The eight top-ranked sites are: four spots in the Rock Bay area, including a public works yard, sites owned by B.C. Hydro and Transport Canada, and privately owned land; coast guard land beside Ogden Point; Clover Point; the University of Victoria; and the Saanich public works yard. Cindy E. Harnett reports. (Times Colonist)

Steeled courage from state lawmakers needed for steelhead habitat
A last legislative push is needed to save Nisqually River’s storied steelhead run. If you want to know why Puget Sound salmon are disappearing, you need to head upstream. In the case of the Nisqually River’s vanishing wild steelhead, 40 miles upstream. It’s here, high on the western flank of Mount Rainier, you’ll find Busy Wild Creek, the upper reach for spawning steelhead. Mark Higgins writes. (Seattle Times) See also: Fate of Pierce County’s steelhead in the balance  Matt Driscoll writes. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Clean Water Rule Celebrated As Advocates Launch Renewed Campaign To Keep It Intact
The wetlands and tributaries which supply major waterways also must be protected, the federal Environmental Protection Agency ruled last month when it expanded the Clean Water Act to regulate upstream pollution.  This expansion the landmark 1972 environmental law -- which has joint backing from the Army Corps of Engineers -- was celebrated in Seattle Thursday by a handful of  environmental advocacy groups including WASHPIRG  and Environment Washington.  They joined EPA Region 10 Administrator Dennis McLerran  at the Fremont Brewing Company to talk about the importance of clean water for businesses such as micro-breweries and agriculture. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KPLU)

County shows off its low-impact development parking lot
When Skagit County Public Works employee Randy Nelson released 2,200 gallons of water from the holding tank of a water truck Thursday, some onlookers had the urge to flee to keep from getting their feet wet. But they didn’t have to. The water disappeared in seconds into the surface of a parking lot outside the Skagit County government offices, leaving only a ring of alder seeds as proof it was spilled. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI JUN 12 2015
TODAY
NW WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING W 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 14 SECONDS...
 SUBSIDING TO 6 FT AT 14 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
SAT
W WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
SUN
LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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4/15 Spilled oil, Navy tow, Shell drill, oil tax, toxic fish, Saanich bylaw, Bainbridge SMP, Kply, climate, protected puffins, orca noise, Deschutes cleanup, kelp study, Dick Goin, tsunami

English Bay oil (Vancouver Aquarium/CBC)

Vancouver oil spill was small but 'nasty' and spread quickly
The oil spill in Vancouver's English Bay last week was relatively small, but the highly toxic bunker fuel spread quickly, and will keep washing up on beaches, said city manager Penny Ballem in an update to council. Ballem said it's still not clear exactly how much Bunker C fuel oil spilled from the grain ship Marathassa on April 8, despite estimates from the coast guard that approximately 2,700 litres were released. But Ballem said the fuel is highly toxic and very viscose or thick, so it forms globs that are carried to distant beaches, including some 12 kilometres away from the spill site at New Brighton Park in East Vancouver. Lisa Johnson reports. (CBC) See also: Vancouver oil spill stops recreational shellfish and groundfish fishing  Lisa Johnson reports. (CBC) See also: B.C. minister says Coast Guard took more than a day to take control of Vancouver fuel spill  Sunny Dhillon and Justine Hunter report. (Globe and Mail)

Navy cargo ship towed into Port Angeles Harbor after losing power in Strait
A Navy Military Sealift Command cargo ship was towed into Port Angeles on Saturday after it lost power overnight in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The 685-foot Cape Intrepid was undergoing sea trials after a long period docked in Tacoma when it lost power about 2:30 a.m. Saturday north of Clallam Bay in Canadian waters, according to the Coast Guard. Clallam Bay is 50 miles west of Port Angeles. Coast Guard Lt. Ben Weber said the Cape Intrepid drifted about two miles before the emergency tug Jeffrey Foss reached it approximately two hours later. (Peninsula Daily News)

Coast Guard creates ‘First Amendment zone’ in Puget Sound for anti-Shell protests
he U.S. Coast Guard, with help from activist groups, has identified an informal  “First Amendment Zone,” just north of Terminal 5, where protesters can take to the water against Shell Oil’s Arctic drilling fleet when it arrives at the Port of Seattle. “I didn’t choose this area:  I gave them a chart and asked them where they wanted to be,” Capt. Joe Raymond, captain of the port, said Tuesday. Raymond initiated a meeting on Monday with organizers of a “sea of kayaks” protest. He described the zone as “an excellent place” for protesters wishing a high-visibility presence while not interfering with ferries, tugs and other marine traffic in the harbor. Still, a key player in the anti-Shell protests — Greenpeace — says no accord was reached at the meeting on where sea-borne protests can take place. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com) See also: Headed to Seattle, controversial Arctic drill rig will stop in Port Angeles on Friday  Chris McDaniel reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

House OKs bill to increase tax on oil shipped through state
The state House on Tuesday passed its version of a bill to impose new safety regulations on the increasing amount of oil that is shipped through Washington by rail, boat and pipeline. A modified version of a bill that cleared the Senate in March passed the House with a 58-40 bipartisan vote. The Senate version extended a barrel tax to fund oil cleanups. In that version, the barrel tax is applied to all oil that enters Washington by train but exempts oil that travels by pipelines. Derrick Nunnally reports. (Associated Press) See also: Rules on oil train, pipeline safety not moving fast enough, lawmakers say  Curtis Tate reports. (McClatchy)

Reducing toxics in fish involves politics, maybe more than science
When it comes to eliminating toxic pollution from our waterways and the foods we eat, almost everyone agrees that the best idea is to track down the chemicals, find out how they are getting into the environment and then make decisions about how to handle the situation. It’s all common sense until politics comes into play. Chris Dunagan reports. (Watching Our Water Ways)

Lobby group opposes Saanich environmental protection bylaw
About a dozen Saanich residents have created a lobby group against an environmental protection bylaw they say might reduce property values for no reason. The Environmental Development Permit Area bylaw intends to protect sensitive natural areas by requiring homeowners to obtain permits for everything from disturbing soil to building a deck. The goal is to protect areas of high biodiversity, as well as require restoration to damaged and degraded ecosystems during development. But Saanich Citizens for a Responsible EDPA, as the newly formed lobby group is called, says the process for identifying land was flawed. Areas with little ecological value are protected, while others might not have been flagged, they say. Amy Smart reports. (Times Colonist)

Hearings board rejects challenge to Bainbridge SMP
A growth management hearings board has ruled in favor of the city of Bainbridge Island in a challenge over the city's controversial Shoreline Management Master Program. A group of shoreline property owners had filed a challenge to the city's updated plan in October, and claimed it violated state law, conflicted with Bainbridge's development regulations and also ran afoul of the city's and the park district's comprehensive plans. In the April 6 decision, the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board said the group did not prove its case. (Bainbridge Review)

State Department of Ecology: Cleanup of former plywood mill site in Port Angeles could be finished by September 2016
Cleanup of the former KPly mill site on the Port Angeles Harbor could be finished as soon as September 2016, although pollutants could linger there another three decades. Those contaminants, however, will be capped, excavated and trucked off, consumed by bacteria or ventilated away by any future user of the 19 acres at 439 Marine Drive in Port Angeles, about two dozen people at a community meeting were told Wednesday. James Casey reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Cliff Mass Explains How Climate Change Will Impact Northwest Weather In the Next Century
Cliff Mass is one of the region’s clearest communicators about the weather. We talked this week about the impacts of climate change in the next century. He has indicated in the past that we are relatively lucky when it comes to climate change. But there will be changes, in the future. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KPLU)

Warm ‘blob’ off our coast may explain weird weather
A gargantuan blob of warm water that’s been parked off the West Coast for 18 months is part of a larger pattern that helps explain California’s drought, Washington’s snow-starved ski resorts and record blizzards in New England, according to new analyses by Seattle scientists. The researchers aren’t convinced global warming is to blame, which puts them at odds with other experts who suspect Arctic melting upset the “polar vortex” and contributed to the misery on the East Coast the past two winters. Sandi Doughton reports. (Seattle Times)

New Ferry Ready To Serve San Juans Beginning June 14
The brand new, 144-car ferry Samish is set to officially take its place amid Washington state’s world-class ferry system. The new ferry will begin service on the Anacortes/San Juan Islands route Sunday, June 14, just in time for the start of the summer sailing season. On Friday, April 10,  2015 Washington State Ferries accepted the Samish from builder/contractor Vigor Industrial following two months of sea trials and crew training. (San Juan Islander)

State protection changes for puffins, sea lions
Tufted puffins will soon get more protection on the state endangered species list, while Steller sea lions will be removed from the list. The state Fish and Wildlife Commission approved the changes last week. Tufted puffins are native seabirds once considered common along parts of the coast, according to a Fish and Wildlife news release. In recent decades, the population has significantly declined. Now that the bird is listed, Fish and Wildlife will develop a plan to help the species recover. Steller sea lions are being removed from the list because the population has rebounded in recent years. Some protection will be maintained at the state level and under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, but the sea lions will no longer be listed as threatened. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Orcas Are Shouting Over Boat Noise – And It Might Be Making Them Hungry
Picture yourself at a noisy bar. You realize that you have been shouting at your date all night in order to be heard. Well, orcas in Puget Sound are in kind of the same situation. Marla Holt, a research biologist with NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center, has found that loud boat noise forces endangered orcas to raise the volume of their calls. But the question, Holt says, is "so what? What are the biological consequences of them doing this?” To answer that question, Holt and her NOAA colleague, Dawn Noren, a research fishery biologist, studied captive bottlenose dolphins. Ashley Ahearn reports. (KUOW)

Input sought on draft plan to clean up Deschutes watershed
Thurston County's growing population has contributed to a decline in Deschutes River water quality. The Department of Ecology has released a draft water cleanup plan for the river, and is hosting public meetings to gather comment over the next six weeks. The draft plan looks at the daily load of pollution that enters the river above Tumwater Falls and on streams flowing to Budd Inlet. A second phase later will look at water quality in Capitol Lake and Budd Inlet. The report found a number of factors contributing to a decrease in water quality, including warmer water temperatures, high bacteria and sediment levels, and low levels of dissolved oxygen. (Olympian)

Our lives and livelihoods depend on saving the Salish Sea
Over the past 200 years, humans have drastically altered the Salish Sea to a degree previously associated only with the geological creation of ecosystems. As a result, we have diminished the ecosystem’s ability to provide for us. Audrey DeLella Benedict and Joseph K. Gaydos authors, “The Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest.” (Seattle Times)

Hood Canal kelp studied for future of ocean life
Researchers are planning to grow 3 acres of sugar kelp north of the Hood Canal Bridge in an effort to save shellfish, and thereby larger ocean life. "Sugar kelp is a native species. It grows naturally here in Puget Sound," said Puget Sound Restoration Fund Executive Director Betsy Peabody. PSRF received a $1.5 million grant from the Paul Allen Family Foundation to conduct the research in partnership with NOAA and the Washington State Department of Resources. (KING)

Dick Goin, defender of Elwha River salmon, dies at age of 83
Dick Goin, who gave voice to the Elwha River's salmon, has died. Services are pending for Goin (pronounced GOH-in), 83, who died of natural causes Sunday night at his Port Angeles home surrounded by family members, said Marie, his wife of 64 years, on Tuesday. The Goins received the Clallam County Community Service Award in 2007 and the Eleanor Stopps Environmental Leadership Award from the Port Townsend Marine Science Center in September 2011. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Fast walking could spare thousands from NW tsunami, study says
A new analysis shows more than 100,000 people are at risk from a tsunami on the Northwest coast — but the outlook isn’t uniformly grim. In many communities, residents should be able to make it to high ground in time simply by walking at a brisk pace. Tsunami surges are expected to slam into some parts of the coast within 15 to 30 minutes of an earthquake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone, the offshore fault where two tectonic plates collide. Published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the analysis takes the most comprehensive look yet at the threat along the 700-mile-long coast of Washington, Oregon and Northern California — and finds surprising variability. Sandi Doughton reports. (Seattle Times)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 230 AM PDT WED APR 15 2015
TODAY
SW WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
S WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 7 FT AT 12 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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