10/9 Horned grebe, orca task force, Drayton green crab, climate emergency, grizzly restoration, killer moths

Horned grebe [Conner Mah]

Horned Grebe Podiceps auritus
A small diver found mostly on northern marshes in summer, coastal bays in winter. Also widespread in Eurasia, where it is called Slavonian Grebe. Similar to Eared Grebe, but much less gregarious, it seldom nests in colonies and seldom gathers in large flocks at other seasons. Like other grebes, it must patter across surface of water to become airborne; may become trapped when waters freeze quickly overnight. (Audubon Field Guide)

Orca task force adds 13 recommendations at final meeting as 'biological extinction' looms 
Their goal is clear: to prevent Puget Sound’s iconic Southern Resident killer whales from going extinct. Solving that problem is anything but simple. The task force convened by Gov. Jay Inslee to save the orcas added 13 new recommendations this week, at its final meeting. The additions to the group’s so-called “Year 2 Report” cover more than 100 pages, adding climate change and population growth to the list of issues complicating orca recovery. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

17 European green crabs trapped in Drayton Harbor, raising fears about these invaders
Seventeen European green crabs were trapped in Drayton Harbor over two days in late September, worrying those working to keep the hungry invaders from taking root here and elsewhere in Washington state. “This is the highest number of green crabs trapped in such a short period of time from any one area along Washington’s inland shoreline,” the state Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement on Tuesday, Oct. 8. Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)

‘We’re staring at the end of a livable future’: Native activists call for a climate emergency in Washington
On the steps of the Capitol building, Indigenous activists are urging the governor to treat climate change as a statewide emergency. But what would that mean in action? Manola Secaira reports. (Crosscut)

Proposal To Restore Grizzlies To Washington Draws Hundreds To Public Meeting
It’s been four years since the federal government initially started asking Washington residents whether they’d like to see more grizzly bears brought into the state. And still, the heated debate continues. Around 450 people filed into the AgriComplex building at the Okanogan County Fairgrounds Monday night. They wanted to voice their opinions on a draft plan to relocate grizzlies to the North Cascades. Courtney Flatt reports. (NW News Network)

Outbreak of tree-killing, allergy-inducing moths prompts warnings from B.C. government
An infestation of insects that have the ability to quickly kill healthy Douglas fir trees is on the move in British Columbia and the Ministry of Forests says it has now been found further north than ever before. A statement from the ministry Tuesday said an infestation of tussock moth has been found in trees in the western Cariboo, just south of the community of Alkali Lake. The pest is usually found in more southern parts of the province, such as Kamloops and the Okanagan. They can kill a large Douglas fir in just one to two years during a severe infestation, according to the ministry. (Canadian Press)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  111 AM PDT Wed Oct 9 2019   
TODAY  E wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 6 ft  at 9 seconds. 
TONIGHT  Light wind. Wind waves less than 1 ft. W swell 4 ft at  8 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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10/8 St. John's wort, saving orcas and salmon, Seattle 'streamline,' climate protest, saving forests, Snohomish R junkers, oil profits, ghost forests

St. John's wort [Jennifer Anderson/USDA]

Common St. John's Wort Hypericum perforatum
Common St. John's wort is a Eurasian perennial weed and a serious pest in fields, pastures and on roadsides and waste places, common from about Tacoma south to California, and scattered north to central Vancouver Island and the lower Fraser Valley. It was introduced from Europe where it has been used in medicine since ancient times. In herbal medicine it has been widely employed to alleviate nervous disorders and it was applied to wounds where the nerves were exposed. It contains a phototoxin concentrated in the glandular dots on the leaves. Recent studies indicate that 2 compounds isolated form this species strongly inhibit a variety of retrovirus, leading to speculation about its effect on HIIV. (Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast)

How to help Puget Sound's orcas and salmon: What Seattle-area leaders say can make a difference
Leaders around our region had lots to say when asked what should be done to restore threatened salmon runs and Puget Sound’s endangered orcas...Some Seattle-area leaders said nothing will change unless we get serious about land use and reverse the destruction underway of the habitat salmon and orcas depend on...A carbon tax, fishing ban and more funding for habitat recovery were also among the things that would be needed, they said. Explore more of the potential solutions in our interactive. Lynda Makes reports. (Seattle Times)

Seattle council votes to 'streamline' environmental reviews for upzones, some housing projects
The City Council passed legislation Monday that supporters say will speed up environmental reviews for some major policies and projects needed to make Seattle more sustainable, such as denser zoning and large apartment buildings. Councilmembers Abel Pacheco and Mike O’Brien sponsored the legislation, and the vote was 8-0, with Councilmember M. Lorena González absent. Representatives of urbanist environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club and 350 Seattle asked the council to adopt the changes, arguing neighborhood opponents have time and again used misused State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) appeals to obstruct policies and projects related to smart urban growth. Daniel Beekmam reports. (Seattle Times)

Climate protesters arrested after blocking Burrard Street Bridge for hours
More than 100 rain-soaked climate activists took over the Burrard Street Bridge in Vancouver Monday morning, blocking traffic in order to draw attention to a global demonstration demanding world leaders take urgent action to cut carbon emissions and prevent environmental disaster. Rhianna Schmunk reports. (CBC) Dancers in red protest Trans Mountain pipeline expansion  Seven dancers dressed in crimson robes with their faces painted white, theatrically protested the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline outside of a storage yard containing materials for the pipeline in Kamloops on Monday. Dominika Lirette reports. (CBC) Climate Change Protests: With Fake Blood, Extinction Rebellion Hits N.Y. Tourists and workers on Wall Street on Monday were met by a jarring spectacle: protesters, some lying in pools of fake blood outside the New York Stock Exchange, some dancing and others chanting, all to call attention to people killed by climate-related disease and disaster. Anne Barnard reports. (NY Times)

‘Thin it or watch it burn’: How Washington is chewing up trees and spitting out resilient landscapes
Using machinery and prescribed burns, land managers are hoping to safeguard 2.7 million acres of forest from catastrophic fires like the one that destroyed Paradise in California. Courtney Flatt reports. (NW Public Broadcasting)

Snohomish River almost rid of its worst abandoned junk boats
Weeks after crews worked to dismantle and remove the 100-foot Midas from the Snohomish River, another sunken boat nearby awaits a similar fate. The state Department of Natural Resource’s Derelict Vessels Removal Program took custody Monday of a 50-foot sailboat about half a mile north of where the Midas sat for more than a year. Contractors have until Oct. 15 to submit bids to remove the wreck, with the hope of having it out of the river by the end of the month, program manager Troy Wood said. If a contractor is selected quickly, work could start Oct. 21 Joseph Thompson reports. (Everett Herald)

Oil Companies Ponder Climate Change, but Profits Still Rule
Two decades ago, John Browne rocked the oil industry by saying that the “possibility cannot be discounted” of a link between man-made carbon emissions and global warming, and that it was time for “action.” In 1997, Mr. Browne, then chief executive of BP, the London-based oil company, was a lonely voice among his peers. How much has changed since his speech? Most large oil companies no longer deny the connection between burning fossil fuels and climate change. In fact, they are scrambling to position themselves to be seen as part of the solution to what is increasingly seen by worried citizens as a major threat. Stanley Reed reports. (NY Times)

As Sea Levels Rise, So Do Ghost Forests
Up and down the mid-Atlantic coast, sea levels are rising rapidly, creating stands of dead trees — often bleached, sometimes blackened — known as ghost forests. The water is gaining as much as 5 millimeters per year in some places, well above the global average of 3.1 millimeters, driven by profound environmental shifts that include climate change. Moises Velasquez-Manoff and Gabriella Demczuk report. (NY Times)


Now, your tug weather--West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  215 AM PDT Tue Oct 8 2019   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM PDT THIS MORNING   
TODAY  W wind 15 to 25 kt becoming NW 5 to 15 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 1 to 2 ft in the  afternoon. W swell 8 ft at 8 seconds. A chance of rain in the  morning. 
TONIGHT  N wind 5 to 15 kt becoming E after midnight. Wind  waves 2 ft or less. W swell 7 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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10/7 Amanita, climate protest, polluted waters, BC fish farms, Cooke steelhead, Maine gulf warming, Big Pipe mural, Trudeau vote, JP Morgan protest, BC plastic pellets

Fly amanita [Amy Nelson]

Fly amanita Amanita muscaria
This is the mushroom often pictured in European fairy tales. It is called 'fly amanita' because it is thought a decoction make from it kills flies. It is definitely dangerous but fortunately it is quite easy to recognize; the bright red, orange, or yellow cap with its white warts is in itself a conspicuous warning for even the most unwary collector. It also comes in forms with white or brown caps, and the veil may be striking yellow instead of the more typical white. (The New Savory Wild Mushroom)

'It's going to happen': Climate protestors pledge to shut down bridges in Vancouver and Victoria
Climate activists in B.C. say they will shut down bridges in Vancouver and Victoria on Monday. In Vancouver, organizer Maayan Kreitzman said at least "a few hundred people" will walk onto the Burrard Street Bridge at 8:30 a.m. PT to block most vehicle traffic. Emergency vehicles, transit buses, cyclists and pedestrians will be allowed through...In Victoria, organizer Mark Nykanen said dozens of people will gather on the Victoria side of the Johnson Street Bridge at 3:30 p.m. PT to also block traffic in a similar way until 6 p.m. Chad Pawson reports. (CBC)

Does Washington's slow pace of cleaning polluted waterways violate the Clean Water Act?
Two decades ago, a small environmental group reached a lawsuit settlement with the federal Environmental Protection Agency that launched a major new effort to tackle water pollution in Washington state. Under the 1998 agreement, the state Department of Ecology had to develop cleanup plans for nearly 1,600 bodies of water, from the Puget Sound to the Palouse River that winds through the state’s wheat country, with the EPA overseeing work called for by the federal Clean Water Act. The group — Northwest Environmental Advocates — is now back in U.S. District Court, alleging that federal and state officials have moved too slowly, and that they violated federal law by failing to get the plans done by a 2013 deadline. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times) See also: New EPA regulations could allow for more polluted waters, and tribes and state officials are worried  A unilateral reversal of Washington water quality regulations is creating concern around human health and control of state waters. Hannah Weinberger reports. (Crosscut)

B.C. salmon industry withdraws from eco-certification, unable to meet conditions
Canada’s Pacific salmon industry is withdrawing from Marine Stewardship Council certification rather than risk an audit with a high probability of failure. MSC set 22 conditions for certification in 2017, most of them aimed at properly assessing the health of wild salmon stocks on the north and central coast and the effect of hatchery fish on wild salmon. “We were behind on nine of those conditions in last year’s audit and we came to the conclusion that it would be touch and go whether we would pass (this year),” said Christina Burridge, spokesperson for the Canadian Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Society, which holds the MSC certificates. The move will voluntarily suspend eco-certification of B.C. chum, pink and sockeye, including Fraser River sockeye. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Tribe in partnership with Cooke Aquaculture, eyeing steelhead fish farm in Port Angeles Harbor
The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and Cooke Aquaculture Pacific LLC are teaming up to restart a dormant fish farm in Port Angeles Harbor despite Cooke’s lawsuit against the state agency that leases the site. The tribe and Canadian company announced the joint fish-farm venture to rear black cod and sterile all-female rainbow trout-steelhead in a press release issued Thursday...The state Department of Fish and Wildlife issued a mitigated determination of nonsignificance to Cooke on Tuesday and is taking comment through Oct. 22. Information can be found and comments can be submitted at tinyurl.com/PDN-Joint Venture. The permit would allow the company to raise the fish for five years in existing marine net-pens in Puget Sound at Fort Ward, Orchard Rocks, Clam Bay and Hope Island. The permit would be extended to Cooke’s Ediz Hook, Port Angeles facility and Cypress Island net pens if the company receives new leases or the terminated leases are restored. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Man found guilty in 2017 pipeline break-in
A 30-year-old Michigan man was found guilty Friday on three charges related to a 2017 break-in at the Kinder Morgan oil pipeline facility west of Burlington. Donald Jose David Zepeda was convicted of second-degree burglary and criminal sabotage — both felonies — and third-degree malicious mischief for the Oct. 24, 2017 incident. Zepeda and another person broke into the facility in an effort to perform what he called in court documents an “emergency shut off” of the pipeline, documents state. Kera Wanielista reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

The Gulf Of Maine Is Warming, And Its Whales Are Disappearing
Each summer for the last two decades, Jim Parker has readied his small whale watch boat, and made a business out of ferrying tourists out into the cool blue waters of the Gulf of Maine. For years, it was steady work. The basin brimmed with species that whales commonly feed on, making it a natural foraging ground for the aquatic giants. Whales would cluster at certain spots in the gulf, providing a reliable display for enchanted visitors to the coastal community of Milbridge, Maine. But lately, the whales have been harder and harder to find. Waters in the gulf have been warming, sending the whales’ food supply searching for cooler temperatures. The whales have gone with them. Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Peter Breslow, and Avery Ellfeldt report. (NPR)

Activists create mural at Trans Mountain pipeline terminus in Burnaby, B.C.
Dozens of people with Greenpeace Canada painted a mural on Saturday depicting orcas and anti-fossil fuel slogans on the road leading into the Westridge Marine Terminal of the Trans Mountain pipeline in Burnaby. The organization says it wants to use art to draw attention to fighting climate change and push for urgent action from elected officials. The mural — 22 by 15 metres in size — was designed by Ocean Hyland, a member of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, and Brandon Gabriel, a member of the Kwantlen First Nation. (CBC)

O Canada -- Will voters toss out Prime Minister Justin Trudeau?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is Canada's man in shirtsleeves, whether it's marching in Vancouver's Pride Parade, or joining the half-million Climate Strike demonstrators in Montreal, or posing for ceaseless selfies from coast to coast to coast. He charmed a country in 2015, reviving the Liberal Party and moving into the PM's residence at 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa where he grew up as son of a prime minister. Asked why half of his new Cabinet ministers were women, Trudeau shot back: "It's the 21st Century." The charm has faded, and Trudeau is in a neck-and-neck race as Canadians prepare for their national election on October 21. Joel Connelly writes. (SeattlePI.Com)

A Climate Sting: JP Morgan Chase Sited for Crimes Against the Climate
Financial institutions who bankroll fossil fuel expansion are receiving renewed attention after global climate strikes. The nation's largest bank, JP Morgan Chase, was the target of a unique 'climate sting' by activists intent on shutting the bank down. Actions happened in 11 states. Martha Baskin reports. (PRX)

Group calls for plastic pellet regulation after finding widespread pollution 
A B.C. oceans protection group says new research showing widespread plastic pellet pollution throughout southern B.C. waters is proof the province needs to start regulating the product. Surfrider Foundation Canada claims the tiny pellets — known as nurdles — are being spilled at plastic manufacturing sites along the Fraser River and washing into municipal storm drain systems that flow into local waterways. In a combined effort, Surfrider Foundation Canada and the University of Victoria found pellets had found their way to waterfronts in the Lower Mainland, and as far away as north and south Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, San Juan Islands and the Sunshine Coast. (CBC)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  200 AM PDT Mon Oct 7 2019   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON   
TODAY  SE wind 15 to 25 kt becoming W in the afternoon. Wind  waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 5 ft at 10 seconds building to 7 ft at 9  seconds in the afternoon. Rain in the morning then a slight chance  of rain in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 6 ft  at 8 seconds. A slight chance of rain 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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

10/4 Mountain ash, rockfish, Cheri Scalf, distressed animals, microplastics, PacifiCorp coal, oil by rail rule, Sandy Bendixen, Blanchard Mtn, sea turtle rescue, ocean trash boom, Trump's California feud, tuna, coffee

Sitka mountain ash [Fraser Valley Conservancy]

Sitka Mountain Ash Sorbus sitchensis
There are about 100-200 species of Sorbus in the Northern Hemisphere.  The genus Sorbus includes, Mountain Ashes (also known as Rowans), Whitebeams, and Service Trees.  True Ashes belong to the unrelated genus, Fraxinus.  The word Rowan is thought to be from a Norse word for tree, or a Germanic word meaning “getting red,” referring to its fall foliage color and berries.  Rowans were important trees in Celtic mythology; the wood was used for Druid’s staffs, magic wands and dowsing rods. (Native Plants PNW)

West Coast Rockfish Boom with the Blob
The high temperatures that came with the marine heatwave known as the Blob led to unprecedented mixing of local and subtropical species. There were, often with new and unpredictable outcomes. Out of that mix came one unexpected winner: West Coast rockfish. These bottom-dwelling species, which that had previously collapsed in the face of overfishing during the 2000s, thrived under the new conditions. Scientists from Oregon State University and NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center recount the boom in young rockfish in a new research paper in the journal Fisheries. It examines the effects of the Blob as documented by NOAA Fisheries offshore surveys. Scientists have been conducting the surveys for more than 20 years. The Blob years brought some of the most dramatic changes in marine life off the West Coast they’ve ever seen. (NOAA Fisheries)

‘Salmon godmother’ earns environmental award
Cheri Scalf has always been curious about nature, but she didn’t realize the endangered nature of salmon until she reached adulthood. When she learned about Salmon Creek and the watershed that flows directly to Discovery Bay, Scalf wanted to do something about it. That was in 1992. Today, Scalf is known to many as the “godmother of salmon,” a leader in volunteer salmon monitoring and restoration projects, said Sarah Doyle, the North Olympic Salmon Coalition stewardship coordinator. Scalf was honored Thursday with the 15th Eleanor Stopps Environmental Leadership Award during the Port Townsend Marine Science Center’s annual stewardship breakfast at The Commons at Fort Worden. Brian McLean reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Animals in distress alarm B.C. climate-change watchers
Photos of emaciated grizzly bears and the rescue of a distressed tropical turtle off B.C.’s coast have ocean watchers worried about the damage climate change is doing to local ecosystems. Rolf Hicker, a wildlife photographer and tour guide based in Port McNeill for the past two decades, recently posted photos to Facebook which show a malnourished grizzly sow with two cubs along the shore of Knight Inlet. The disturbing images were shared around the globe. Bicker said he’d never seen a grizzly in such dire shape. He is concerned they are suffering from the effects of climate change, particularly poor runs for salmon, a critical food source for the bears. Nick Eagland reports. (Vancouver Sun)

San Francisco microplastics study shows car tires biggest likely source
Driving is not just an air pollution and climate change problem — turns out, it just might be the largest contributor of microplastics in California coastal waters. That is one of many new findings, released Wednesday, from the most comprehensive study to date on microplastics in California. Rainfall washes more than 7 trillion pieces of microplastics, much of it tire particles left behind on streets, into San Francisco Bay each year — an amount 300 times greater than what comes from microfibers washing off polyester clothes, microbeads from beauty products and the many other plastics washing down our sinks and sewers. Rosanna Xia reports. (LA Times) See also: Plastic with your seafood? Same question goes for otters and orcas Tom Banse reports. (NW News Network)

Portland-Based PacifiCorp Releases Plan To Cut Coal Power And Add Renewables
On Thursday, PacifiCorp released a 20-year power plan that cuts back on coal and adds renewable wind and solar energy. The Portland-based utility serves 1.9 million customers across six western states, including Oregon and Washington, and right now more than half of its power comes from coal. Environmental groups have been pressing PacifiCorp for years to close more of its coal plants sooner and speed up its transition to renewable energy. But leaders in states like Wyoming, where the utility’s coal plants are stationed, say the company would be hurting local economies and betraying their trust by closing coal plants early. The investor-owned utility is planning to shutter more than 75% of its coal fleet by 2038, cutting nearly 4,500 megawatts of coal-fired power at multiple plants in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Idaho and Utah. Cassandra Profita reports. (OPB)

Refineries push back against Washington crude-by-rail law; IMO 2020 cited
n a letter to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA) filed as part of a long series of comments by many made to the federal agency, Phillips 66, a leading refiner, brings up the impact on IMO 2020 if a Washington state law on crude by rail is allowed to stand. The Washington law, SB5579, which went into effect earlier this year, limits crude oil by rail deliveries into the refineries around Puget Sound through both a cap on off-loadings from existing facilities and limits on a technical specification known as Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP). The RVP limit is written to clearly target shipments of crude oil from the Bakken field of North Dakota and Montana by rail into Washington...By restricting offloadings of rail cars and sticking an RVP limitation on crude-by-rail that is aimed at Bakken crude oil, “Phillips 66 has drastically reduced the scheduled deliveries of crude oil to be unloaded at the Ferndale refinery rail rack for the remainder of the year,” Phillips 66 said in its letter to PHMSA...The problem then is that since meeting IMO 2020 regulations is a top priority for refiners as the oil market approaches the January 1 launch date, what replaces the shipments of crude oil by rail into Washington refineries? And that’s where Phillips 66 says that environmentally, the solution to that question will be worse than what advocates of the Washington law sought in the law’s  passage. John Kingston reports. (FreightWaves)

Sandy Bendixen’s cool job piloting massive vessels in Puget Sound 
Meet Sandy Bendixen, a marine pilot who boards large ships navigating Puget Sound, directing their captains and moving their massive ships in precise ways to ensure the vessels’ safe passage. At 37, Bendixen is one of the youngest pilots on the job — and the state’s first female pilot. Michelle Archer reports. (Seattle Times)

Final land transfer to preserve Blanchard Mountain approved
With state Board of Natural Resources approval of a land transfer Tuesday, the long-sought conservation of recreation areas on Blanchard Mountain became official. The final steps toward conserving the 1,600-acre area called the Blanchard Core — where popular trails, campgrounds and lakes are found — are being paid for with $10 million allocated by the state Legislature in 2018. That money is allowing the state Department of Natural Resources to make a one-time payment of $9.2 million to the fund that supports school construction statewide and use $626,000 to purchase forest lands to be managed by Natural Resources for timber revenue. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Rare tropical sea turtle rescued in waters near Port Alberni
A rare tropical sea turtle is now recovering from a dangerously low body temperature after being rescued in the chilly waters near Port Alberni earlier this week. The male olive Ridley sea turtle was found by passersby in the Vancouver Island community Sept. 30 and transferred by officials to the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre (MMRC), where it remains in recovery under constant watch. The turtle, now named Berni, is gradually being exposed to warmer temperatures...The male turtle, which weighs 26.9 kilograms, registered a dangerously low body temperature of 11 C when it was rescued, compared with the species’ usual temperature of more than 20 degrees. Stephanie Ip reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Ocean cleaning boom between California and Hawaii is now working, Dutch inventor says
After a series of setbacks, a system for catching plastic floating in the Pacific between California and Hawaii is now working, its Dutch inventor said today. Boyan Slat, a university dropout who founded The Ocean Cleanup nonprofit, announced that the floating boom is skimming up waste ranging in size from a discarded net and a car wheel complete with tire to chips of plastic measuring just 1 millimeter. The results are promising enough to begin designing a second system to send to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area of floating plastic trash twice the size of Texas, Slat said. (Associated Press)

A ‘Chilling Message’: Trump Critics See a Deeper Agenda in California Feud
President Trump’s political feud with California has spread collateral damage across more than a dozen other states, which have seen their regulatory authority curtailed and their autonomy threatened by a Trump administration intent on weakening the environmental statutes of the country’s most populous state. When the administration last month revoked California’s authority to set state-level standards on climate-warming tailpipe emissions, it simultaneously stripped that power from 13 other states that follow California’s standards and ensured that no other state could set fuel-efficiency standards in the future. The Environmental Protection Agency last week followed up with letters to California that threatened to wield rarely used provisions of environmental law to withhold federal funding from the state if it did not take specific steps to clean its air and water. Coral Davenport report. (NY Times)

Mechanical trouble stalls train in Mount Vernon for few hour
A BNSF Railways train stopped on its tracks through Mount Vernon for about two hours Thursday morning snarled traffic across several major roads and caused backups on Interstate 5. Mount Vernon police Lt. Greg Booth said the southbound train's engine was stalled just south of Fir Street, leaving Fir Street, Riverside Drive, East College Way and Hoag Road blocked. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

We're Pulling Tuna Out Of The Ocean At Unprecedented — And Unsustainable — Rates
If you’re in the mood for a tuna poke bowl or an old-school tuna niçoise salad, here’s a tip: Don’t hit up the Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland. It has been nearly six years since chef Jonathon Sawyer became a “tuna evangelist” after attending a meeting of like-minded chefs at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was there that he made the decision to forgo tuna — both in his personal life and on the menus at all four of his restaurants. Clare Leschin-Hoar reports. (NPR)

What Your Coffee Says About Your Politics
Partisan divide creates different Americas, separate lives.  Robert B. Talisse explains. (Civil Beat)


Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  234 AM PDT Fri Oct 4 2019   
TODAY  E wind 15 to 20 kt becoming N 5 to 15 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 3 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less in the  afternoon. W swell 5 ft at 11 seconds. A chance of showers. 
TONIGHT  SW wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell  5 ft at 10 seconds. A chance of showers. 
SAT  SW wind to 10 kt becoming N in the afternoon. Wind waves  1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 9 seconds. A chance of showers in  the morning. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell  3 ft at 11 seconds. 
SUN  E wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at  11 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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10/3 Pollock, raising steelhead, pipleline rules, feeding grizzlies, IOSA, Deepwater Horizon, whale app, quake app, HI corals, bird decline

Walleye pollock [Wikipedia]

Walleye pollock Gadus chalcogrammus
Walleye pollock range from the northeastern Pacific Ocean from the Seas of Japan and Okhotsk, east in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, and south in the northwestern Pacific Ocean along the Canadian and U.S. west coast to Carmel, California. The highest densities of most populations are in the North Pacific Ocean, including the northern Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk, suggesting that walleye pollock populations in the Puget Sound are relatively isolated and genetically distant. (WDFW)

Proposal made to raise steelhead at area fish farms
The company whose collapsed fish farm off Cypress Island in August 2017 allowed hundreds of thousands of Atlantic salmon to be released into the region's waters may use its remaining net pens to raise steelhead trout.  That company, Cooke Aquaculture, has applied for permits to begin raising steelhead at its floating facilities in Puget Sound, where the state Legislature no longer allows the raising of Atlantic salmon. On Tuesday, the state Department of Fish & Wildlife announced plans to approve those permits. Fish & Wildlife also determined the proposal doesn't warrant an environmental impact statement, or EIS, under the state Environmental Policy Act. "This proposal will likely not have a significant adverse impact on the environment," Fish & Wildlife documents state. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Pipeline rules adopted years after deadly explosion, spills
U.S. transportation officials on Tuesday adopted long-delayed measures that are meant to prevent pipeline spills and deadly gas explosions but don’t address recommended steps to lessen accidents once they occur. The new rules from the Department of Transportation apply to more than 500,000 miles of pipelines that carry natural gas, oil and other hazardous materials throughout the U.S. In the works for almost a decade, the rules came in response to a massive gas explosion in San Bruno, California, that killed eight people in 2010, and large oil spills into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River in 2010 and the Yellowstone River in Montana in 2011 and 2015. Matthew Brown reports. (Associated Press)

B.C. First Nation feeds hungry grizzlies 500 salmon carcasses 
When Richard Sumner saw how emaciated the grizzly bears were in his neck of the woods, he knew something had to be done. Sumner, chief councillor of the Mamalilikulla First Nation, says the creeks and streams on the nation's territory, which  encompass the islands off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island between Alert Bay and Knight Inlet, are no longer rich with salmon, and resident bears are starving and travelling outside traditional hunting grounds in a desperate effort to find food. So the Mamalilikulla people fed them. (CBC)

Protecting the San Juans and Southern residents from oil spills
Thousands of vessels travel throughout the Salish Sea annually, either to pass through for commercial purposes or putter around for recreation. Each ship, boat and ferry that floats within the waters surrounding the islands brings with it the possibility of an oil spill — some more dangerous than others. An oil spill in the Salish Sea could mean the extinction of the already endangered Southern resident orcas. Islands’ Oil Spill Association was created in 1988 to help mitigate the effects of a spill on the San Juan Islands. Mandi Johnson report.s (Islands Sounder)

Nine Years On, the Deepwater Horizon’s Well Is a “Hellscape”
When biological oceanographer Clifton Nunnally of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and his colleagues used an underwater robot to inspect the wreckage around the Deepwater Horizon’s wellhead in 2017, one of the first things they saw was a solitary boot, a somber reminder of the lives lost in the disaster. No one had seen the area up close since 2012. “Everywhere we looked, it was part carnage and part ghost town,” Nunnally says. Charles Choi reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Washington State Ferries launches new whale alert app
Washington State Ferries has launched a new whale report alert app to help provide ferry captains with more accurate location information on whales throughout Puget Sound. Recreational boaters will be able to report whale sightings on the app, but will not have access to the app data. Access to data from the Whale Report Alert System will only be available to commercial operators like ferries, ships and tugs. (KIRO)

Earthquake Warning App To Come To Washington State Next Year
Washington state officials have announced an earthquake warning phone application is expected to be available for download October 2020. KING-TV reports that the app ShakeAlert was designed to send people an alert on how much time they have before earthquake shaking reaches them. ShakeAlert was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and research universities in California, Oregon and the University of Washington. (Associated Press) 

Record Heat Thrusts Hawaii Corals Into 'New Era' Of Bleaching
Hawaii’s corals are in peril, jeopardizing an important source of security, revenue and food for the state. The ocean has been too hot for too long this summer for these tiny animals to handle. It’s causing the corals to expel the symbiotic algae that lives inside them, which leaves their bony skeletons fragile and white. This is the third widespread coral bleaching in Hawaii since 2014. It happened once in the 1980s and once again in the 1990s, scientists said, but it’s on track to become an annual event by 2040 without a dramatic reduction in carbon emissions globally and stronger resource management locally. Nathan Eagle reports. (Civil Beat)

Bird decline
Regarding the article in Science about the decline in birds over the last 50 years, reader Don Norman writes: “I have been helping operate a monitoring station south of Tacoma at the Morse Preserve where volunteers have been banding birds for the past 24 seasons and the news is not all bad for birds (see the MAPS program at birdpop.org).  Because the site had been used for grazing prior to being given to the Tahoma Land Conservancy (now FORTERRA), its recovery (succession) and the careful elimination of non-native species, thanks to the work of Tahoma Audubon, is showing that several species are holding their own or increasing.  However, on my Breeding Bird Survey route (see the USGS Breeding Bird Survey for lots of data – a major source of the decline information), I am seeing swallows are definitely showing a decline.  But the species declines for golden-crowned kinglets are especially worrisome, as they are the canaries of the coniferous forests.  But the data collection is difficult, and changes in weather, not only just locally when the surveys are conducted, but also the tropical weather for the neotropical migrants, and even the North Atlantic Oscillation, which guides some of our winter weather, are correlated with productivity and survivorship. What is clear is that tracts of forest (or riparian areas) need to be large, at least 75 acres, to protect many species, and the removal of non-natives and the retention of large trees, snags and logs is critical.”



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  244 AM PDT Thu Oct 3 2019   
TODAY  SE wind 5 to 15 kt becoming S 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 5 ft at 9 seconds.  Showers and a slight chance of tstms. 
TONIGHT  SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  7 ft at 11 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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10/2 Clown nudibranch, BC birds, outdoor preschools, rising coastal waters

Clown nudibranch [Mary Jo Adams]

Clown nudibranch Triopha catalinea
Watch for this distinctive nudibranch in tidepools and amongst seaweed in mid to low rocky intertidal areas. It is generally less than 3 inches long but can grow larger. This species eats bryozoans. It was previously named Triopha carpenteri .   The clown nudibranch can be found in water to 115 feet deep. Mary Jo Adams writes. (Sound Water Stewards)

Bye-bye birdies: Shorebirds among species in decline in Vancouver
The good news for birds is that some species are increasing in Metro Vancouver. The bad news, however, is a dismal downward spiral in overall numbers. Local bird experts say a recent analysis that showed a drop of 2.9 billion birds, or 29 per cent, since 1970 in North America, is reflected in Beautiful B.C. Decline of the North American avifauna was published in the Sept. 19 issue of the journal Science. It used independent monitoring networks to count birds in Canada and the U.S. during the past 48 years. The analysis looked at 529 species representing 76 per cent of bird species but almost the entire number of birds. ...The overall trend in Metro echoes both the analysis released earlier in September and the State of Canada’s Birds 2019report released earlier this year, said David Bradley, director of programming for the B.C. program office of Bird Studies Canada. “It clearly shows a decline in shorebirds, air insectivores such as swallows and swifts, and also grassland birds which you don’t find so much in Vancouver,” he said. Kevin Griffin    reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Learning in nature: Washington becomes first in the country to license outdoor preschools 
....Because the idea of outdoor early education is catching on nationwide, Washington launched a pilot program in 2017 to develop official requirements that all licensed outdoor preschools must follow. Until recently, no outdoor preschools in the United States were licensed, which meant they couldn’t offer full-day programs, an important factor for many working families. Unlicensed outdoor preschools also can’t offer state financial assistance to families. But over the past two years, the Washington Department of Children, Youth and Families has worked on creating new guidelines specifically for outdoor learning, which has slightly different regulations than indoor schools. One new standard requires each classroom to have one teacher for every six kids, so most classes have two or three staff members. Other guidelines detail how to implement naptime, or what to do when it rains...Because the idea of outdoor early education is catching on nationwide, Washington launched a pilot program in 2017 to develop official requirements that all licensed outdoor preschools must follow...This fall, with the new regulations in hand, the state finally started to officially license a few programs, becoming the first in the country to do so. In early September, two programs made it through the process: Squaxin Island Child Development Center in Shelton, Mason County, and Kaleidoscope Preschool and Child Care Center in Eastsound, San Juan County. Tiny Trees will hopefully follow shortly, said Aliza Yair, who works with the state’s outdoor preschool pilot program.

Washington's coastal tribes are working to escape rising sea levels. A bill in D.C. could help
For the Native tribes that have historically lived along Washington’s Pacific coast, the threat of rising waters is real and imminent. As a result, many must grapple with the forced relocation of entire villages to higher ground before their homes are submerged.  “We’ve been advocating for our coastline, our relocation, for quite some time,” Quinault Indian Nation President Fawn Sharp says. “Not only raising the issue of the expense of relocating two entire villages, but the impacts on our coastline.” Other tribes, like the Makah and Hoh, have similarly spent years scrambling to figure out how to pay for these moves. In response, U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, has sponsored a bill that could get tribes better access to funding for relocation and other efforts that mitigate rising sea level and climate change threats. Sharp testified in support of the bill before national legislators last July.  Manola Secaira reports. (Crosscut)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  246 AM PDT Wed Oct 2 2019   
TODAY  SE wind to 10 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 3 ft at 14 seconds. A slight  chance of rain in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  SE wind 10 to 20 kt becoming E 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 4 ft at 9 seconds. Rain  likely in the evening then showers likely 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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10/1 Snow goose, South Seattle pollution, BC fish farms, dam removal, 'flushable' wipes, urban deer dollars

Snow goose [Greg Lavaty]

Snow goose Chen caerulescens
A large goose, the Snow Goose occurs in a white or a dark morph. The white morph, the most common, is all white with black primaries. The dark morph, known as the Blue Goose, is extremely rare in Washington and has a dark gray body and white head. Both morphs have orange legs. Juveniles are gray overall with dark legs...There are two subspecies of Snow Goose, the Greater and the Lesser Snow Geese, which vary in size. (BirdWeb)

County faces tough choice on lease for company with checkered environmental past
Seattle’s biggest industrial soot producer is seeking a lease renewal on county-owned land beside a heavily polluted south Seattle neighborhood with a large population of people of color and a documented history of air and water quality problems. It’s a neighborhood where, according to a health study, residents live sicker and die younger than people in whiter and more affluent parts of Seattle, in part because of high pollution levels. Government records show that the glass recycling plant operated by the multinational Ardagh Group near the base of the Highway 99 bridge over the Duwamish River is by far the most prolific single emitter of soot in the Puget Sound region. It sits beside Georgetown and South Park, two neighborhoods with some of Seattle’s biggest concentrations of minorities. Studies have identified it as an area with one of the highest asthma hospitalization rates in King County. Robert McCure and Sergio Olmos report. (Investigate West)

Liberal promise to end open-pen salmon farms in B.C. making waves on East Coast
Canada's aquaculture industry is condemning a Liberal Party campaign promise to phase out open-pen salmon farms in British Columbia as "reckless" and "irresponsible," while a Liberal candidate running for re-election in a salmon farming area in southern New Brunswick is also expressing reservations. Karen Ludwig, who was elected MP for New Brunswick Southwest in 2015, said moving toward closed-containment systems, which involve farming fish in land-based tanks or in pens walled off from the open ocean, "really is a long transition, if that's even going to happen." Paul Withers reports. (CBC)

Concerned over dwindling salmon, advocates seek a political route to dam removal
After decades of court cases that have weakened federal management, the path to restoration may run through Congress. Carl Segerstrom reports. (High Country News/Crosscut)

‘Flushable’ wipes are a messy, expensive environmental problem
Personal wipes: we use them all over the house, car, and garage. We use them on the go, but when we get rid of them, it's causing big problems. Massive pipe clogs, broken sewer pumps, and toxic sewer overflows sometimes. It's hard to calculate exactly how it's costing homeowners and renters in the forms of higher water bills -- but it could easily be in the millions for cities and public works departments all across the country. In Seattle, it costs the city thousands upon thousands of staff hours to deal with this problem. Three or four times every month, crews have to respond to pumps that have stopped working. When they can't get to them in time, it can lead to some big problems. Tim Joyce reports. (KCPQ)

B.C. government distributing $100K for urban deer management programs
Deer may have a gentle and serene reputation, but the reality in some communities in British Columbia is quite different. According to the chair of the Provincial Urban Deer Advisory Committee, the creatures are behind plenty of frightening incidents...CBC News analysis done last year found deer were behind the second highest number of phone calls to conservation officers to report threatening wildlife in a two-year span between 2016-2018. The conservation officer's service received 406 calls about aggressive deer during that time. Rafferty Baker reports. (CBC)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  247 AM PDT Tue Oct 1 2019   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 3 ft  at 15 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 3 ft  at 14 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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Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told