1/12 BC oil pipe, Navy war games, Thornton Cr., dead orca, Vic sewer, shellfish price

Song Sparrow (Eugene Beckes/BirdNote)

Sparrows Kick, Robins Pick
If you watch backyard birds, you will likely see some characteristic behaviors. One example is "foraging" styles — the behaviors that a bird uses to find food. Some birds, such as sparrows, are famous for their "double-scratch" behavior. The bird jumps forward and back, quite quickly...twice. In each forward jump, the bird lightly hooks leaf litter with its toes. Each return jump pulls the litter aside to expose the food underneath. Other species of birds, like robins, use their bills to simply grab leaf litter and toss it aside. Two strategies, one goal: expose and grab that food! (BirdNote)

New blog: Why “Tug Weather" And Tugs?
A reader of this Salish Sea News and Weather news blog this past weekend asked why the news clippings end with report of the “tug weather” forecast for the west end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. To explain: The daily “tug weather” report keeps our focus on one of the most vulnerable places in our Sound and Straits where large vessel mishaps would prove disastrous….

Kinder Morgan says pipeline plan isn’t dead, despite provincial opposition
Kinder Morgan maintains its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion isn’t dead yet, despite the B.C. government announcing that it would oppose the $6.8-billion plan because it does not meet the province’s five conditions. The province laid out five conditions in 2012 that it said all oil pipeline projects would have to meet before they would be allowed in B.C., which included requirements for a “world-leading” prevention and response plans if a pipeline fails on land or if oil is spilled into any rivers, lakes or the ocean. The B.C. government said in a submission to the National Energy Board on Monday that it didn’t believe Kinder Morgan had provided evidence that it had met those goals. But Ian Anderson, Kinder Morgan Canada president, said the company expects it will be able to satisfy the province’s demands by this August, with hopes of an order-in-council from the federal government by this fall. Kelly Sinoski reports. (Vancouver Sun) See also: Burnaby mayor asks Trudeau to halt Trans Mountain pipeline hearings  Brent Jang and Jeffrey Jones report. (Globe and Mail)

Navy Uses US Citizens as Pawns in Domestic War Games
Beginning in mid-January, Navy SEALs will be practicing unannounced and clandestine combat beach landings across Washington State's Puget Sound and many other coastal areas of that state. The simulated combat exercises, which will include the use of mini-submarines and other landing craft, will deposit Navy SEALs carrying "simulated weapons" on 68 beach and state park areas in Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Washington's west coast, unbeknownst to most of the relevant government agencies tasked with overseeing these areas. Internal Navy emails, two slide shows [http://truthoutdocs.cloudaccess.net/documents/1_US-Navy-Seals-training-NSWG3-Training-REQs_FINAL_19AUG15-MP.pdf and http://truthoutdocs.cloudaccess.net/documents/2_US-Navy-Seals-training-NSWG3-Training-REQs_CATEX-FY-16NW-Finals.pdf] and other documents obtained exclusively by Truthout reveal the vast extent of the operations. They also reveal the fact that the Navy labeled the relevant files as "For Official Use Only" and emails as "Attorney-Client privilege," a move that exempts such documents from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Dahr Jamail reports. (Truthout) See also: Navy considering SEAL training at Point Defiance, state parks  Adam Ashton reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Thornton Creek gets a makeover from the ground up
Seattle Public Utilities is taking a new and experimental approach to improving the health of Seattle’s biggest urban stream…. The land, surface waters and in-stream and subsurface flows all are connected. So as Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) works to restore Thornton Creek, the city’s largest urban stream, a new idea has been in the works: Why not start at the bottom, and — with a little help from the healthy Cedar River — reassemble and reconnect all the pieces of the watershed, and see what happens? Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Orca calf found dead on Vancouver Island beach from Alaska, says Vancouver Aquarium
An orca calf found dead on a beach on the west coast of Vancouver Island has been identified through DNA as a member of the Gulf of Alaska's transient population. The Vancouver Aquarium compared a tissue sample from the female with other samples from the Alaskan population to make the link. Less is know about the Gulf of Alaska killer whales than the resident orcas that inhabit the waters off British Columbia, but the whales are known to spend time off the province's coast. (CBC)

Revisit building sewage plant in Esquimalt, Oak Bay mayor urges
Arguing there are potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in savings to be had, Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen says the Capital Regional District should revisit the idea of locating a regional sewage treatment plant in Esquimalt…. Jensen has given notice that he wants the CRD’s sewage technical oversight panel and CRD staff to examine the feasibility of locating a single treatment plant — within existing zoning — at either McLoughlin Point or Macaulay Point in Esquimalt. If the panel concludes more land is needed, inquiries would be made with the federal government about acquiring needed land from the Department of National Defence, Jensen’s motion says. The motion will be debated by the core area liquid waste committee in two weeks. Bill Cleverley reports. (Times Colonist)

Pacific shellfish set for price hike as ocean acidity keeps rising
B.C. shellfish producers and restaurant owners are bracing themselves for another price hike for the Pacific delicacies as ocean acidification makes it more difficult for oysters, mussels and scallops to survive. Shawn Chesney, owner of Oyster Express Restaurant, noted that the prices of shellfish have gone up 20 per cent to 30 per cent in the past three years. It’s expected to jump again this year, although by how much is not yet clear. Daisy Xiong reports. (Globe and Mail)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  300 AM PST TUE JAN 12 2016    
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON  

TODAY  E WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 10 FT AT  14 SECONDS. RAIN.

TONIGHT  E WIND 10 TO 20 KT BECOMING SW 5 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.  WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 12 FT AT 13 SECONDS. RAIN.

--
"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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1/11 Salmon virus, whale poop, shrimp toxin, BC oil pipes, lege talk, Dupont pollution, KPLU campaign

(PHOTO: CBC)

Deadly salmon virus may be in B.C. waters, study suggests
Evidence of a deadly virus that has caused severe damage to the Atlantic salmon farming industry has been discovered in some farmed and wild B.C. salmon, according to a new study. Biologist Alexandra Morton of the Raincoast Research Society worked with statistician Richard Routledge of Simon Fraser University and other researchers to test for the virus in more than 1,000 farmed and wild salmon of varying species. The study published Jan. 6 in the peer-reviewed Virology Journal, found genetic matches for the European variant of the infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) virus in 79 cases. (CBC)

Killer whale fecal-matter study shows importance of salmon to orcas’ diet
Scientists who spent five years collecting and analyzing fecal samples from endangered killer whales near Seattle and Victoria found their diet consists almost solely of chinook salmon in the summer, confirming the deep connection between them and salmon fishing’s trophy catch. Scientist Michael Ford of the Seattle-based Northwest Fisheries Sciences Center says DNA analysis of killer whale fecal matter confirmed more than 98 per cent of the July and August diet of the southern resident whales is salmon, particularly the Chinook salmon bound for British Columbia’s Fraser River and its tributaries. Dirk Meissner reports. (Globe and Mail)

Willapa Bay Oyster Farmers Ask State Again For Permission To Use Neurotoxin 
Oyster farmers in Willapa Bay are asking the Washington State Department of Ecology for permission, again, to use a neurotoxic chemical to get rid of native shrimp. Large numbers of the burrowing shrimp are turning the tide flats into quicksand, making the land unusable for growing oysters. The chemical, imidacloprid, would paralyze the shrimp. They would suffocate and die. Jennifer Wing reports. (KPLU)

Province of B.C. formally opposes Kinder Morgan expansion
The B.C. government will formally oppose the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion in a written submission to the National Energy Board on Monday. Environment Minister Mary Polak told The Vancouver Sun that the government believes that pipeline proponent Kinder Morgan has failed to provide the NEB with an adequate plan to prevent or respond to an oil spill…. The B.C. government laid out in five conditions in 2012 that it said all oil pipeline projects would have to meet before they would be allowed in the province. The second and third conditions require “world-leading” prevention and response plans if a pipeline fails on land or if oil is spilled into any rivers, lakes or the ocean. Rob Shaw reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Olympia politicians: Avoid these clichés like the plague
There’s nothing reporters love more than half-answered questions. Fortunately, there were plenty of those to go around at The Associated Press Legislative Preview on Thursday (Jan. 7). For two hours, Washington state lawmakers evaded questions such as, “Why aren’t you going to fix education funding this year?” by leaning on many of the convenient political platitudes that we’ve all heard before. It was a grand trotting-out of clichés to start the new year right — and reminded me why, every year, I make a list of the most overused phrases in Washington politics, hoping that they’ll never be used again. Melissa Santos reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Enbridge says it will meet regulatory deadlines for Northern Gateway
Enbridge says it has a plan to meet regulatory deadlines on its $7.9-billion Northern Gateway pipeline despite the looming expiry of National Energy Board approval this year. Among deadlines in the 209 conditions the project must meet, NEB approval expires if construction has not started before the end of 2016. And the Calgary-based company must have signed commitments from oil producers to ship crude on the pipeline, making up at least 60 per cent of line capacity, six months before construction starts. Gordon Hoekstra reports. (Vancouver Sun)

The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare
Rob Bilott was a corporate defense attorney for eight years. Then he took on an environmental suit that would upend his entire career —and expose a brazen, decades-long history of chemical pollution. Nathaniel Rich reports. (New York Times)

KPLU mounts campaign to buy its independence amid UW offer
Nine weeks ago, KPLU learned it might be sold to the University of Washington — so the public-radio station started a fundraising campaign to buy its autonomy. Brendan Kiley reports. (Seattle Times) See also: Saving KPLU; Our Defining Moment http://www.kplu.org/post/saving-kplu-our-definining-moment (KPLU)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  254 AM PST MON JAN 11 2016  

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING  

TODAY  E WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 20 KT IN THE  AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 20 SECONDS...  BUILDING TO 12 FT AT 18 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN LIKELY IN THE  MORNING...THEN RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.

TONIGHT  E WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 14  FT AT 16 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 12 FT AT 16 SECONDS AFTER  MIDNIGHT. SHOWERS LIKELY IN THE EVENING...THEN A CHANCE OF RAIN  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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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1/8 Trail walk, Kpod, Brinnon resort, buoy job, First Nation plans, WA lege, Navy warfare, Grays Harbor oil

Maury Island Marine Park (rs.locationshub.com)

Trail of the week: Maury Island Marine Park
Maury Island Marine Park is a 320-acre park on the east side of the island. With big views, beachcombing and an uphill workout, the park packs plenty into a short hike. Starting from above on 244th Street, visitors can take in a sweeping view that on clear days includes Puget Sound, Mount Rainier and Tacoma. Below, almost the entire trail system can be seen. The trail drops to the beach, where visitors can enjoy a mile of shoreline. Craig Hill reports. (Olympian) For more, see: Maury Island Marine Park, King County Parks
 
K pod turns back and heads up into Canada
Chris Dunagan blogs: "…. In the last report on Monday (Water Ways, Jan. 4), the tagged killer whale K-33, a 15-year-old male named Tika, was milling around the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the Pacific Ocean with three other whales in his family group…. By Monday evening, the whales entered the Strait and headed east. By Tuesday afternoon, they had passed through Haro Strait between the San Juan Islands and Vancouver Island, where they were accompanied by J pod, based on hydrophone calls near San Juan Island. Yesterday [Wednesday], the whales were in the southern portion of the Strait of Georgia, then they quickly headed north. This morning [Thursday], they were in the northern portion of the Strait…. This must be an area with relatively abundant salmon, given the time of year. (Watching Our Water Ways)

Pros, cons argued on Pleasant Harbor Resort plans for Brinnon
The proposed Pleasant Harbor Resort would either be an economic boom for Brinnon or destroy its bucolic way of life, according to speakers at a Jefferson County Planning Commission meeting…. More than 150 people were crammed into Brinnon School's auditorium for the meeting on an application from Statesman Groupe of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, for a zoning change for 252 acres from rural residential to master planned resort. Planners heard public comment on the project and the final supplemental environmental impact statement, which was released Dec. 9. Charlie Bermant reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

USCG's 'dirtiest job' keeps Puget Sound clean
The crew aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Henry Blake knows their job is one of the dirtiest around. The ship is a buoy tender and its 25-person crew is responsible for maintaining several hundred buoys up the coast of Washington. "You have hazardous materials, oil tanker ships coming through full of oil, and hazardous chemicals going through Puget Sound," said Boatswains Mate Chief William Glenzer. "These buoys mark the safe channel or obstructions in the water." When crews pull Buoy 10 out of the water, it's covered in bird feces, mussels and seaweed. The smell is worst in the summer. Alison Morrow reports. (KING)

Ignore First Nations at your peril, says chief
B.C’s Assembly of First Nations regional chief delivered a bold message recently to the province’s business community, asserting aboriginals want not just to partner economically with resource developers, but to own the companies overseeing those developments. “Our longer-term goal is to own those companies,” Chief Shane Gottfriedson told 400 business people attending a conference sponsored by the Business Council of B.C. “We want to own those major projects. We are getting beyond being mom-and-pop, band council operations.” Barbara Yaffe writes. (Vancouver Sun)

As Legislature Reconvenes, Green Groups Say Protecting Hard-Fought Wins A Top Priority
Environmental groups say there’s really just one priority as lawmakers head back to the to the legislature in Olympia next week: no rollbacks.  Every legislative session, the broad spectrum of green-minded groups in the state gets together to discuss their main issues and work toward achieving them. Clifford Traisman is a lobbyist with Washington Conservation Voters and a spokesman for the Environmental Council that sets the priorities. For the early session this year, he says it’s pretty simple. They just don’t want things they’ve accomplished to be undone. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KPLU)

Forest Service crafting hundreds of responses to thousands of comments on naval electronic warfare exercises plan
The U.S. Forest Service is completing final draft responses to thousands of mostly negative comments directed at plans for expanded naval electronic warfare exercises over the North Olympic Peninsula, including Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest. But if you submitted one of the 3,397 correspondences on the $11.5 million Pacific Northwest Electronic Warfare Training Range project, don’t expect a response specifically to your submission. Greg Wahl, Olympic National Forest environmental coordinator, said this week that the agency is writing final drafts of up to about 100 general responses to the thousands of comments submitted by Nov. 28. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Grays Harbor biodiesel plant cancels plan to ship crude oil
The new owner of the mammoth Grays Harbor biodiesel plant has pulled the plug on the controversial idea of using the facility to ship U.S. crude oil unloaded from trains. Renewable Energy Group (REG), the Iowa company that bought nearly all the assets of Imperium Renewables last summer, said in a document filed with state regulators that “its future plans at Grays Harbor do not include handling crude oil.” The document was filed in late November as comment on a draft environmental-impact statement. A REG spokesman confirmed the decision Wednesday. Angel Gonzalez reports. (Seattle Times)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  311 AM PST FRI JAN 8 2016  
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING  

TODAY  E WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 9 FT  AT 14 SECONDS EARLY THIS MORNING...SUBSIDING TO 7 FT AT 13  SECONDS.

TONIGHT  SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 5  FT AT 12 SECONDS.

SAT  SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. SW SWELL 5 FT  AT 9 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. A  CHANCE OF RAIN.

SAT NIGHT  E WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 9 FT  AT 15 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 11 FT AT 15 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.

SUN  E WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.  WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 10 FT AT 14 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO  8 FT AT 14 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON.

--
"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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1/7 Clingfish, tug rescue, carbon limit, BC LNG, methanol, clam dig, ocean 'blob,' bee die-off, tidal energy

Northern clingfish (PHOTO: Petra Ditsche)

Northern clingfish suction abilities under scientific study for human use
Northern clingfish don’t look like much at a glance: basic brownish coloring, dour mouth, typically growing no larger than a few inches, but it has an unbeatable knack for attachment. The suction disc located on its belly is so powerful its attachment forces ranges between 150-250 times its body weight. To put that in perspective, humans are only one or two times their body weight. The fact its suction disc is able to adhere so well to rough surfaces, or substrate, is part of what drew scientists' attention. According to Friday Harbor Labs researcher Petra Ditsche, if their ability could be replicated, there could be countless benefits to technology. Surgeons, for example may be able to benefit from a device like this. Heather Spaulding reports. (San Juan Journal)

Bulk carrier loses power at entrance to Strait of Juan de Fuca; vessel tugged to Victoria
A bulk carrier that lost propulsion off Neah Bay on Wednesday was being pulled by a rescue tug to Victoria, state Department of Ecology officials said…. Ecology officials posted on the agency's Twitter page that the MV Gallia Graeca departed from Port Angeles and lost power just outside the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca at about 10 a.m. Wednesday. The 735-foot vessel was being pulled by the tug Jeffrey Foss at 4.7 knots near the international boundary off Clallam Bay at 3:45 p.m., according to Marinetraffic.com. Rob Ollikainen reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Washington to limit carbon pollution from largest facilities
The state’s largest industrial emitters would be required to reduce carbon emissions by 5 percent every three years, under a proposed rule released Wednesday by state regulators. The Department of Ecology’s proposed Clean Air Rule would initially apply to about two dozen manufacturing plants, refineries, power plants and other facilities, or those that release at least 100,000 metric tons of carbon a year. Many more facilities would likely be covered as the threshold declines over time. State officials say the rule is needed to protect human health and the environment from climate change. But some business groups and others have worried that the efforts could hurt the state’s ability to attract and retain industries. Phuong Le reports. (Associated Press)

Shell's Kitimat LNG proposal is first to get key permit
A joint venture company led by Shell has obtained the first permit to build a liquefied natural gas export facility in northern British Columbia, but the company has yet to make a final commitment to go ahead with the project. LNG Canada is the first in the province to receive a facility permit from the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission. The document outlines the requirements for design, construction and operation of the proposed facility in Kitimat, B.C. Laura Kane reports. (Canadian Press)

Public input sought for proposed methanol production plant
Environmental activists are voicing concerns about a proposed methanol production plant at the Port of Tacoma, saying the plant's potential wastewater and chemical pollutants could harm the region's air quality and impact an already fragile Puget Sound. The groups say they're particularly troubled by the veil of secrecy that appears to surround the Tacoma plant project, one of three methanol plants proposed for port cities in the Pacific Northwest. They're also concerned about its size: If built, the advocacy groups say the $3.4 billion Tacoma facility would be the largest methanol production plant in the world. Anneli Fogt reports. (Vashon Beachcomber)

Restarting clam digging at Kayak Point Park not logical for now
Researchers found that restarting public clam digging at the popular Kayak Point Park beach isn't a realistic option right now. Seeding the beach with young clams to bolster the population could allow for digging in the future, but getting the tiny clams and managing what would likely be a short, busy season could prove tricky. Kari Bray reports. (Everett Herald)

Pacific Ocean 'Blob' finally starting to dissipate
A University of Victoria oceanographer says the "blob" of warm water in the Pacific Ocean is starting to break up due to strong winds and ocean currents. Richard Dewey says cold winds blowing from Alaska, which have been missing over the past few years, are causing the blob to finally clear up…. The 1,000-kilometre-wide patch of water, 2° C warmer than the surrounding ocean, has been blamed for warmer temperatures on land, changing up this year's El Niño and even bringing tropical fish north since appearing in 2013. The blob has also stopped or slowed nutrient growth, damaging salmon populations. (CBC)

Honeybee die-off: EPA finds culprit in some cases
A major pesticide harms honeybees when used on cotton and citrus but not on other big crops like corn, berries and tobacco, the Environmental Protection Agency found. It’s the first scientific risk assessment of the much-debated class of pesticides called neonicotinoids and how they affect bees on a chronic long-term basis. The EPA found in some cases the chemical didn’t harm bees or their hives but in other cases it posed a significant risk. It mostly depended on the crop, a nuanced answer that neither clears the way for an outright ban nor is a blanket go-ahead for continued use. Both the pesticide maker and anti-pesticide advocates were unhappy with report. Seth Borenstein reports. (Associated Press)

PUD officially pulls the plug on tidal-energy project
Snohomish County Public Utility District is closing the book on its mulitmillion-dollar experiment to draw electricity from ocean tides. The PUD has asked federal regulators to cancel its license for the project, which the district stopped working on in September 2014. The project “is no longer economically feasible,” the district said in its application to give up its license with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The plan had been to put two turbines on the sea floor off Whidbey Island. Dan Catchpole reports. (Everett Herald)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  241 AM PST THU JAN 7 2016  

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS  EVENING  

TODAY  SE WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL  BUILDING TO 11 FT AT 16 SECONDS.

TONIGHT  SE WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 10  FT AT 15 SECONDS... SUBSIDING TO 8 FT AT 14 SECONDS 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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1/6 Orca tag, oil tax, oil embargo, salmon climate, Sound map, quakes, new BC ferry, WA oil port

Merlin (Tom Grey/BirdNote)

If you like to listen: Winter Brings Falcons
A Merlin — like this one — hunts boldly from a high perch. A Peregrine Falcon dives on a hapless pigeon, with an air speed approaching 200 miles per hour. The Gyrfalcon can fly down even the fastest waterfowl in a direct sprint. A Prairie Falcon blends in with its background. And the smallest North American falcon of all, the American Kestrel, hovers a field, watching for a mouse or large insect. (BirdNote)

Biologists Track Endangered Orcas with Satellite Tag
Federal biologists are once again tracking the winter movements of the endangered population of orcas that spend time in Washington state waters. Researchers with NOAA Fisheries have been following an adult member of the K pod since tagging the animal with a satellite-linked transmitter on Thursday. The satellite tracking project and other research are helping answer questions about where the orcas during the winter, what they eat, and what risks they encounter. (Associated Press)

Lower oil prices are bad news for pollution cleanup
Prices at the pump these days are good for drivers – and not so good for Washington’s more than 5,000 contaminated sites in need of cleanup. Much of the money to clean toxic zones and prevent new ones from forming comes from a voter-approved state tax on petroleum products and other “hazardous substances.” But lower oil prices combined with state lawmakers’ demands to spread tax revenue around have left a shortfall of more than $40 million for cleanups. Jordan Schrader reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Taunting Maggie’s Ghost
Suddenly, big oil has the political prize it has coveted for decades. The oil export ban, signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1975, is history. It was an emergency response to a decision by Arab oil producers not to sell to the US. The Arab boycott had quadrupled the global price of oil and triggered a stock market crash. Ford called the export ban “the first step to energy independence.” Congress repealed the ban last month, and U.S. oil producers are free to export crude oil to the world market. Speculation flourishes over the impact on Washington state, positioned to become the funnel through which North Dakota will pour its oil on China. Bob Simmons reports. (Cascadia Weekly)  See also: Oil trains: Creating a regional approach to prepare and plan for risks  Dow Constantine writes. (Seattle Times letter)

Kwiaht says El Niño year sets the tune for climate change impacts on salmon
The response of juvenile Chinook salmon to this year’s unusually warm El Niño is a preview of the longer-term impacts of climate change on Salish Sea salmon…. According to Kwiaht director Russel Barsh, “it’s a good thing we began collecting data years earlier, since what we are seeing now is nothing like what we observed previously and considered normal.” Compared to Kwiaht’s 2009-2014 baseline years, outbound juvenile Chinook this past summer were far fewer, smaller, and eating less fish. As a result, their probability of survival at sea is poor, and there may be a substantial decrease in adult Chinook returning to spawn in SalishSea streams four to six years from now. (San Juan Journal)

Bulk Carrier Detained in Seattle
The U.S. Coast Guard has detained the 82,000dwt bulk carrier Lowlands Kamsar in Seattle after a port state control examination found safety violations relating to the vessel’s fire safety systems. The Lowlands Kamsar, a 229m (751-foot) Panamanian-flagged ship, will remain in Sector Puget Sound's Captain of the Port zone until the violations are corrected. Port state control officers discovered that the automatic fire extinguishing system that protects the vessel’s engine room had been disabled by the crew, and that the vessel’s owner, Misuga S.A., failed to ensure that appropriate corrective action was taken. (Maritime Executive)

Mapping the Sound
We're surrounded by oceans, but scientists know more about the topography of Mars than they do about the seafloor. The University of Washington's School of Oceanography wants to change that through high-tech sonar mapping equipment. It's 5:00 a.m. and Katherine Ball has been up since midnight processing seafloor mapping data on an ocean research vessel. The data shows high-resolution images of Puget Sound’s seafloor and Katherine, a UW oceanography student, is tired but invigorated. “This area has some holes in NOAA’s mapping,” she says. “So this is very good for them and very good for us.” Katherine is part of a three-day research cruise with staff and students from the University of Washington’s School of Oceanography. The goal? To map the seafloor. Stacey Jenkins reports. (KCTS)

Expert: Thousands of rumbles registered in region, but real quake activity unlikely amid slow slip and tremor episodes
The multitude of slow slip tremors geologists have measured over the past few days in the Pacific Northwest are not unusual and probably don’t portend earthquake activity, experts said. Since New Year’s Day, the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network has registered over 2,000 of the low slip and tremor events beneath the Peninsula, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Vancouver Island, according to The Outdoor Society — a online magazine celebrating outdoor recreation based in Olympia. Chris McDaniel reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

New Victoria-Vancouver passenger ferry signs lease
A new private passenger ferry between downtown Victoria and dowtown Vancouver is one step closer to starting service this summer. Australian company Riverside Marine said it has signed a lease agreement with Victoria's Harbour Authority. The company currently runs similar ferries in Australia. The 300-person vessel would take up to 3.5 hours and will likely cost about $80 one way, catering to tourists hoping to have a close-up look at West Coast wildlife. (CBC)

Hundreds Show Up To Speak On Vancouver Oil Project
Hundreds of people showed up to speak Tuesday at a hearing on the controversial Vancouver Energy oil terminal. Tesoro Corporation and Savage Companies have proposed building what would be the largest oil-by-rail terminal in the country at the Port of Vancouver in Washington. Supporters of the project welcome the jobs and economic development that would come along with the terminal. Opponents say shipping that much oil is too dangerous and they’d rather see the port develop cleaner energy.
Cassandra Profita reports. (EarthFix)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  300 AM PST WED JAN 6 2016  

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST THIS MORNING
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM PST  THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON  

TODAY  E WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING SE 10 TO 20 KT IN THE  AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 10 FT AT 14 SECONDS. RAIN  IN THE MORNING.

TONIGHT  SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 8 FT  AT 16 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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1/5 Salish Sea energy, BC LNG, warming mussels, Wallace R., WA Conservation Corps

Humpback (Kyle Noble/CBC)

If you like to watch: Humpback whales play hide-and-seek with B.C. boaters
A Victoria man and his family were fishing for prawns but managed to attract a much bigger sea creature. Kyle Noble captured footage of a pair of humpback whales on Jan. 1 as they breached close to his his boat near Gabriola Island. Tamara Baluja reports. (CBC)

Energy development impacts for the Salish Sea
Energy-related developments in the Salish Sea between Washington and British Columbia underscore the need for a transnational approach to assessing the risks to the entire ecosystem, according to a study by the SeaDoc Society, a program of the UC Davis Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, part of the area's indigenous Coast Salish people. The study, published in December in the journal PLOS ONE, identified six development projects proposed and underway in both Canada and the U.S. that would increase marine vessel traffic in the Salish Sea. They include plans to transport coal, shale oil, crude oil and natural gas. (Phys.org)

LNG investment may be too late after 2016, companies say
The organization representing contractors and service providers to the B.C. oil and gas industry says time is running out to invest in LNG, after what it calls one of the worst years for LNG in the province. The B.C. government has made no secret of its intentions to back major LNG projects, saying the investment will yield money to pay back the province's debt and tens of thousands of jobs. But skeptics have continually criticized the government for falling behind on its plans to grow the province's LNG sector. Now, the executive director of Energy Services B.C,, says contractors and firms servicing the industry need to know now whether or not that investment is coming. (CBC)

Study focuses on effect of warming waters on mussels
Though they're less glamorous than oysters, mussels dominate rocky coastlines and support aquaculture worldwide. Now Washington Sea Grant-supported researchers at University of Washington's Friday Harbor Labs are investigating potential climate-related threats to the amazingly tough mussel threads that anchor them to wave-pounded rocks and docks. The unassuming but commercially valuable mussel dominates temperate seas worldwide, clinging to rocks and docks by a cluster of thread-like anchors called the byssus or "the beard." The byssus's unique protein matrix gives each thread extraordinary strength, even in salt water. But will byssal threads still hold fast as the seas become warmer and more acidic? Supported by Washington Sea Grant, UW biology professor Emily Carrington is trying to answer that question and determine whether food supply and spawning may also affect byssal strength. The answers she's finding aren't simple, but they're sometimes surprising. (Islands Sounder)

Tulalips, Forterra to preserve land near Wallace River for salmon
A 1.25-mile stretch of forested land along the Wallace River will now be protected forever as salmon habitat. The land, covering 121 acres on five parcels, was purchased by the environmental nonprofit Forterra in July for $490,000. Forterra, formerly known as the Cascade Land Conservancy, transferred the property to the Tulalip Tribes in November for future management. A conservation easement ensures the property will never be developed. Chris Winters reports. (Everett Herald)

Conservation Corps mixes training with environmental work
While wrestling with English ivy on the cold ground of a city park Monday, Hannah Campbell said she never imagined her career path leading her here, but she doesn't mind. Campbell, 23, and Jessica Danielson, 24, are part of a six-member Washington Conservation Corps crew that is working in Skagit County for the third consecutive month. The two women, who have degrees in environmental science, said they are thankful for the opportunity to earn a paycheck while playing in the dirt. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  230 AM PST TUE JAN 5 2016

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING  

TODAY  E WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT  19 SECONDS. RAIN LIKELY IN THE MORNING...THEN RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.

TONIGHT  SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 11 FT  AT 16 SECONDS. RAIN.

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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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1/4 I-732, BC coal, dead baby orca, Vic oil spill, soil dump, Miami siege, DNR PLP, Bridge Glacier, Deschutes, BC birds

(PHOTO: Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

Vancouver's annual English Bay Polar Bear Swim brings out thousands
Thousands of people braved the cold Friday afternoon in Vancouver with a chilly plunge at the annual New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim in English Bay. Each year since 1920, the swim has attracted participants looking to bring in the New Year with a sobering dip in the Pacific Ocean. (CBC) See also: Peninsula residents plunge into new year with cold-water dips  Chris McDaniel and Charlie Bermant report. (Peninsula Daily News)

Carbon initiative aims to raise and cut taxes
Supporters of Initiative 732 are confident they have enough signatures to force lawmakers or perhaps voters to go after carbon polluters. I-732 backers dropped off the final batch of signatures at the Secretary of State's Olympia office on Wednesday (Dec 30). The initiative would create a new tax for carbon polluters while cutting the state's sales tax, reducing taxes on manufacturers and creating a tax credit for low-income families. Drew Mikkelsen reports. (KING)

Westshore Terminals cuts forecast as B.C. feels effects of coal slump
A coal export terminal south of Vancouver will no longer be able to avoid the fallout from low prices for the commodity. Westshore Terminals Investment Corp. had dodged much of the impact of depressed coal prices because it enjoyed long-term contracts with customers. Industry analysts marvelled at how the export facility weathered the economic storm through the first nine months of 2015. But then the reality of languishing coal markets finally hit Westshore, which said recently that it expects to ship 24 million to 24.5 million tonnes of coal in 2016, down almost one-fifth from the company’s original forecast. Brent Jang reports. (Globe and Mail)

Dead baby orca didn’t belong to Puget Sound resident pod
A baby orca was found dead Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 29) on the beach near Tofino, B.C. The whale was a female transient whale, not a member of the southern resident population of orcas that frequents Puget Sound waters. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Victoria Gorge oil spill renews calls for action on derelict boats
There are new calls for the City of Victoria to take action against derelict and liveaboard boats on the Gorge Waterway, after a sunken vessel near Banfield Park leaked oil on Sunday (Dec. 27)…. Crews quickly responded to the spill, laying a boom to contain the fuel or oil escaping the boat…. The city does have a plan to end overnight moorage in the waters, but former Victoria councillor Shellie Gudgeon is outraged it seems to have stalled. (CBC) See also: City was offered free removal of old boats on the Gorge  Bill Cleverely reports. (Times Colonist)

Planned soil dump near Chehalis River raises concerns
A company is proposing to dump up to 1,000 tonnes of contaminated soil a day onto Crown land near the Chehalis River, one of the Lower Mainland’s prime fish streams and home to a major federal hatchery releasing millions of juvenile fish a year. The proposed Statlu Resources dump site would be as close as 100 metres from Boulder Creek, a tributary of the Chehalis River, which, in turn, flows into the Harrison River upstream of Highway 7 west of Harrison Hot Springs. Statlu Resources president Earl Wilder confirmed he has encountered strong opposition, but feels his plan for the site is misunderstood. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun)

The Siege of Miami
The city of Miami Beach floods on such a predictable basis that if, out of curiosity or sheer perversity, a person wants to she can plan a visit to coincide with an inundation. Knowing the tides would be high around the time of the “super blood moon,” in late September, I arranged to meet up with Hal Wanless, the chairman of the University of Miami’s geological-sciences department. Wanless, who is seventy-three, has spent nearly half a century studying how South Florida came into being. From this, he’s concluded that much of the region may have less than half a century more to go. Elizabeth Kolbert reports. (The New Yorker)

Port Angeles City Council to eye joining amicus brief on environmental cleanup
…. The council will consider joining Georgia-Pacific in an amicus brief in the appeal filed by Pope Resources of a Kitsap County Superior Court ruling that the state Department of Natural Resources cannot be held liable for contamination in Port Gamble Bay. The city has committed funds as a potentially liable person (PLP) in the cleanup of Port Angeles Harbor. The state Department of Ecology also has named DNR as a PLP. “The outcome of this case could have a significant impact on the city because, just as in Port Gamble, a significant amount of the contamination in our harbor is located on state-owned land that is managed by DNR,” a council memo said. (Peninsula Daily News)

Troubled waters ahead for shrinking Bridge Glacier in southwestern B.C.
At the headwaters of the Bridge River in southwestern British Columbia, Bridge Glacier is breaking apart. The lake at the base of the glacier is littered with icebergs. Some are full of cracks and dirt, others pale blue and recently born. Here and there are little bits of ice that are almost gone, the colour of ice cubes in water on a summer day. Every year, the lake is getting bigger and the glacier is getting smaller. Over the past 40 years, Bridge Glacier has retreated more than three and a half kilometres. About one in 12 of the world’s approximately 200,000 glaciers are in British Columbia and Alberta. Glaciers in B.C. alone lose 22 billion cubic metres of water every year. Almost all of the world’s glaciers are in retreat – which means they lose more mass during the summer from melting ice than they gain during the winter from fresh snow. Pauline Holdsworth reports. (Globe and Mail)

Lake or estuary? New year, new decisions
Before leaving office last month, Olympia mayor Stephen Buxbaum left behind suggestions for his successors at City Hall concerning Capitol Lake and the Deschutes River. Some might feel he packed up the easy stuff and left behind a live grenade. In a letter to his colleagues and affected state agencies, Buxbaum said it is time to create a plan to eventually convert the man-made lake, fed by the Deschutes, into a free flowing estuary that empties into Puget Sound. (Olympian Editorial Board)

B.C.'s Brackendale bald eagle count lowest in 30-year history
A decade ago the Brackendale Winter Eagle Festival and Count saw close to 4,000 birds, but in 2016 there were only 411. "When there's no salmon here they will migrate, fly away to other places where there is salmon," said organizer Jim Gracey. "And if they really get hungry, they'll catch a rabbit, a cat, a small dog."  On Sunday the count marked its 30th year to gauge the health of the bald eagle population in B.C. as hundreds of the birds converged on the Squamish River Valley to feed on chum salmon. (CBC)

Birders flock to catch sight of rare visitor to capital region
A shy, easily overlooked and entirely forgettable visitor from Asia is attracting attention and raising some alarm in rural Saanich. The visitor is a redwing, or turdus iliacus, a bird slightly smaller and a whole lot browner than the American robin (also a thrush) seen across North America. In fact, it looks something like an immature robin, and is brown on top and speckled brown across the breast without the orange…. The redwing is quite common across northern Europe and Asia. But this sighting is only the second recorded in Victoria. The first was two years ago. Richard Watts reports. (Times Colonist)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  254 AM PST MON JAN 4 2016  
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON  

TODAY  E WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT  14 SECONDS.

TONIGHT  E WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT  18 SECONDS. RAIN LIKELY.
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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.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told