7/12 Rockfish ESA, fighting eagles, MV Coho, sinking vessels, scorpionflies

Black rockfish (NOAA)

The Center for Biological Diversity said Thursday it intends to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service for missing a deadline to designate protected habitat for endangered Puget Sound rockfish. It's been three years since they were listed. A lawyer for the group in San Francisco, Catherine Kilduff, says some rockfish can live to be 100 years old and losing them would be like clear-cutting an old growth forest. Fisheries Service spokesman Brian Gorman in Seattle says the agency will likely complete the designation within 60 days, before a lawsuit would be filed. Gorman says the designation will have little practical effect because it would overlay existing protections in Puget Sound for Chinook salmon and killer whales. The designation serves as a red flag to federal agencies. Lawsuit threatened over Puget Sound rockfish

If you like to watch: It’s always pretty special to see an eagle soaring near the water. But summer revelers in Seattle were recently shocked when they saw two of the large birds fighting in mid-air, dive-bombing each other at Seward Park.  Dylan Okimoto and his daughter were throwing a football around at the park on July 4 when suddenly others near him started shouting. “So I turn around and think I catch a glimpse of something black and spiraling,” Okimoto said. "And it ends up (that) two eagles crash-land into the water.” Bellamy Pailthorp reports. Close Encounter with Fighting Eagles at Seward Park  

U.S. and Canadian authorities have begun an investigation into what caused the MV Coho ferry to back into a dock used to service seaplanes on its way out of Victoria's Inner Harbour on Wednesday. The collision broke the floating structure into at least three pieces. It was the first such incident for the 53-year-old ferry, company officials said.  No planes were tied to the dock, and no injuries were reported in the 7:30 p.m. crash. Jeremy Schwartz reports. Two-nation probe opens into unprecedented MV Coho crash into Victoria dock

Divers were having trouble Thursday removing the vessel Clam Digger from the water where it sank near Guemes Island Wednesday evening. No fuel appeared to be leaking from the vessel Thursday, which was estimated to hold nearly 3,000 gallons of fuel. Several agencies were on-site, prepared to respond to a spill. Tides, currents and weather in the area could quickly dissipate leaks, making them hard to identify, state Department of Ecology spokesman Dustin Terpening said. Kimberly Cauvel reports. Workers struggle to recover sunken vessel near Guemes Island  And: Yacht destroyed by fire sinks in Roche Harbor marina

Ancient fossils of an extinct family of insects have been found in British Columbia and northern Washington state, and a Canadian biologist says they may hold valuable lessons about climate change and evolution. Bruce Archibald of Simon Fraser University said researchers found fossils belonging to a previously unknown family of scorpionflies near Cache Creek, B.C., and Republic, Wash., while conducting fieldwork. Scorpionflies are flying scavengers that feed on the remains of other insects. Fossils of extinct scorpionflies found in B.C.

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI JUL 12 2013
TODAY
W WIND 10 KT RISING TO 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT...BUILDING TO 1 TO 3 FT IN THE AFTERNOON. W SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT EASING TO 5 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
SAT
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING W 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS IN THE AFTERNOON. W SWELL 3 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 2 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
SUN
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING W 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 2 FT AT 8 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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7/11 Oil train, oil terminal, estuarium, dead Elwha fish, Tseycum clams, abalone nursery, army land fund, state email search

If you like to listen: Penguins, ducks, and meadowlarks provide inspiration BirdNote: Jazz for the Birds

Washington Department of Ecology officials long have planned for crude-oil spills from a ruptured pipeline or a maritime mishap. With surging production from North Dakota increasing the amount of petroleum being shipped by rail, they have scrambled during the past year to prepare for a third possibility — oil leaking out of derailed tanker cars. In the aftermath of Saturday’s train disaster in Quebec that killed some 50 people, state officials say they must now contemplate another scenario — oil tanker cars that blow up.  Hal Bernton reports. Fiery Quebec wreck adds to state’s oil-train concerns

A deadly oil-train explosion in Quebec has given pause to Port of Vancouver commissioners in southwest Washington. They want to rethink their next move with a proposal for a terminal to move oil from trains onto ships. The port commission was set to vote July 23 on the largest train-to-ship oil transfer terminal proposed for the Northwest. That vote is still scheduled, along with a public hearing the previous day. But the outcome could be different than previously expected. Port commissioner Brian Wolfe said Wednesday he now wants to extend the negotiation period with the oil-terminal developers to give the commission more time before voting on whether to approve the lease for the oil-train terminal. Ashley Ahearn reports. Vancouver Port Hesitating On Proposed Oil-Train Terminal

The South Sound Estuary Association reached a major milestone Thursday. The group opened the doors to a marine life discovery center in downtown Olympia, a place for the public to learn more about the mysteries of where the river meets the sea. From the outside, the South Sound Estuarium at 608 Washington St. N.E. looks like a modest place. But step inside the 700-square-foot center packed with a dozen, estuary-themed exhibits and you’re bound to see a marine creature you’ve never seen before, or learn something new about South Sound tideflats and beaches, river deltas, geology, habitat losses and habitat restoration. The estuarium is a small, but significant step forward for a dedicated bunch of volunteers who envision a day when the Olympia waterfront is home to a full-time marine science center. The one that opened Thursday is a temporary home the non-profit group rented this summer from the Port of Olympia for $250.  John Dodge reports. Discover marine life at South Sound Estuarium

A container ship longer and wider than a Navy aircraft carrier called at the Port of Tacoma’s Washington United Terminal Wednesday setting a new record for vessel size at the port. The Zim Djibouti  has a capacity of 10,000 container units, about 40 percent larger than the typical container vessel that calls on port terminals. The container vessel is 1,145 feet long and 151 feet wide.  The USS Nimitz,  is 1,090 feet long and 134 wide at the waterline although at the flight deck the Nimitz is 252 feet wide.  The aircraft carrier is stationed at Naval Station Everett. “Its length stretches more than twice the diameter of the Tacoma Dome and almost twice the height of the Space Needle,” the port noted in a press release. John Gille reports. Containership sets new size record for Port of Tacoma

At least 200,000 young fish have been found dead at the Lower Elwha Klallam fish hatchery on Stratton Road after a water pump failure. Tribal officials said the failure was in a secondary pump that had to be used because of ongoing sediment problems at Olympic National Park’s Elwha Water Treatment Plant. Hatchery staff counted roughly 200,000 dead coho salmon, spawned last fall, and about 2,000 dead yearling steelhead trout at the hatchery over the weekend, Lower Elwha Klallam tribal officials said in a statement released Wednesday. Hatchery officials said the coho deaths represented about 50 percent of this year’s production. Jeremy Schwartz reports. Some 200,000 fish reported dead at Lower Elwha fish hatchery

Members of the Tseycum First Nation are facing a setback in their move to revive the traditional practice of harvesting clams in Patricia Bay after the closure of a local program that monitored marine health. Chief Tanya Jones said the Saanich Inlet Protection Society’s Shorekeeping program, a community-based stewardship project that relied on local non-professionals to collect data on intertidal ecosystems, provided the first step toward cleaning up the beaches and restoring ecosystem health. But with no commitment from the federal government to continue analysis of the 14 years’ worth of data that she and other volunteers have collected, the volunteers have agreed to close the program. Amy Smart reports. Tseycum hoping to bring back Pat Bay shellfish harvest, restore ecosystem   See also: Without scientific analysis, work wasted, Saanich Inlet shorekeepers say  

Just as he brought the snails out it started to rain. Luckily these are animals that like to get wet – in fact they need it to survive. “If they are out of water for any longer than five minutes you might want to give them a gentle dunk,” said Josh Bouma, abalone program director at Puget Sound Restoration Fund, as he filled two cages with the rare snail. Bouma recently visited Orcas to install “remote nurseries” at locations where volunteers can monitor and care for the abalone. Cali Bagby reports. Abalone nurseries arrive

An environmental preservation effort aimed at keeping endangered species alive while freeing up the Army to use its valuable South Sound training grounds is receiving a $12.6 million boost in funding from the federal government and nonprofit organizations. Joint Base Lewis-McChord and its surrounding communities were chosen for a pilot project partnering community organizations with the Defense, Interior and Agriculture departments. They’ll use the money to buy and preserve land outside the base to protect species such as Mazama pocket gophers, Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies and streak-horned larks. It could be used to purchase and set aside land, or to support agricultural easements that allow farmers and ranches to continue using their property. Adam Ashton reports. Federal government steering millions to South Sound to preserve gophers, artillery ranges

In a move inspired by the IRS’ scrutiny of the tea party and other nonprofit groups, the Olympia-based Freedom Foundation has filed records requests with four Washington state agencies asking for employee emails and other records containing certain words, including “tea party,” “Catholic,” “Mormon” and “redneck.” The requests were filed in May. Representatives of the libertarian-style think tank say they are looking for evidence of bias toward the public and regulated organizations. “We tried to come up with terms that we thought would be logical to be used in correspondence about possibly targeted groups,’’ Glen Morgan, property-rights director for the nonprofit organization, which has a hard-right reputation for its battles over land-use limits in environmentally sensitive zones and its perennial criticism of government regulations and spending. Brad Shannon reports. State emails searched for terms such as ‘tea party,’ ‘hicks’

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT THU JUL 11 2013
TODAY
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT OR LESS AFTER MIDNIGHT. W
 SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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7/10 OR coal, BC crabs, Oly shores, Tethys water, Tacoma water, ecosystem diversity

Mama Springer

Hearings about a proposed coal export project drew hundreds of opponents and backers in Portland and Hermiston, Ore. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is considering permits to let the proposal move ahead. Crowds rallied during rush-hour, as coal opponents held a “people’s hearing” outside an Oregon Department of Environmental Quality meeting. The Department hosted two hearings on the Morrow Pacific Project, a proposed coal export terminal that would transport nearly 9 million tons of coal through the Pacific Northwest to Asia. Courtney Flatt and Cassandra Profita report. Hundreds Turn Out For Hearing On Columbia River Coal Plan

The tasty, hence lucrative, Dungeness crab is off-limits in B.C.’s northern coastal waters this month, and the region’s crab fishermen are exceedingly, well, crabby about it. “Yeah, you could say that,” said Dan Edwards, executive director of the Area A Crab Association, as he voiced the fishermen’s mounting anger over a decision by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to keep the crab fishery closed until Aug. 1.... Mel Kotyk, area director for the DFO, said the region was declared off-limits for crab harvesting after sampling provided insufficient evidence that it was safe to allow the fishermen to lay their traps without damaging the fishery. Rod Mickleburgh reports. Closing of B.C. Dungeness crab fishery sparks anger

More than a hundred people attended the Olympia City Council’s public hearing Tuesday on the draft Shoreline Master Program, a state-mandated plan that regulates development on state shorelines. The city has been considering the plan for more than three years. Several who spoke early in the hearing, including business owners, developers and others tied to the business community, praised the current draft, although they also pointed out parts they would like to see changed. Others in the audience reminded the City Council that the SMP is not just for developers but for the city and community at large, and still more raised the issues of public access to the waterfront and the threat of sea-level rise. Rolf Boone reports. Crowd comments on Olympia shore plan  

The Skagit County Commissioners (Tuesday) morning unanimously voted to docket the city of Anacortes’ request to expand its urban growth area. The property is being eyed by Tethys Enterprises for a potential 1 million-square-foot bottling facility. Docketing the proposal means the review will continue. The county Planning Department will now start an environmental review process. Once that is complete, public hearings will be scheduled before the county Planning Commission. The commission’s recommendation will then be forwarded to the county commissioners for review and a final decision. Kimberly Jacobson reports. County commissioners docket city’s UGA request  

Tacoma Water is projecting that it will receive about $800,000 in annual revenue should a California-based water-bottling company become one of its customers. That money from a deal with Niagara Bottling LLC could help keep water rate increases for residential customers in check, utility officials told the Tacoma City Council at a study session Tuesday. “For us to sell our surplus supply is a good deal, and it will allow us to mitigate rate increases,” said Tony Lindgren, Tacoma Water’s distribution engineering manager. Melissa Santos reports. Tacoma Water seeking approval to sell water at discounted rate to bottler

Ocean acidification may create an impact similar to extinction on marine ecosystems, according to a study released today by the University of California, Davis. The study, published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that ocean acidification can degrade not only individual species, as past studies have shown, but entire ecosystems. This results in a homogenized marine community, dominated by fewer plants and animals. Glimpse Into the Future of Acidic Oceans Shows Ecosystems Transformed  

On the other hand: By studying rapidly evolving bacteria as they diversify and compete under varying environmental conditions, researchers have shown that temporal niches are important to maintaining biodiversity in natural systems. The research is believed to be the first experimental demonstration of temporal niche dynamics promoting biodiversity over evolutionary time scales. The temporal niches -- changes in environmental conditions that occur during specific periods of time -- promoted frequency-dependent selection within the bacterial communities and positive growth of new mutants. They played a vital role in allowing diversity among bacterial phenotypes to persist. Study Helps Understand How Nature Maintains Diversity

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT WED JUL 10 2013
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT...RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT...BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. NW SWELL 5 FT AT 8
 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 FT. NW SWELL 5
 FT AT 7 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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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7/9 Mom Springer, porpoises, oil train, crab volunteers, Boulevard Park, drones, dying from coal

PHOTO: Laurie MacBride

Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes about artichokes: "Vegetable or flower? I guess it depends on your point of view. In the ornamental garden outside our neighbourhood restaurant, artichokes are grown for their lovely purple flowers, and never eaten. But in our own garden, we cut them long before their flowers can form, to enjoy as tender young vegetables. Botanically, artichokes are a type of thistle, but unlike most of their cousins, they’re very welcome in the garden..." Seeing the Art in Artichokes  /

New blog: "The bad joke used to be that the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority had no authority, the Puget Sound Action Team didn’t take much action, and the Puget Sound Partnership’s Leadership Council.. well, you can finish the bad joke. The Leadership Council meets in Skagit County this coming Wednesday and Thursday at the Padilla Bay Reserve..." Shhh...Puget Sound Partnership's Leadership At Work  

Springer, the orphaned orca that made headlines around Seattle 11 years ago when she was the first orca to be captured and reintroduced to her pod, is now a mom. The orca, also known as A73, was spotted near Vancouver Island with her baby on July 4, according to the Pacific Whale Watch Association. Springer was discovered in January 2002 all alone along the ferry lanes off West Seattle, some 250 miles from her home waters of Johnstone Strait in British Columbia. Springer the orca is a new mom  

After nearly disappearing from local waters for decades, harbor porpoises are once again a common sight in Puget Sound. “They are back, big time,” says biologist John Calambokidis with the Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia. “They are probably the most common cetacean in Puget Sound.” Common in our inland waters through the 1940s and ’50s, harbor porpoises virtually disappeared in Puget Sound south of Admiralty Inlet and Hood Canal by the early 1970s. Lynda Mapes reports. Harbor porpoises now a common sight in Puget Sound  

The weekend’s deadly oil-train derailment and explosion in the Canadian province of Quebec has raised concerns in the Pacific Northwest, where there are several proposals to increase the amount of oil transported into to the region by train. By Monday afternoon the confirmed death toll had reached 13, with 50 people still missing after Saturday’s derailment of more than 70 tanker cars. They were filled with oil from the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota - home of the largest oil boom in recent U.S. history. Bakken oil is also moving through the Northwest in increasing amounts, with three sites in Washington and Oregon receiving oil by train from North Dakota, and eight more in various stages of the permitting process. The proposals could bring oil trains to ports along the Columbia River, Puget Sound and the Washington coast. Ashley Ahearn reports. Canada’s Oil Train Disaster Sparks Northwest Concern    And: Safety rules lag as oil transport by train rises  

Guys with badges and guns don't always elicit the most open and friendly response from crabbers. So the state Department of Fish & Wildlife's enforcement division is trying something new.... (Amanda) Flynn-Stach is a recreational crabber educator, a Washington State University Kitsap Extension volunteer who works with Fish & Wildlife to teach crab conservation and the many rules governing the recreational catch. She and about a half-dozen other volunteers began visiting docks and marinas around Kitsap just after the Dungeness season began July 1. While often wearing red crab-shaped beanies, the volunteers gently remind crabbers how to identify and measure crabs and the various ways they can prevent the all-too-common waste of what has become one of Puget Sound's most sought-after catches. Tristan Baurick reports. Volunteers help educate Puget Sound crabbers

Visitors to Boulevard Park will find a fence that runs much of the length of the park, cutting off access to a swath of lawn and the shoreline north of The Woods Coffee. The city of Bellingham has started its $422,079 project to take out the concrete riprap and return the beach to a natural state by replacing the rubble with material such as coarse sand, large rocks, cobbles and beach gravel. The project will reduce erosion, make getting to the water easier and improve near-shore habitat, Bellingham officials said. Kie Relyea reports. Project to rebuild Boulevard Park shoreline to be done by mid-October

They’re the tools of modern-day warfare: unmanned aircraft systems better known as drones. They’re also being tested to help carry our important scientific missions, including surveys of wildlife and marine debris in the National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of the Olympic Peninsula. In the marina at La Push aboard the research vessel Tatoosh, two pilots dressed in dark blue uniforms run a pre-flight check on a Puma unmanned aircraft system. They’re with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, the federal science agency that studies changes in our environment. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. Feds testing drones for scientific and environmental missions

China's policy of giving free coal for heating to residents in the north has contributed to shaving 5.5 years off life expectancy there, a study says. It says air pollution from burning coal in the area north of the Huai River, with a population of some 500m people, was 55% higher than in the south. The region also had higher rates of heart and lung disease as a result of the policy in force up to 1980. China free coal policy in the north 'cut lifespans'    Read also: How to keep coal where it belongs: in the ground  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT TUE JUL 9 2013
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT...RISING TO 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT...BUILDING TO 1 TO 3 FT. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 7
 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 KT OVERNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT. NW SWELL 5 FT AT 7 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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7/8 Oly shores, train derail, coal hearings, pilings, Anacortes cleanup, port air, Gwen Barlee, fish virus, rockfish record

Birdnote: Red-Tail hawk (Paul Bannick)

If you like to listen: A Red-tailed Hawk soars on broad, rounded wings, the epitome of effortless flight. Without flapping, it traces a leisurely, rising circle. The hawk is riding a thermal, a column of warm rising air generated near the earth's surface by heat from the sun. The Red-tail periodically circles to stay within the thermal. Riding thermals is an energy-efficient way to search for prey below. BirdNote: Soaring with Redtails

If you like to watch: Gerald Woldtvedt captured the excitement of the Friday Harbor 4th of July parade's People's March Against Coal

Nearly 6,000 households in Olympia received a postcard from the citizens group Friends of the Waterfront in the past two weeks warning that the Olympia City Council was considering “buildings right to the water’s edge for just about any use — all along Olympia’s waterfront!” The group is trying to get people to show up Tuesday to the council’s public hearing on the draft Shoreline Master Program, a state-mandated plan that regulates development on state shorelines. The city has been considering the plan for more than three years. “What prompted us to send those out was that the City Council has done such an abysmal job informing the public of what their plans are,” said Bob Jacobs, a former mayor and member of Friends of the Waterfront. “They have refused to publish one picture. Not one. And people don’t understand what is about to happen to them.” Matt Batcheldor reports. Citizens group clashes with Olympia council over waterfront

The official death toll has grown to five in Lac-Mégantic, Que., after a derailed train carrying crude oil exploded in the town's core, levelling buildings and forcing as many as 2,000 people from their homes. Quebec provincial police said two more bodies were discovered Sunday morning, in addition to the three that were found the night before in the hardest-hit area in the centre of town. Police say about 40 people have been reported missing by immediate family members in the town of about 6,000 people, located roughly 250 kilometres east of Montreal. Death toll rises to 5 after Lac-Mégantic train blasts

Crowds are predicted Tuesday in Portland and Hermiston, Ore. for the latest round of hearings on one of the Northwest’s proposed coal export projects. People have been turning out in big numbers throughout the Northwest to voice their opinions about proposed coal export terminals. So far, those hearings have focused on the Gateway Pacific coal project north of Bellingham, Wash. It was the first of the region’s three currently proposed coal terminals to be up for public input during the approval process. The two other proposed export terminals — both on the Columbia River — are up next. Tuesday’s hearings are for the Morrow Pacific Project. Regulators this week announced a series of hearings that are tentatively scheduled for the fall on Longview, Wash.’s proposed Millennium Bulk Terminal. Courtney Flatt reports. Big Crowds Predicted For Coal Export Hearings In Oregon  

While there is no serious dispute among scientists that climate change is human caused and happening, the timetable and specifics of its consequences are more murky. Jon Talton writes. Coal, jobs and climate change the debate  

Portions of the public beach along the Chambers Creek Properties will temporarily close starting Monday as workers remove about half of the old pilings that line the shoreline. The creosote-coated pilings are among the last remnants of the sand and gravel mining that occurred on the property for more than a century. Removing them will improve the look and health of the shoreline, Pierce County officials said. Christian Hill reports. Pilings to be removed at Chambers Creek beach

The state Department of Ecology has announced plans to visit the Anacortes waterfront to answer questions and take comments on a major pollution cleanup of the former Custom Plywood mill, scheduled to kick off in mid-July. The project is expected to be a big step toward cleaning up and restoring the Fidalgo Bay ecosystem, Ecology officials say. Ecology representatives will be on hand from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 13-14 at Rotary Park on the Tommy Thompson Trail near the site at 35th Street and V Avenue. The state agency will oversee the project, which will remove about eight acres of contaminated in-water sediment, 1,100 toxin-leaching pilings and 7,000 tons of other material. Additional steps will be taken to improve the shoreline habitat. Plans are to wrap up the project in October. Kimberly Cauvel reports. Anacortes old mill cleanup planned for July  

The ports of Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver, B.C., are working together to dramatically reduce emissions. And they’re trying to do that without scaring away any cargo companies.  Most of the diesel air pollution at the ports comes from ocean-going ships, but also from tug boats, cranes, trucks and trains.  The three ports have been working together since 2007 to reduce air pollution, and now they’ve set percentage reductions they want to achieve: a 75 percent reduction in diesel emissions by 2015 and 80 percent by 2020. Ashley Gross reports. Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver ports aim to reduce air pollution

As a child, Gwen Barlee learned the value of digging deeper, but it was not until she grew up and began to investigate government that her perseverance really paid off. Ms. Barlee, policy director of the Wilderness Committee, has carved out a reputation over the past decade for her tenacious use of Freedom of Information applications. Investigating everything from the government’s policy on parking meters in provincial parks to British Columbia’s diagnostic failings in detecting Lyme disease, Ms. Barlee has developed a knack for uncovering documents that others want to keep buried. Mark Hume reports. Environmentalist gets results through persistent pursuit of documents  

Scientists fear there could be a reluctance to report a deadly fish virus after the first lab in Canada to say it was detected in British Columbia salmon was stripped of a special reference status by an international agency. Marine researchers say they were stunned to hear that the World Organization for Animal Health, or OIE, recently suspended the reference status from a research laboratory at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island. Run by Fred Kibenge, who is considered one of the world's leading authorities on infectious salmon anemia, it was one of only two labs in the world recognized by the group for the testing of the virus. Alison Auld reports. Scientists concerned over chill in reporting of salmon virus after lab delisted  

A record-breaking rockfish was hauled in near Sitka last month. Henry Liebman reeled in the 39.08-pound shortraker, breaking the old record of 38.69 pounds for a shortraker caught on sportfishing gear. The age of the fish hasn't yet been determined, but that too might be a record, a fishery expert said....Troy Tydingco, Sitka area manager for the state Department of Fish and Game, certified Liebman's catch, and said this fish might be in the neighborhood of 200 years old. Tom Hesse reports. Record rockfish may also be the oldest

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON JUL 8 2013
TODAY
W WIND 10 KT...BECOMING NW IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT. NW SWELL 5 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT. NW 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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

7/5 Ship rescue, train derail, BC sludge, cleanup bill, Cedar Grove, zero waste, BC tribal fish, fish virus

If you like to watch: Matt Prigee's illustrated guide to lawmakers' triumphs and foibles of the last session (or three). A comic con: Washington Legislature 2013

A cargo ship lost steering off Port Angeles just after midnight Wednesday and was towed into the Port Angeles Harbor for repair. The state Department of Ecology received a report from the state Emergency Management Division that the Grand Quest lost steering 6 nautical miles northwest of Port Angeles in the Strait of Juan de Fuca just after 12:15 a.m. The Grand Quest is a 587-foot Panama-flagged auto carrier that left Astoria, Ore., at 5:35 p.m. Tuesday, and was on its way to Tacoma, according to the ship's GPS locator beacon. The Brian S., a Port Angeles-based tug, towed the ship to anchor in Port Angeles at about 3 a.m., said Petty Officer Katelyn Tyson, a Coast Guard spokeswoman. Cargo ship loses steering, towed to Port Angeles for repairs  

Burlington Northern Santa Fe says a freight train has derailed in Everett, leaving four cars off the track, but no injuries or spills. The main rail line north of Seattle is blocked by the cars. Railroad spokesman Gus Melonas says the cars that derailed around 4:10 a.m. Friday, just outside the rail yard nearly 30 miles north of Seattle. They were carrying barley and paper products.  Amtrak and freight trains will drive around the derailment, as railroad workers spend the day getting the train back on the tracks and making any necessary track repairs. Freight train derails in Everett; no injuries  

An angry public has pushed regional politicians into abandoning plans for a sewage sludge facility at Viewfield Road in Esquimalt. The Capital Regional District board voted Wednesday to no longer consider a sludge site on Viewfield after public consultation sessions showed overwhelming opposition to the location. The vote was unanimous, with several CRD board members admitting the Viewfield debacle was a mistake that badly damaged public trust in the regional government and its contentious sewage treatment plans. Rob Shaw reports. Spurred by rancour, CRD abandons plan to build sewage sludge plant in Esquimalt  

In an unexpected vote, the state Senate approved changes to a new toxics cleanup bill that addressed the concerns of environmentalists. The so-called "trailer bill," which modified the Model Toxics Control Act reform bill that passed on June 13, received a 34-13 vote in the Senate on June 28. The amending bill was delivered to Gov. Jay Inslee for his signature.... Democrats introduced the trailer bill in the House on June 23 to adjust language that they noticed in the original bill after it had been signed by the governor. Democrats wanted the law to limit the types of stormwater projects that qualify for cleanup funds, and to restrict polluting companies' access to the money. Ralph Schwartz reports. Toxics cleanup bill aimed at Bellingham waterfront gets environmentally friendly fix

Something stinks in the cities of Everett and Marysville, and city officials want to get to the bottom of it, using professional sniffers to pinpoint the stench. Some blame the Everett water treatment facility, and others blame the Cedar Grove composting plant. To get to the bottom of this smelly mystery, city officials are trying to trace where exactly the stench is coming from using small devices called e-noses. Luke Duecy reports. Everett using electronic nose to sniff out source of mysterious stench

As Metro Vancouver pursues a zero-waste solution to its garbage problem, other regional districts are taking the same approach on a smaller scale. In Squamish-Lillooet, for example, a draft zero-waste report for part of the district will be discussed at a committee meeting on Monday. The area is running short of approved places to put its garbage, and the report’s findings are expected to become part of a district-wide plan for solid-waste management. Wendy Stueck reports. Zero-waste plan gaining ground in B.C. communities  

The B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled a Vancouver Island First Nation has the right to conduct commercial fisheries. The 10-year legal fight over fish and shellfish fisheries wound its way to the Supreme Court of Canada before the final word was released Wednesday from the province’s appeal court. The Nuu-chah-nulth went to court saying its people have been fishing and trading their catch long before Europeans arrived, and that translates to modern-commercial fishing rights. First Nation’s right to commercial fishery upheld by B.C. appeals court

A lab that revealed the first evidence of an infectious virus in British Columbia salmon has been stripped of its international credentials. The lab, run by Fred Kibenge of the Atlantic Veterinary College – University of Prince Edward Island, was one of a handful certified by the World Organization for Animal Health for its expertise in detecting the infectious salmon anemia virus. Andrea Woo reports. Lab that found virus in B.C. salmon stripped of credentials after audit  

Here’s your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 856 AM PDT FRI JUL 5 2013
TODAY
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING SW TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT OR LESS AFTER
 MIDNIGHT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
SAT
S WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING SW 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 5 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT OR LESS AFTER
 MIDNIGHT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
SUN
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING W TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 8 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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7/3 Longview coal, Vancouver rocks, Kitimat pollution, herring, oysters, Vic sewage, Skagit water, oystercatchers

Celebrate a Safe 4th

Federal, state and Cowlitz County regulators have scheduled five public meetings across the state for the proposed Millennium Bulk Terminals coal dock west of Longview, the agencies announced Tuesday. Regulators said the meetings are part of the scoping process for the $643 million terminal. “Scoping” meetings are intended to identify factors and issues that should be analyzed to assess the environmental impact of the project. The meetings will be held in areas that may see an increase in rail traffic if coal is shipped to the terminal from Montana and Wyoming, according to regulators. Erik Olson reports. Schedule of public meetings over Longview coal terminal released

Thirty years ago Vancouver took the highly unusual and provocative step of declaring itself a “nuclear weapons-free zone,” following a few years later with the declaration its port, a regular stop for U.S. warships, is also nuke free. It helped fix in peoples’ minds the eccentricity of Vancouver as a city willing to sometimes overstep its jurisdiction in order to make a broader public point. Last month city council helped reinforce that view by declaring June 10 “Meatless Monday” as part of an effort to reduce the environmental and agricultural impact of world meat production. Nowadays Vancouver has lots of company from municipal governments that are either eager — or sometimes pushed — to weigh in on issues that have little to do with traditional municipal responsibilities. Jeff Lee reports. Metro Vancouver stands strong on environmental issues

Since well before the recent BC election, Premier Christy Clark has been touting the potential to develop a $1 trillion industry to export liquefied natural gas to Asia. But as companies start to line up with massive proposals, critics are taking aim at Clark’s government for not knowing how many facilities can be approved in Kitimat—a key export hub for LNG—before local air pollution from the energy-intensive plants significantly harms human health. Jonathan Fowlie reports. Air pollution a concern as Kitimat considers list of industrial projects

From the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound: Could recent declines in Puget Sound herring be linked to decreases in native eelgrass? Biologist Tessa Francis reports on a new study that may provide insight into the health of one of the region's most iconic forage fish. Notes from the field: Are Puget Sound herring limited by loss of eelgrass?

Oysters are considered an aphrodisiac, but what happens to them in hot weather isn’t so sexy. Warm air and water during summer make an ideal environment for a natural bacteria called vibrio parahaemolyticus to grow in oysters. Raw oysters, especially ones with the bacteria, can make people who eat them sick. Gina Cole reports. Raw oysters risky during warmer months   See also: Be vigilant about illness from tainted commercial shellfish, B.C. doctors told

As opposition grows to a sewage sludge facility in Esquimalt, residents near the next most likely location for the plant, Hartland landfill, say they don’t want sludge near their homes either. Willis Point residents are pushing back on building a biosolids facility at the landfill, saying it could leak and pollute the many local wells that are the only source of water for nearby homes. The plant would receive sludge that results from sewage treatment and convert it into fuel and fertilizer. Rob Shaw reports.  Hartland landfill neighbours wary of sludge plant   And: Hotel, stores, theatre would be allowed on sewage plant site in Esquimalt plan

Two years after the Carpenter-Fisher basin was closed to residential development, frustrated landowners are still searching for answers. Some of those landowners met with the state Department of Ecology Tuesday in the Skagit Public Utility District Aqua Room to talk about what progress the department is making that will allow them to build on their land in the tributary basin. The Carpenter-Fisher basin, south of Mount Vernon, closed in 2011 after Ecology determined too much residential development requiring groundwater wells had occurred. All construction requiring a well is prohibited. Kate Martin reports. No relief for landowners in closed creek basin  

Just this week while walking, we heard a desperate, high-pitched cry sounding over and over again. It seemed to be coming from Third Lagoon. It was impossible to ignore the unmistakable sound of a bird alerting just about the entire world of a clear and present danger. With our binoculars, we followed the persistent ruckus towards a small jutting of rocks just off shore. A black oystercatcher, with his long, spectacular neon beak, was poised on the rocky point. Below, on a smaller nearby rock surrounded by water, another oystercatcher sounded the alarm with a shrill. This must be Mr. and Mrs. Oystercatcher protecting the nest. They likely have perfected the communication between couples for some time, as this species is committed to family values and they mate loyally for as long as 20 years. Overhead, the sky appeared blue and calm. Then seemingly out of nowhere an immature bald eagle descended low over the rocks. With loud, operatically high-pitched squeals, one of the pair took flight and with apparent fearlessness pursued the eagle.... Peggy Butler writes. Island adventure: a cry at the lagoon

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 247 AM PDT WED JUL 3 2013
TODAY
W WIND 10 KT...BECOMING NW 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT...BUILDING TO 1 TO 3 FT IN THE AFTERNOON. SW
 SWELL 3 FT AT 14 SECONDS. PATCHY MORNING FOG.
TONIGHT
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 FT AFTER
 MIDNIGHT. W SWELL 4 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told