3/17 'Not For Any Price,' Trump budget, climate report, poop woes, coal port, marine monuments, Site C, pub radio

"Not For Any Price"

Not For Any Price
Watch this new 15-minute documentary about how the Lummi Nation put their treaty rights on the line to protect natural resources for everyone. (NW Treaty Tribes)

Trump budget would gut science, environment programs
President Donald Trump’s proposed budget would gut programs for science and the environment, reflecting the Republican’s rejection of mainstream science. Trump has frequently called climate change a “hoax,” and his EPA chief, Scott Pruitt, said last week he does not believe carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming. Trump’s proposed budget would cut the Environmental Protection Agency budget by 31 percent — nearly one-third — and eliminate more than 3,200 jobs. That amounts to 20 percent of the agency’s current workforce of 15,000. White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said the Trump administration is cutting spending for climate change efforts because “we consider that to be a waste of your money.” Matthew Daly reports. (Associated Press)

Lead author on forthcoming UN climate report admits it's time for action, not reports
A Simon Fraser University professor says the world needn't wait for an upcoming United Nations report on climate change to start acting to limit global warming. Kirsten Zickfeld is a professor of geography and a lead author of a special report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report aims to examine the feasibility of limiting global warming to 1.5 C — one of the more ambitious goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which was backed by Canada and nearly 200 other countries. The Paris Agreement seeks to limit the rise in average world temperatures to "well below" 2 C above pre-industrial times, but ideally limiting the temperature rise to 1.5 C. (CBC)

Trump proposes budget to hobble the EPA
President Donald Trump wants to decimate the Environmental Protection Agency with a budget that would hobble federal programs to safeguard air and water. Trump’s budget proposal released Thursday would slash more than a third of EPA’s funding. Polluter enforcement would be reduced and communities would lose federal help in cleaning up contaminated sites. Sean Cockerham reports. (McClatchy) See also: Puget Sound hits bottom in Trump EPA budget proposal: zero  ....The White House wants to eliminate more than 50 programs at the Environmental Protection Agency. Programs to be terminated include EPA grants for Puget Sound. John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

Regulators Take On Dual Roles Dealing King County’s Broken Wastewater Treatment Plant
The breakdown last month of Seattle’s wastewater treatment plant has poured hundreds of millions of gallons of untreated stormwater and raw sewage into Puget Sound. Repairs alone will cost an estimated $25 million. And it’s expected to take till the end of April to get the West Point Treatment Plant back to normal. Until then, the broken wastewater facility will be violating its permit and polluting Puget Sound. The state’s Department of Ecology has a dual role to play as it works with the county to help it get back in compliance, which is the ultimate goal. But it will also levy penalties against the county’s Wastewater Treatment Division for all the illegal pollution it continues to release since the catastrophic event on Feb. 9, when stormwater overwhelmed the facility. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Judge to decide if environmental groups can intervene in coal-export lawsuit
 A Cowlitz County judge will decide this month whether three environmental groups can intervene in a lawsuit brought against the state by developers of a coal export terminal in southwest Washington. Millennium Bulk Terminals and Northwest Alloys last month appealed the state’s denial of an aquatic lands lease for the project. The company wants to build a dock at the site, which would be a critical factor in the terminal ultimately getting built at the site of the former Reynolds Metals Co. aluminum plant. (Bellingham Herald)

Site C: B.C. Hydro gets enforcement order related to sediment runoff
B.C. Hydro has received yet another enforcement order from the province’s Environmental Assessment Office related to a contractor’s work at the $9-billion Site C dam project that poses a threat to fish stocks. The order from Chris Parks, senior compliance and enforcement officer, states that on Feb. 28, 2017, he received a report from the project’s Independent Environmental Monitor. The report indicated that on Feb. 16, 2017, staff employed by project contractor Peace River Hydro Partners pumped sediment-laden water from a flooded work area to a ditch that connects directly to a fish-bearing watercourse identified as L3. The report also identified ongoing erosion and sediment transport non-compliance in the L3 ravine since Nov. 8, 2016. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun)

GOP Could Reverse Protection Of Papahanaumokuakea
The Republican who chairs the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources has teamed up with a congresswoman from American Samoa to lobby President Donald Trump to open all marine monuments, including those in the Hawaii area, to commercial fishing. Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah and Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen of Amercian Samoa wrote to Trump on March 7 asking him to remove all fishing prohibitions from the monuments…. At the hearing conducted by the House Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans, three advocates for commercial interests were asked to testify, compared to one environmental advocate. Spokesmen for the fishing and energy industries framed the topic as an issue of economic development and job creation. Kirstin Downey reports. (Honolulu Civil Beat)

Public Broadcasters Fear ‘Collapse’ if U.S. Drops Support
Public radio and television broadcasters are girding for battle after the Trump administration proposed a drastic cutback that they have long dreaded: the defunding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The potential elimination of about $445 million in annual funding, which helps local TV and radio stations subscribe to NPR and Public Broadcasting Service programming, could be devastating for affiliates in smaller markets that already operate on a shoestring budget. Michael Grynbaum and Ben Sisario report. (NY Times)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  256 AM PDT FRI MAR 17 2017  

TODAY  SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT BECOMING E TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.  WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS. A SLIGHT  CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE MORNING THEN RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT  E WIND TO 10 KT BECOMING SE AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES  1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS. RAIN.
SAT  W WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT  10 SECONDS BUILDING TO 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN  IN THE MORNING THEN SHOWERS LIKELY IN THE AFTERNOON.
SAT NIGHT  SW WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL  8 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
SUN  LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. W SWELL 6 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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

3/16 Poop woes, Port Gamble restored, Trump budget, climate plan undo, carbon tax, dead coral reefs

Elwha 3/14/17 [Tom Roorda/Coastal Watershed Institute]

Silence reigns as sewage spews into Puget Sound. Here’s why.
It’s the proverbial tree that fell in the forest without making a sound, or perhaps the raw sewage that spewed into Puget Sound without making a splash. Since the region’s largest wastewater-treatment plant was disabled in a catastrophic flood last month, the Metropolitan King County Council and Regional Water Quality Committee between them have held multiple public hearings on the disaster. Not a single person from an environmental group or the public turned out to testify or demand action on the crippled West Point Treatment Plant, or even take notice of one of the largest local public infrastructure failures in decades. Tons of solids are pouring into Puget Sound every day because the plant is too broken to treat wastewater properly. Yet council members say they’ve barely heard a peep from environmental groups. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

After environmental restoration, quiet has returned to Port Gamble
Chris Dunagan in Watching Our Water Ways writes: "Twenty-five years ago, I stood and watched as a screaming buzz saw tossed clouds of sawdust into the air while slicing through thick logs of Douglas fir at the Pope & Talbot sawmill in Port Gamble. Last week, I walked across the vacant site of the old mill, which was torn down years ago. Along the edge of Port Gamble Bay, I could hear nothing but the sound of the wind and an occasional call of a seagull. I came back to the old mill site to see how things looked following completion of the $20-million-plus cleanup of Port Gamble Bay…." (read more)

Trump budget slashes agencies to focus on wall, defense
President Donald Trump unveiled a $1.15 trillion budget on Thursday, a far-reaching overhaul of federal government spending that slashes many domestic programs to finance a significant increase in the military and make a down payment on a U.S.-Mexico border wall. Trump’s proposal seeks to upend Washington with cuts to long-promised campaign targets like foreign aid and the Environmental Protection Agency as well as strong congressional favorites such as medical research, help for homeless veterans and community development grants. Andrew Taylor reports. (Associated Press)

Trump is poised to issue a sweeping order dismantling Obama’s climate plan this week
President Trump could issue a sweeping executive order within days aimed at reversing his predecessor’s climate policies, a measure that energy industry officials and environmentalists have been anticipating for weeks. The directive will instruct members of the Cabinet to rewrite regulation restricting carbon emissions from both new and existing power plants, lift a moratorium on federal coal leasing and revise the way climate change is factored into federal decision-making — all key elements of the Obama administration’s effort to address climate change. It will also reverse an executive order former president Obama issued that instructs agencies to incorporate climate change into the National Environmental Policy Act reviews it applies to federal actions, according to individuals briefed on the order. Juliet Epstein reports. (Washington Post)

Washington Businesses Slam Carbon Tax
During a public hearing Tuesday, businesses said on a proposed carbon tax in Washington state would cost jobs and hurt the state’s economy. The measure would impose an escalating tax on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and electricity. A provision in the bill would set aside some of the money raised to help fossil fuel workers who lose their jobs…. [T]he sponsor of the bill, Democrat Joe Fitzgibbon, chair of the House Environment Committee, said he’s frustrated by a lack of action on climate change. Austin Jenkins reports. (NWNews)

Scientists race to prevent wipeout of world’s coral reefs
SOUTH ARI ATOLL, Maldives >> There were startling colors here just a year ago, a dazzling array of life beneath the waves. Now this Maldivian reef is dead, killed by the stress of rising ocean temperatures. What’s left is a haunting expanse of gray, a scene repeated in reefs across the globe in what has fast become a full-blown ecological catastrophe. The world has lost roughly half its coral reefs in the last 30 years. Scientists are now scrambling to ensure that at least a fraction of these unique ecosystems survives beyond the next three decades. The health of the planet depends on it: Coral reefs support a quarter of all marine species, as well as half a billion people around the world. “This isn’t something that’s going to happen 100 years from now. We’re losing them right now,” said marine biologist Julia Baum of Canada’s University of Victoria. “We’re losing them really quickly, much more quickly than I think any of us ever could have imagined.” Even if the world could halt global warming now, scientists still expect that more than 90 percent of corals will die by 2050. Without drastic intervention, we risk losing them all. (Associated Press)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  448 AM PDT THU MAR 16 2017  

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING  
TODAY  SW WIND 10 TO 20 KT RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE  AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 9 SECONDS.  SHOWERS.
TONIGHT  S WIND 15 TO 25 KT BECOMING SE 5 TO 15 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT SUBSIDING TO 2 FT OR LESS AFTER  MIDNIGHT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 10 SECONDS. RAIN LIKELY.

--
"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

3/15 Grizzlies, flood insurance, 'whale wave,' poop spill, Great Blue Herons

[PHOTO: Dan Streiffert/BirdNote]

Why Birds Sing
Why do birds sing? Ornithologists have learned that the longer hours of light that come with spring trigger the release of hormones in birds. These hormones prompt the enlargement of the birds' gonads which, in turn, stimulate male birds to sing. Male birds - like this Black-headed Grosbeak - can then attract mates and fulfill nature's imperative to engender new life. Spring. Song. Romance! (BirdNote)

Comment period for grizzly restoration extended
he public has another 45 days to comment on the options being considered for grizzly bear recovery in the North Cascades. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and National Park Service announced Monday that comments will be accepted through April 28. The federal agencies are taking comment on a draft environmental impact statement, or EIS, for restoring grizzly bears to the North Cascades. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald) See also: Border-crossing bears? U.S. proposal to transplant B.C. grizzlies gets huge response  Lisa Johnson reports. (CBC)

As FEMA maps show rising base flood elevation, cost of flood insurance is spiking for coastal homeowners
When Julia Lundblad lies in bed at night in her Titlow Beach home, she can hear the water sloshing up under her house. It took some getting used to, but she loves it. And she said her neighbors are used to a little water flooding into their kitchens when conditions are right…. Because the small community lies in such intimate proximity to the Puget Sound, homeowners with mortgages have to carry flood insurance. But the cost of that insurance, if you can get it, can be exorbitant. Some homeowners said they’ve been told to expect their monthly premiums to see huge spikes over the next several years. Also recently, flood maps that FEMA uses to determine flood risk — and help inform insurance rates — have changed in Tacoma’s coastal areas, with base flood elevation levels rising up to several feet. FEMA’s new flood maps went into effect in Tacoma earlier this month. Candace Ruud reports. (News Tribune of Tacoma)

Mysterious 'whale wave' observed in humpbacks on B.C. Coast
A decade of observation in a fjord on B.C.'s North Coast has uncovered an intriguing pattern among the thriving humpback whales that feed there each summer. Researchers call it a "whale wave," in a peer-reviewed study published this week in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series. Each year, as hundreds of humpbacks arrive in the Kitimat fjord system, near Hartley Bay, B.C., they follow a seasonal pattern, as observed in visual surveys by the Gitga'at First Nation and North Coast Cetacean Society. The whales start in outer waters and move into the inlet and Douglas Channel — but it's not clear why. Lisa Johnson reports. (CBC)

Sewage spill closes Port Orchard waterfront, Ross Creek
Kitsap Public Health District issued a no-contact advisory Tuesday for the Port Orchard waterfront and Ross Creek following a sewage spill. The city reported the spill occurred Tuesday morning at a lift station off Old Clifton Road, near the Highway 16 interchange, according to a news release. The spill was estimated at 27,500 gallons. The seven-day advisory covers the shore of Sinclair Inlet, from Anderson Creek to the end of Rockwell Street in downtown, and Ross Creek from Old Clifton Road north. Tad Sooter reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Pacific great blue herons return to nest in Stanley Park
The heron cam at Vancouver's Stanley Park is buzzing with activity as the park's majestic Pacific great blue herons have come back to nest for the summer. The birds have claimed nests in their chosen spot above the parking lot at 2099 Beach Avenue. This year. the herons arrived March 11, three weeks later than last year. Greg Hart, a biologist with the Stanley Park Ecological Society, says that's largely due to the colder weather. (CBC)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 230 AM PDT WED MAR 15 2017

TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN.
TONIGHT
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS. SHOWERS.

--
"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

3/14 Gray whales, salmon disease, "Big One," poop woes, EPA cuts, Arctic drilling, carbon tax, frog call, sea lion cancer

[PHOTO: Jill Hein, Mystic Sea Charters]

Gray whales return to Puget Sound
Things just got a little grayer in Seattle, but not in the way many would expect. This past weekend marks the start of the gray whale migration to Puget Sound. Sarah Hank with the whale tour company Puget Sound Express says the beloved whales are now in the Puget Sound, feeding on ghost shrimp off the Snohomish Delta near Everett in very shallow water, about 10 feet deep. Shelby Barnes reports. (KING) See also: Scientists predict whale paths to reduce collision risks with large ships  Scientists at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have developed a program to predict where whales will be, giving vessel operators a greater chance to avoid collision. Dene Moore reports. (Globe and Mail)

Deadly disease diagnosed in B.C. salmon
A deadly disease has been diagnosed in B.C. farmed salmon and linked to a widespread virus. The study, published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE, is the first to find heart and skeletal muscle inflammation, or HSMI, in salmon at B.C. fish farms. The disease can wipe out up to 20 per cent of a farmed population. Researchers also showed a correlation between HSMI and piscine reo-virus, suggesting the two might be linked. Emiliano Di Cicco, co-author of the study, said the findings could have negative consequences for B.C.’s salmon farming industry, which had an estimated net value after marketing costs of $476 million in 2013. Amy Smart reports. (Times Colonist)

Northwest States Write Up Wake Up Call For 'The Big One'
The report cards are in and it's not pretty if you worry about how you'll fare after a Magnitude 9 Cascadia megaquake and tsunami. Washington and Oregon's emergency management divisions have now published after-action reviews of last June's multi-state disaster drill called Cascadia Rising. The four-day simulation was the largest earthquake and tsunami exercise Northwest states have ever staged -- more than 20,000 people participated. The upshot in one sentence is that governments at all levels are ill prepared and ill equipped for The Big One. Tom Banse reports. (NWNews)

What caused sewage plant's huge mess? King County Council launches its own look
A disastrous flood at the West Point wastewater-treatment plant will be getting an independent, third-party review, the Metropolitan King County Council decided Monday. The review, approved on a unanimous vote, is intended to look at what occurred in the lead-up to and aftermath of the Feb. 9 flood that destroyed half the plant. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Proposed EPA Cuts Could Pose Big Problems For Tribes
Tribal environmental programs, like water quality monitoring, could be hard hit under proposed cuts to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Courtney Flatt reports. (OPB/EarthFix)

Opening Arctic for Drilling Is Trump Priority, Key Senator Says 
Senator Lisa Murkowski said President Donald Trump is interested in opening up new coastal waters for oil and gas drilling and reversing Obama-era policies that restrict energy development in Alaska. Both Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke are weighing ways to expand opportunities to drill in Arctic waters though the changes could take years to accomplish administratively, Murkowski said in an interview on the sidelines of the CERAWeek conference in Houston.  Jennifer A Dlouhy and Catherine Traywick report. (Bloomberg)

Carbon Tax Floated As Possible Replacement To Inslee's 'Clean Air Rule'
Polluting industries in Washington state don’t like Gov. Jay Inslee’s cap on carbon emissions -- and they don’t think it’s legal. Inslee’s clean air rule was unveiled last September and went into effect in October. It’s been called a first-of-its-kind rule that caps and reduces carbon pollution by requiring polluters to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions over time…. Representatives of affected industries testified that the cap on carbon emissions would have unintended consequences, including a loss of jobs. Matthew Cohen, a lawyer who represents the Association of Washington Business, told a panel of state lawmakers that Inslee’s carbon cap rule “is a beached whale.” Cohen told the House Environment Committee that the governor pushed through a “badly flawed rule” without legislative authority that should now be replaced. But with what? Cohen floated the idea of a tax on carbon. “A carbon tax is certainly one plausible alternative to what’s in the Clean Air Rule, it’s another swipe at the problem,” Cohen said. Austin Jenkins reports. (KNKX)

How Traffic Is Drowning Out Frogs' Mating Calls
Chances are you’ve heard the Pacific chorus frogs’ call before. Its classic “rib-bit” is featured in basically any movie that needs frog noise. The Pacific chorus frogs’ call is ubiquitous in the Northwest. But the amphibians are having more and more trouble hearing themselves. Traffic is drowning them out. Courtney Flatt reports. (NWPR/EarthFix)

Sea lion necropsy unearths surprising cancer finding
Old age beached a Steller sea lion that was euthanized after it was found dying on shore in January, but a finding during the animal’s necropsy has led researchers into another investigation. A cancer of the penal sheath found in the animal is the first reported case in a Steller sea lion, according to Dyanna Lambourn, marine mammal research biologist and the lead investigator into the case of the sea lion found dying on a beach at the Nippon Paper Industries USA mill near Ediz Hook. The animal, which had been beached for a week, was euthanized Jan. 14. The cancer did not contribute to its dying, she said. Leah Leach reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  230 AM PDT TUE MAR 14 2017  

TODAY  E WIND 10 TO 20 KT BECOMING SE. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W  SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS. RAIN.  TONIGHT  SW WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 6 FT  AT 11 SECONDS. RAIN.

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

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

3/13 Kozloff, belugas, WA lege, poop news, microplastic, BC LNG, Drayton Hbr, stewards, whale guide, dog DNA, Tillerson, toxic tuna

Eugene N. Kozloff  (26 September 1920 - 4 March 2017) was an American marine biologist and botanist at Shannon Point Marine Center on Fidalgo Island, Washington. He was an emeritus professor of the Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, and is best known for writing field guides for the Pacific Northwest Region of the United States.

Vancouver Park Board votes to end display of cetaceans at aquarium
In a unanimous vote, the Vancouver Park Board has decided to change its bylaws to end the display of live cetaceans at the Vancouver Aquarium. The Thursday night vote came at the end of a lengthy, emotional debate that spanned two nights and heard from more than 60 speakers. Ultimately, all seven commissioners voted in favour of a motion to amend bylaws "to prohibit the importation and display" of live cetaceans — porpoises, whales or dolphins — at the aquarium. (CBC)

Another lost year for kids' health in Olympia
In the wake of the lead-poisoning water scandal in Flint, Michigan, and with 10 Washington children a week being diagnosed with dangerously elevated lead levels, Washington lawmakers this year proposed several measures to focus attention on the state’s long-neglected lead contamination problems. But the two measures that would have done the most good have died. And state health officials say what they really need from the Legislature isn’t passing new laws — it’s getting the Legislature to put more money into the existing system to alert doctors, parents and others to the dangers. Adiel Kaplan reports. (InvestigateWest)

$700-million wastewater treatment plant to be built in North Vancouver
Metro Vancouver announced Saturday it has received joint funding for a new $700-million wastewater treatment plant on the North Shore. The new Lions Gate Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant will be constructed by 2020 on a 3.5-hectare site owned by Metro in the District of North Vancouver, while the plant currently operating at Squamish Nation, built in 1961, will be decommissioned in 2021. It aims to contribute to cleaner waterways across the region by enhancing secondary wastewater treatment and resource recovery, and is being designed in a way that will allow flexibility for any future upgrades or expansion, according to Metro. Nick Eagland reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Sludge bugs: Sewage-eating microbes in peril at crippled West Point plant
A brown plume from the West Point Treatment plant shows the crippled plant’s limited capacity. A key to getting it working again will be the health of a suite of microbial life that handles much of the dirty work. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)w

B.C. researchers race to find the source of microplastics choking the world's oceans
Scientists are growing increasingly concerned about microplastics in water and in the food chain, but they face some daunting challenges in the race to uncover the sources of the problem. "We're encountering a pollutant unlike any pollutant we've ever seen before," says Dr. Peter Ross, director of ocean pollution research at the Vancouver Aquarium. "This is not a chemical pollutant, it's a structural pollutant." Recent samples his team have taken off the B.C. coast contained up to 25,000 plastic particles and fibres in just one cubic metre of water. Yes, some of it comes from plastic bags, foam packaging, cigarette butts and other remnants of the millions of tonnes of plastic debris slowly breaking down in the world's oceans.  But there are some surprising sources, too, like laundry. Greg Rasmussen reports. (CBC)

BC LNG: Delta plant says public safety paramount amid $400m expansion
The risks at the FortisBC liquefied-natural gas facility at Tilbury Island in Delta are so real that visitors are ordered not to take photos or even turn on their cellphones during a tour as a way to minimize the chance of electrical sparks creating an ignition source. Yet Doug Stout, the company’s vice-president of market development, insists that the plant’s excellent safety record to date will continue into the future during an ongoing $400-million expansion that will increase production capacity sevenfold…. Expansion of the Tilbury facility would have LNG ships travelling alongside residential communities such as Steveston in Richmond. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun) See also: Shell ends development of Prince Rupert LNG project  Company still considering its other West Coast LNG option (Canadian Press)

Bringing the shellfish back: How Drayton Harbor overcame a legacy of pollution
After a long struggle with pollution, Drayton Harbor has reopened to year-round commercial oyster harvesting for the first time in 22 years. Here’s how the community cleaned up its act, potentially showing the way for shellfish recovery throughout Puget Sound. Chris Dunagan reports. (Salish Sea Currents) See also: Hope is alive for restoration of Puget Sound shellfish beds  Officials in Washington state’s Shellfish Program have identified a clear pathway to meet a state goal of restoring 10,800 net acres of shellfish beds to a harvestable condition by 2020. The 10,800-acre target, established by the Puget Sound Partnership, was considered overly ambitious by many people when the goal was approved in 2011. Chris Dunagan reports. (Watching Our Water Ways)

Volunteers prepare to join Salish Sea Stewards
It was an exciting day for volunteers at Bowman Bay as they netted 181 young chum salmon Thursday as part of an ongoing research project. The volunteers, including several Salish Sea Stewards, participated in a beach seine at a stretch of the bay at Deception Pass State Park. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Canadians produce mariner’s guide to whales; can U.S. follow?
If knowledge is power, officials in British Columbia have taken a strong step to protect whales by producing a booklet that can help ship captains reduce the threats to marine mammals. The “Mariner’s Guide to Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises of Western Canada” was compiled and published by the Coastal Ocean Research Institute, a branch of the Vancouver Aquarium. Financial support came from nearby ports. Chris Dunagan reports. (Watching Our Water Ways)

Conservation group maps land protection strategy in 3 states
A conservation group has created maps identifying key landscapes in three Western states most likely to sustain native species amid climate change and is distributing money to protect private lands in those areas through use-limiting easements or outright purchases. The Nature Conservancy says it has $6 million from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation that it's now distributing among land trusts that must come up with five times the amount in matching funds for approved easements or acquisitions. Keith Ridler reports. (Associated Press)

Dog DNA tracking could reduce unscooped poop: West Vancouver councillor
West Vancouver district Coun. Mary-Ann Booth walks her Yorkie-Maltese, Gibson, down by the beach every day…. Toward the end of a long council meeting on Monday, Booth brought up the idea of cracking down on offending pet owners by creating a registry of local dogs' DNA, and sending unscooped poop samples to the lab to have them tested and matched to pets in the registry. Rafferty Baker reports. (CBC)

Rex Tillerson steps away from Keystone XL pipeline
The US secretary of state has stepped away from dealing with issues related to the controversial Keystone pipeline, because he used to run an oil company. Rex Tillerson, former boss of Exxon Mobil, recused himself from the matter in February, the State Department said. (BBC)

These two types of tuna are carrying more mercury
Mercury concentrations in Hawaiian-caught bigeye and yellowfin tuna are steadily rising and mirror increases in North Pacific waters that have been linked to atmospheric mercury emissions from Asia. Researchers compiled and re-analyzed data from previously published reports on yellowfin and bigeye tuna caught near Hawaii over the past four decades, then used a mathematical model to look for trends. They found that mercury concentrations in yellowfin tuna increased about 5.5 percent per year between 1998 and 2008. Levels in bigeye tuna increased about 3.9 percent per year from 2002 to 2008. Mercury concentrations tended to be greater in bigeye tuna than in yellowfin tuna. Jim Ericksen reports. (Futurity)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  902 PM PDT SUN MAR 12 2017  

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING  
MON  SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT EASING TO 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4  FT SUBSIDING TO 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS. RAIN.
MON NIGHT  LIGHT WIND. W SWELL 8 FT AT 12 SECONDS. CHANCE OF  RAIN.

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

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

3/9 BC oysters, Clean Samish, Ericksen pay, EPA lesson, robot mapping, pink scallops

Northern Flicker [Joseph V Higbee]

The Northern Flicker
A Most Unlikely Woodpecker! The Northern Flicker is a woodpecker, but one that hardly looks the part. Where most woodpeckers are a reliable mix of black, white, and bits of red, the Northern Flicker is buffy tan overall. The undersides of its wings and tail-feathers flash with coppery-red, giving the bird the nickname "Red-shafted Flicker." And if all this weren't enough, it's often found on the ground. (BirdNote)

Feds renew B.C. oyster warning as norovirus infections continue
As more people continue to get sick, Canadians are being warned yet again about an outbreak of norovirus and other gastrointestinal illnesses linked to undercooked and raw oysters from B.C. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said 22 more people have contracted the illness since Feb. 24, bringing the total number of cases since December to 289. (CBC)

Clean Samish Initiative Week highlights pollution evaluation
The Board of Skagit County Commissioners has proclaimed this week Clean Samish Initiative Week. The Tuesday proclamation is the latest effort to bring attention to the Clean Samish Initiative, which involves various groups working to reduce fecal coliform pollution in the Samish River and Samish Bay…. The Clean Samish Initiative formed in 2009. The initiative’s goal is to reduce the pollution and achieve an upgrade for shellfish harvest in Samish Bay. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Sen. Ericksen paid at least $1,993 a week for Trump transition work
Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, is getting at least $1,993 a week for his temporary job as part of President Donald Trump’s transition team, according to a story from ProPublica. The nonprofit investigative news outlet based its story on documents received through Freedom of Information Act requests. Ericksen accepted the job as communications lead at the Environmental Protection Agency on Jan. 21, a temporary position lasting up to 120 days. He was operations director for the Trump’s Western Washington campaign. Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)

A Lesson Trump and the E.P.A. Should Heed 
In March 1983, President Ronald Reagan asked me to return to Washington to run the Environmental Protection Agency. I had been the E.P.A.’s first administrator, from 1970 to 1973, and over the agency’s first 10 years, it made enormous progress in bringing the country’s worst pollution problems under control despite resistance from polluting industries and their lobbyists. A worried and outraged public had demanded action, and the government responded. Yet the agency and its central mission came under attack during the 1980 presidential campaign. The Clean Air Act was criticized as an obstacle to growth. The agency was seen as bloated, inefficient, exceeding its congressional mandates and costing jobs. The Reagan administration and its new administrator were going to fix that. Sound familiar? William D. Ruckelshaus writes. (New York Times)

Underwater robots map grey whale habitat off Vancouver Island
Three underwater robots spent weeks listening to grey whales off the west coast of Vancouver Island last month, so scientists can learn more about what the whales are doing in northern waters. The two-metre long yellow gliders travelled together in underwater canyons over the continental shelf near Clayoquot Sound…. Glider pilots talked to the robots through satellites several times a day and gave them commands on where to go next. Researchers are now using the data to figure out what the whales are encountering in our waters as they migrate up the coast from their winter habitat off California, to their rich feeding grounds in the Bering Sea off Alaska. Kirstie Hudson reports. (CBC)

Rare Northwest delicacy making a comeback in Puget Sound
Divers off the shores of Lopez Island are searching the depths of Puget Sound for a rare delicacy that hasn't surfaced here for more than 20 years…. Singing Pink Scallops were fashionable in upscale restaurants all along the West Coast in the 1980s and 1990s. Increased regulation made the harvest too difficult, and the shellfish all but disappeared from people's plates. Pink Singers, as they're known, are considered even more rare than Beluga Caviar. That's because you can only harvest them in the San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands, and divers have to hand pick them at depths of up to 110 feet. Eric Wilkinson reports. (KING)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  300 AM PST THU MAR 9 2017  

GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE  TONIGHT    TODAY  E WIND TO 10 KT RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.  WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT IN THE AFTERNOON. W  SWELL 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.  TONIGHT  SE WIND 25 TO 35 KT. COMBINED SEAS 5 TO 8 FT WITH A  DOMINANT PERIOD OF 13 SECONDS. RAIN.

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

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

3/8 Rockfish, NOAA cuts, oil spill, BC LNG, belugas, Victoria 'Big One,' poop woes, Kuterra, pipeline switch

Canary rockfish, Sebastes pinniger [Wikipedia]

Canary Rockfish
According to NOAA Fisheries: "Canary rockfish are large rockfish that reach up to 2.5 feet (77 cm) in length and 10 pounds (4 kg) in weight. Adults have bright yellow to orange mottling over gray, 3 orange stripes across the head, and orange fins. Animals less than 14 inches long have dark markings on the posterior part of the spiny dorsal fin and gray along the lateral line. Rockfishes are unusual among the bony fishes in that fertilization and embryo development is internal and female rockfish give birth to live larval young. Larvae are found in surface waters and may be distributed over a wide area extending several hundred miles offshore." NOAA Fisheries will remove the canary rockfish from the list of threatened and endangered species in Puget Sound on March 24th because the Puget Sound species is not genetically different from the coastal species.

Trump pitches tsunami of cuts to NOAA
The Trump administration is planning a tsunami of budget cuts to the federal government's chief climate science agency, gutting Northwest programs from Pacific Coast salmon recovery to ocean weather buoys, to preparation for tsunamis. A six-page listing of proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, first obtained by The Washington Post, shows elimination of such programs as Sea Grant, a major research and outreach effort that works in fields ranging from oil spill prevention to teacher training. The University of Washington receives about $35 million in program funding from NOAA each year. But cuts would be felt in such programs as Coastal Resiliency Grants, important to Native American tribes. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

Oily sheen from B.C. diesel spill can't be recovered but will evaporate, officials say
An oily rainbow-like sheen on the water left by a diesel fuel spill off the north coast of Vancouver Island cannot be cleaned up, sparking concerns for a nearby First Nation that relies on clam digging for food and economic security. The thin layer of fuel, which covered a 5.5-kilometre radius at one point outside the salmon farm where the spill originated, has been deemed unrecoverable because it cannot be captured by skimmer vessels or sorbent materials, British Columbia's Environment Ministry said. Fuel has made contact with some shorelines in the Burdwood Island group, a sensitive area teeming with clam beds that the Kwikwasut'inuxw Haxwa'mis First Nation says are crucial to its economy. Laura Kane reports. (CBC)

Maps: The 20 LNG Proposals Vying for BC’s Shores
A new Sightline report details the potential for liquefied natural gas to take hold in British Columbia. Tarika Powell reports. (Sightline)

Vancouver Park Board holding special meeting tonight on future of whales at Vancouver Aquarium
The Vancouver Park Board is expecting a full house and dozens of speakers tonight, for a special meeting on the future of captive whales at the Vancouver Aquarium. The board will consider four options, which range from embracing the aquarium's plans for expansion, to holding a city-wide plebiscite on the matter to banning captive cetaceans altogether. Lisa Johnson reports. (CBC)

City of Victoria commissioned report details potential devastation of the 'Big One'
A report commissioned by the City of Victoria says 4,000 buildings could be destroyed if a catastrophic earthquake hits. That means nearly 40 per cent of the city's buildings, as well as much of the water and sewage infrastructure, could be destroyed in a magnitude 9 megathrust earthquake. Kirstie Hudson reports. (CBC)

Float switches may have failed at flooded West Point wastewater plant
Amid dueling calls for an independent investigation into the flood that extensively damaged the West Point wastewater-treatment plant, King County wastewater managers Tuesday revealed preliminary findings into the causes of the flood. While still ongoing, the review, so far, points to failed float switches that allowed raw sewage and stormwater to keep pouring into the plant at maximum flow during a rainstorm. That happened even as crew members struggled to restart failed pumps that were supposed to be taking treated water from it. The result, as minutes ticked by, was a catastrophic flood as wastewater surged into the plant uncontrolled and cascaded down the stairs to destroy electrical panels, wiring, motors and more in the region’s largest wastewater-treatment plant. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Kuterra seeks buyer of partner to expand land-based salmon farm
B.C.’s only land-based Atlantic salmon farm, Kuterra, has been ordered to wind down operations by the Namgis First Nation, even as the company seeks a buyer or partner to pursue expansion. The order from the Namgis council to the Kuterra board came after talks broke down with a potential buyer for the farm late last year, according to documents circulated to band members. The Namgis First Nation owns Kuterra, which was built with $9.5 million in government and charitable funding, including $3 million from Tides Canada. Now that funding is running out, Kuterra is looking for new investment, likely from the private sector. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

AP fact check: How Trump's Keystone XL story fell apart 
It was a nice story while it lasted. Moments from signing orders to advance the stalled Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, President Donald Trump comes up with the idea of requiring the projects to use pipes and steel made in the U.S. He inserts a “little clause” to that effect and vows the projects will only happen if his buy-American mandate is met. Now, it turns out, those projects are advancing without it. In recent days, the White House exempted Keystone XL from the rule. Calvin Woodward reports. (Associated Press) See also: Dakota Access Pipeline Court Challenge Denied, Oil Could Flow As Soon As Next Week  Angus Chen reports. (NPR)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  300 AM PST WED MAR 8 2017  

TODAY  LIGHT WIND BECOMING SE 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND  WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT BECOMING 2 FT OR LESS IN THE AFTERNOON. W  SWELL 7 FT AT 9 SECONDS. SHOWERS IN THE MORNING THEN RAIN IN THE  AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT  SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT BECOMING NW TO 10 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. SW SWELL 5 FT AT 8 SECONDS.  RAIN IN THE EVENING THEN RAIN LIKELY 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

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told