Salish Sea News and Weather

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

1/12 Hooded nudibranch, Heavy weather, Cascadia climate, oil permits, at-risk species

Hooded nudibranch [Ryan Murphy]

Hooded nudibranch Melibe leonina
Most bizarre of our sea slugs. It has a large, inflated "oral hood." A fringe of stiff hairs point in toward the center of the hood, helping it to trap tiny amphipods and other small crustaceans. The hood also closes to trap air, helping the nudibranch drift from place to place. There are 4 to 6th pairs of large dorsal create; digestive branches visible within. The bluish transparent body reaches 4 inches. Usually found in eelgrass. (Marine Wildlife of Puget Sound, the San Juans, and the Strait of Georgia)

Heavy rain on coast, heavy snow for highway passes in southern B.C. (CBC) Flooding risk increases as relentless rains soak Northwest Scott Sistek reports. (KOMO)

A Lost Decade: How Climate Action Fizzled in Cascadia
Washington, Oregon and British Columbia pledged to slash greenhouse gas emissions. In a decade full of big talk and some epic battles, they all failed. Peter Fairly reports. (Investigate West)

Oil companies lock in drilling, challenging Biden on climate
In the closing months of the Trump administration, energy companies stockpiled enough drilling permits for western public lands to keep pumping oil for years and undercut President-elect Joe Biden’s plans to curb new drilling because of climate change, according to public records and industry analysts. An Associated Press analysis of government data shows the permit stockpiling has centered on oil-rich federal lands in New Mexico and Wyoming. It accelerated during the fall as Biden was cementing his lead over President Donald Trump and peaked in December, aided by speedier permitting approvals since Trump took office. Matthew Brown and Cathy Bussewitz report. (Associated Press)

Efforts being made to protect a tree species, several carnivores
Several rare and at-risk species that are found in remote, mostly high-elevation areas of east Skagit County are getting attention this year at the federal level. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed Dec. 1 listing the whitebark pine as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, while conservation groups filed several lawsuits against the agency in December over the threatened Canada lynx, the wolverine and the grizzly bear. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Now, your tug weather--West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- 158 AM PST Tue Jan 12 2021
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING
TODAY SW wind 5 to 15 kt becoming S in the afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 15 ft at 18 seconds. A chance of rain in the morning then rain in the afternoon.
TONIGHT W wind 15 to 25 kt rising to 20 to 30 kt after midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 14 ft at 16 seconds. Rain.

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

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Monday, January 11, 2021

1/11 Lichen, A5 return, HEAL Act, Trump's climate, chafer, Trump's lending rule, OR Dungeness crabs, Site C dam

Lichen [Laurie MacBride]

I’m Lichen the Diversity
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "A silver lining of sticking close to home is having more time to notice and appreciate the beautiful little details that are often right in front of one’s nose. Such was the case when I picked up the alder branch in these photos, which had fallen across one of our trails. I intended to toss it aside, but instead, I looked more closely, and found it interesting enough to carry to our patio table to photograph." (Read more)

Whale families bring calf along on return trip to traditional feeding grounds in B.C.
Two northern resident killer whale families brought along a baby as they returned for the first time in 20 years to their traditional winter foraging grounds in British Columbia waters. Jared Towers, a scientist with the Fisheries Department, said he spotted the group, collectively known as A5, this week in the Broughton Archipelago, where they once fed on chinook salmon before being driven out by deafening acoustic "harassment devices'' installed by fish farms. Camille Bains reports. (Canadian Press) See also: First orca baby of the year in B.C. named Ne’nakw Zoe Ducklow reports. (Saanich News)

Push for climate reparations, environmental justice continues this session with HEAL Act
As state lawmakers gear up for the new legislative session, advocates for environmental justice are urging them to pass the HEAL Act of 2021. The acronym stands for “Healthy Environment for All.” It aims to target state investments into areas that have suffered the worst effects of pollution. Many of those places have already been pinpointed in the Washington Health Disparities Map that was launched by the state Department of Health in January 2019. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

TRANSITION: Biden climate team says it underestimated Trump's damage
Potentially lowering expectations for the incoming president's early climate efforts, Biden officials say their agency review teams have found deeper budget cuts, wider staff losses and more systematic elimination of climate programs and research than they realized. Some climate moves can't happen until Biden officials remedy those deficiencies, a senior transition official said, because "those have been very carefully directed budget cuts to the very parts of the [EPA] that are going to be necessary to get rid of [Trump's] outrageous rollbacks." Adam Aton reports. (E&E News)

Move over murder hornets: There's a new bug in town — and it's coming for your lawn
....The grubs are the larvae of the European chafer, a nonnative scarab beetle first spotted in Washington state in 2008. By 2016, the chafer had taken up permanent residence near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. “It’s just been exploding since we first found it,” said Todd Murray, director of Washington State University’s Puyallup Research and Extension Center. The beetles’ initial proximity to the airport suggests they may have hitchhiked on cargo planes, but multiple routes are possible including overland shipments of agricultural products. They’ve now spread as far south as Puyallup and as far north as Kirkland and aren’t about to stop, Murray said. Sandi Doughton reports. (Seattle Times)

Trump Regulator's Rule Would Force Banks To Lend To Gun-Makers And Oil Drillers
The Trump administration is trying to push through a last minute rule that could force banks to offer loans to gun-makers, oil exploration companies, or to finance high-cost payday lenders. The move follows announcements by the biggest U.S. banks that there are some industries and activities they don't want to finance, such as drilling for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or making loans to gun manufacturers who make assault-style weapons. Some major banks have sworn off making those loans. Now, a Trump-appointed banking regulator is pushing for a rule that considers that an unfair discriminatory practice. Chris Arnold reports. (NPR)

Oregon Dungeness crab vessels are finally headed to sea
Three-and-a-half weeks into Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab season, crab boats are finally heading out to sea. Haggling over the opening price was the sticking point between processors and fishermen. An agreement on $2.75 per pound was announced Friday night. Brian Bull reports. (KLCC)

Site C dam takes staged return to work, cabinet ponders project fate
Provincial health orders aimed at controlling COVID-19 slowed work on dam, but it does continue as cabinet reviews independent assessment of its future. Derrick Penner reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Jellyfish Build Walls of Water to Swim Around the Ocean
Locomotion through the seas can be arduous. Water is more viscous than air, and so underwater creatures must overcome strong frictional resistance as they swim. To make things more difficult, liquid water provides nothing solid to push off against. But lowly jellyfish, which have swum in the world’s oceans for half a billion years, have come up with an elegant, efficient means of propulsion. Kenneth Chang reports. (NY Times)

Now, your tug weather--West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- 320 AM PST Mon Jan 11 2021
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
TODAY S wind 10 to 20 kt becoming SE to 10 kt in the afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft subsiding to 1 ft or less in the afternoon. W swell 13 ft at 13 seconds. Rain in the morning then a chance of rain in the afternoon.
TONIGHT E wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 12 ft at 13 seconds. Rain.

Friday, January 8, 2021

1/8 Sea otter, San Juan bison, Trump's climate, Site C dam, plankton study

Sea otter [Mike Baird/Wikimedia Coomons]

Sea otter reintroduction to more of the Pacific Coast gets a nudge from Congress
Bringing back sea otters to the Oregon Coast just got a high-level endorsement. The federal budget for this new year, which President Trump signed after some unrelated last minute drama, includes a directive to study sea otter reintroduction. The proviso making sea otter fans happy was tucked away deep in the new federal budget. Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley added the paragraph to the massive 2021 federal budget bill. It directs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to study the feasibility and cost of reestablishing the charismatic marine mammals where they were once hunted to near-extinction along the Pacific Coast. Tom Banse reports. (NW News Network)

Mossback’s Northwest: The ancient bison hunters of the San Juans
The discovery of 14,000-year-old bones on Orcas Island means humans were BBQing a lot earlier than previously thought. Knute Berger & Stephen Hegg report. (Crosscut)

How Trump Tried, but Largely Failed, to Derail America’s Top Climate Report
The National Climate Assessment, America’s premier contribution to climate knowledge, stands out for many reasons: Hundreds of scientists across the federal government and academia join forces to compile the best insights available on climate change. The results, released just twice a decade or so, shape years of government decisions. Now, as the clock runs down on President Trump’s time in office, the climate assessment has gained a new distinction: It is one of the few major U.S. climate initiatives that his administration tried, yet largely failed, to undermine. Christopher Flavelle reports. (NY times)

Energy minister calls independent Site C dam report 'helpful,' will consult cabinet
British Columbia's energy minister says he has received a report on the status of the Site C dam project and will soon present its findings to cabinet. Bruce Ralston says the report by former deputy finance minister Peter Milburn is "helpful," but he wouldn't discuss its findings until they are reviewed by the cabinet and Premier John Horgan. Ralston appointed Milburn in July to conduct a review of the hydroelectric project after Crown-owned BC Hydro reported concerns about project risks, construction delays and rising costs on the dam, estimated at $10.7 billion in 2018. (Canadian Press)

Diving Deep with Plankton from the Comfort of the Lab
A new device gives scientists a better way to study the migrations of microscopic plankton. Harini Barath reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Now, your weekend tug weather--West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- 242 AM PST Fri Jan 8 2021
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON
TODAY SE wind 20 to 30 kt becoming W 10 to 20 kt late this morning. Wind waves 2 to 5 ft. W swell 15 ft at 16 seconds. Rain likely in the morning.
TONIGHT SW wind to 10 kt becoming SE after midnight. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 15 ft at 15 seconds subsiding to 13 ft at 14 seconds after midnight.
SAT E wind 15 to 25 kt becoming SE 20 to 25 kt in the afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 12 ft at 14 seconds subsiding to 8 ft at 13 seconds in the afternoon.
SAT NIGHT SE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 8 ft at 13 seconds.
SUN S wind 10 to 20 kt becoming SE 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 17 ft at 21 seconds.

Thursday, January 7, 2021

1/7 River otter, Cooke steelhead, saving BC salmon, ANWR drilling, Alaska bird watch

River Otters [Chris LeBoutillier/WDFW]

River Otter Lontra canadensis
The North American river otter is equally versatile in the water and on land. It establishes a burrow close to the water's edge in river, lake, swamp, coastal shoreline, tidal flat, or estuary ecosystems. The den typically has many tunnel openings, one of which generally allows the otter to enter and exit the body of water. Female North American river otters give birth in these burrows, producing litters of one to six young. (Wikipedia)

Cooke’s Washington steelhead switch approved
Cooke Aquaculture has been granted permission to start growing steelhead at four of its former salmon sites in Washington State. The future of the company’s sites in Puget Sound had been called into question following a mass escape of Atlantic salmon in 2017 from its sites, which inspired a law that banned the farming of non-native species in the state. However, the State of Washington Department of Ecology has now approved a permit modification application from Cooke Aquaculture Pacific which makes it possible for the company to raise female, triploid steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) at four of these sites for a minimum of five years. (The Fish Site)

Want to save B.C. salmon? Bring back Indigenous fishing systems, study says
Traditional technologies, harvesting practices and management systems could bring endangered populations back from the brink, but government buy-in is needed. Stephanie Wood reports. (The Narwhal)

Trump auctions drilling rights to Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday
Trump administration officials auctioned off oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday, capping Republicans’ decades-long quest to drill in one of the nation’s most vast unspoiled wild places. The move marks one of the most significant environmental rollbacks the president has accomplished in his term. But with lackluster oil prices and an increasing number of banks saying they would not finance Arctic energy projects, major oil companies did not try to buy the leases. That left the state agency, Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, as the main bidder. The agency put up all but two of the winning bids, which went to a couple of small energy firms. Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson report. (Washington Post)

Keeping Watch Over Seabirds at the World’s Edge
In Alaska, one of the longest-running and most comprehensive seabird monitoring projects is equal parts tedium, adventure, truth, and beauty. Sarah Gilman and Nathaniel Wilder, text and photos. (Hakai Magazine)

Now, your tug weather--West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- 213 AM PST Thu Jan 7 2021
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
TODAY SE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 12 ft at 15 seconds. Patchy fog in the morning.
TONIGHT E wind 15 to 25 kt rising to 20 to 30 kt after midnight. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. W swell 11 ft at 16 seconds. A chance of rain after midnight.

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

1/6 Bull kelp, Skagit water, Trump's wild birds, spotted owl, sewage, whales webinar, Bill Holm

Bull Kelp [Monterey Bay Aquarium]

Bull Kelp Nereocystis luetkeana
Bull kelp grows and thrives in rough-and-tumble coastal waters. It's aided by its rootlike holdfast, which has many fingerlike projections (haptera) that hold the plant tight to rocks. From the holdfast, a flexible stem (stipe) extends 30 to 60 feet (about 10-20 meters), gradually enlarging to form a single bulbous structure (a pneumatocyst) that is positively buoyant. As many as 30 to 64 long, narrow blades grow from the float and form a golden-brown canopy on the water's surface. (Monterey Bay Aquarium)

Skagit County commissioners approve water plan
The Skagit County Board of Commissioners approved an agreement Tuesday with the state Department of Ecology to move toward providing water to some rural property owners along a portion of the Skagit River. Many properties in the Skagit River watershed have been without a legal source of water since 2013 as a result of a 2001 instream flow rule and related lawsuits. Instream flow rules are a tool Ecology uses to ensure adequate stream flows for fish...Ecology developed the program in partnership with Seattle City Light, the Washington Water Trust and Skagit County. The program will allow the 338 properties with existing structures or building permits, and about 900 addition Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Trump administration scales back wild bird protections
The Trump administration on Tuesday finalized changes to a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species despite warnings that billions of birds could die as a result. Federal wildlife officials have acknowledged the move could result in more deaths of birds that land in oil pits or collide with power lines or other structures. A U.S. District Court judge in August had blocked the administration's prior attempt to change how the Migratory Bird Treaty Act is enforced. But urged on by industry groups, the Trump administration has remained adamant that the act has been wielded inappropriately for decades to penalize companies and other entities that kill birds accidentally. Matthew Brown reports. (Associated Press) See also: Group to sue interior secretary for delaying protection of spotted owl, other species The Center for Biological Diversity alleges the Trump administration has failed to make “expeditious progress” on species awaiting protection under the Endangered Species Act. Bradley Parks reports. (OPB)

Sewer overflow spills into Port Ludlow Bay
Residents are urged to stay out of the Port Ludlow Bay after some 50,000 to 70,000 gallons of a mixture of stormwater and wastewater spilled into it. Olympic Water and Sewer discovered a bypass at the wastewater treatment plant in Port Ludlow at about 7 a.m. Tuesday. The plant was experiencing extremely high flows due to an excessive amount of rain in a short period of time, officials said. (Peninsula Daily News)

Way of Whales Webinar Jan. 9
Learn about the intricate connections between salmon, endangered Southern Resident orcas, and their need for safe and healthy habitats (and more) at the Orca Network virtual event 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For info and to register, go here.

Editorial: Remembering Bill Holm’s respectful cultural support
The Pacific Northwest lost a towering presence with the Dec. 16 death of Bill Holm at 95. His meticulous effort documented and sustained Native cultures that had been practiced in this region for millennia. Even though Holm was an outsider to the Native cultures he so admired, his life’s work showed how to be an ally without exploitation. (Seattle Times Editorial Board)

Now, your tug weather--West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- 241 AM PST Wed Jan 6 2021
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
TODAY SE wind 10 to 20 kt becoming NE 15 to 25 kt in the afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 17 ft at 14 seconds. A slight chance of showers in the morning then a chance of showers and a slight chance of tstms in the afternoon.
TONIGHT SE wind to 10 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt after midnight. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 16 ft at 15 seconds subsiding to 14 ft at 15 seconds after midnight. A chance of showers and a slight chance of tstms in the evening.

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

1/5 Octopus, weather, sewage spill, toxic crabs, limiting science, forest peace

PHOTO: Georgette Dowma/NPL/Minden Pictures

Octopuses Are Eight-Armed Taskmasters
Even a crafty hunter like an octopus sometimes needs help. On tropical coral reefs around the world, the day octopus scours the seafloor in search of tiny mollusks and crustaceans that hide within calcified crevices. But every so often, this prey eludes the octopus’s many-armed grasp. Unfortunately for the fleeing prey, groups of fishes—sometimes four or five different species—might be lying in wait, ready to cut off its escape and leaving it within the octopus’s reach. Cameron Duke reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Western Washington weather Tuesday has it all: an 'atmospheric river,' flooding, wind, snow, mudslides and dangerous beach conditions Christine Clarridge reports. (Seattle Times) BC Storm: Wind, rainfall warnings in effect for Metro Vancouver Stephanie Ip reports. (Vancouver Sun)

250,000 gallons of effluent flows into Puget Sound from Bainbridge Island treatment plant
About 250,000 gallons of partially treated effluent was sent into Puget Sound from Bainbridge Island's wastewater treatment plant over the weekend after heavy rainfall temporarily overwhelmed the facility's capacity. The overflow is the second such dump into the Eagle Harbor vicinity in about a week's time. As a result of this weekend's spill, a no-contact advisory will be issued for Eagle Harbor, the city said in an announcement Monday afternoon. Nathan Pilling reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Quinault Tribe recall 29 tons of Dungeness crab due to toxin
Nearly 29 tons of Dungeness crab is being voluntarily recalled by the Quinault Tribe. The recall affects live and uneviscerated Dungeness crab. The crabs are being recalled due to possible elevated marine toxin levels. The toxin is called domoic acid, which can be harmful to people if the contaminated shellfish are consumed. The crab was caught by the tribe from Dec. 23-28 and sold to food processors in Washington. (Associated Press)

EPA finalizes rule to limit science behind public health safeguards
The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a rule to limit what research it can use to craft public health protections, a move opponents argue is aimed at crippling the agency’s ability to more aggressively regulate the nation’s air and water. The “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” rule, which the administration began pursuing early in President Trump’s term, would require researchers to disclose the raw data involved in their public health studies before the agency could rely upon their conclusions. It will apply this new set of standards to “dose-response studies,” which evaluate how much a person’s exposure to a substance increases the risk of harm. Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis report. (Washington Post)

This website lets you listen to the sounds of a peaceful forest from your own home
Despite best intentions, sometimes it’s harder to put on the rain boots and jackets and leave the abode, especially during a pandemic and a rainy season. But there are few better salves for the soul than the sounds of nature...But for all of us who can’t travel, can’t forest bathe and may be having trouble leaving the house at all, here is a low-commitment, low-energy option to get some of those good juices flowing. Tree.fm https://www.tree.fm/ has sounds from forests around the world recorded by people who live near them. Christine Clarridge reports. (Seattle Times)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- 207 AM PST Tue Jan 5 2021
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
TODAY SE wind 15 to 25 kt rising to 20 to 30 kt in the afternoon. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. W swell 16 ft at 16 seconds subsiding to 14 ft at 15 seconds in the afternoon. Rain.
TONIGHT SE wind 20 to 30 kt becoming S 15 to 25 kt after midnight. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. SW swell 18 ft at 13 seconds. Rain in the evening then a 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

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

Monday, January 4, 2021

1/4 Boccacio, tribal climate, USACE permits, pollock, L.WA sockeye, Somers veto, ANWR drilling, oil train derail, Kalama methanol, pinto abalone, BC fish farms, Navy training, orca deaths, Junban

Boccacio [NOAA]

The B.C. fish you've likely never heard of that's confounding trawlers and officials
A species of fish you've probably never heard about has made a major comeback from being endangered, but now B.C. fishermen can't avoid catching it, threatening their ability to earn a living. Bocaccio rockfish are among the largest of the dozens of types of rockfish that live along the Pacific coast of North America. Their name is derived from the Italian term bocacho, meaning big-mouthed. Chad Pawson reports. (CBC)

For tribes, climate change fight is about saving culture
When Terry Williams grew interested in climate change in the 1970s, he found information about human-caused global warming to be conflicting and confusing. “It didn’t make sense until the early ’80s, when we saw a difference in the timing of the floods,” the Tulalip Tribes elder recalled. Later studies bore out what was happening in the tribes’ traditional lands. “The glaciers were melting two to three months early. We got floods in November and December instead of March and April. Rainfall had increased 6%.” Julie Titone reports. (Everett Herald)

Hotly debated national permit for shellfish farms could be passed to Biden administration
Legal protections for marine shorelines, streams and wetlands could be revised just before President Trump leaves office, as the Army Corps of Engineers updates 52 “nationwide permits” that allow for a variety of water-related projects. Of particular interest in Washington state is a nationwide permit proposed for shellfish farms that would, purportedly, help to resolve an ongoing court battle over the effects of aquaculture on the shoreline environment. In June, U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik invalidated permits for an estimated 900 shellfish farms, saying the environmental impacts had not been adequately studied. Chris Dunagan reports. (Puget Sound Institute)

After a tough 2020 of small fish and COVID-19, North Pacific pollock fleet prepares for winter season
Skipper Kevin Ganley spent most of the summer and fall pulling a massive trawl net through the Bering Sea in a long slow search for pollock, a staple of McDonald’s fish sandwiches. The fish proved very hard to find. Ganley’s boat is part of a fleet of largely Washington-based trawlers that have had a difficult year as they joined in North America’s largest single-species seafood harvest. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

Lake Washington sockeye hit record low, another signature Seattle fish at brink of extinction
They are as Seattle as the Space Needle. But Lake Washington sockeye, once the largest run of sockeye in the Lower 48, are failing. The smallest run on record returned to the Cedar River in 2020, a bottoming out after years of declines. There hasn’t been a fishery on Lake Washington sockeye since 2006 — and now extinction looms. What’s worse is scientists are not even sure how to fix it, as a vortex of climate change, urbanization and predators endangers a beloved species. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

County executive vetoes fee break to save environmental work
In a seldom-used move, county Executive Dave Somers vetoed a Snohomish County Council vote, saying their decision would lead to a loss of environmental conservation funding. In November, the County Council voted to nix a 2.8% annual surface water fee increase to give ratepayers a break as many struggle financially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fee funds environmental programs that protect salmon and marine habitat and work to reduce flood damage. Julia-Grace Sanders reports. (Everett Herald)

Sale of Arctic Drilling Leases Draws an Unusual Taker. It May Be the Only One
After a three-year push by the Trump administration to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling — an effort that culminated in a rush to sell leases before the White House changes hands — in the end the only taker may be the state of Alaska itself. With a Thursday deadline for submitting bids for 10-year leases on tracts covering more than one million acres of the refuge, there is little indication that oil companies are interested in buying the rights to drill under difficult conditions, to extract more costly fossil fuels for a world that increasingly is seeking to wean itself off them. Henry Fountain reports. (NY Times)

Derailed oil train cars removed after crash near Canadian border
Crews on Tuesday removed the train cars carrying crude oil that derailed north of Bellingham and near the Canadian border last week. BNSF employees and contractors loaded the cars onto flatbed trucks for removal from the derailment site in Custer. BNSF spokeswoman Courtney Wallace said all the cars would be removed on Tuesday. She also confirmed Tuesday that ten cars of the tanker train hauling oil derailed on Dec. 22, which was several more than previously reported. Lisa Baumann reports. (Associated Press)

Proposed Washington methanol plant would likely slow rise of global greenhouse gas emissions, says new study
A state study has found a “high likelihood” that a $2 billion natural gas-based methanol plant proposed for Kalama could slow the rise in global greenhouse gas emissions produced by the global industry. Whether these savings were real — or just part of the sales pitch of the developer — has been a key question hanging over the Cowlitz County project, which was proposed in 2014 and immediately generated fierce opposition from environmentalists as an unwanted expansion of the region’s use of fossil fuels. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

Report: Pinto abalone in peril
Pinto abalone, the only abalone species native to the Salish Sea and a species undergoing restoration efforts in Skagit and San Juan counties, is in trouble. State and regional experts have known of the pinto abalone’s plight for years, but a new report from the Endangered Species Coalition puts its struggles in the limelight. The coalition’s report “Trafficked: 10 Species Threatened by the Wildlife Trade” highlights pinto abalone as one of 10 species at risk of extinction due both to legal harvesting at unsustainable levels and illegal harvesting — or poaching. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Fish out of water: How B.C.’s salmon farmers fell behind the curve of sustainable, land-based aquaculture
Public and political pressure to remove open net pens from the province’s coastal waters has grown steadily in recent years with farms now being forced out of wild salmon migratory routes. So, as terrestrial fish farming takes off globally, why hasn’t the industry been more receptive to rearing salmon on land? The third of three parts. Sarah Cox reports. (The Narwhal)

Comment period extended for Navy's training plan
About a week after issuing a State Environmental Policy Act determination for the Navy’s proposal to train in state parks, the State Parks Commission announced Wednesday an extension of the public comment period. Comment will be accepted through Jan. 22. That’s a few days prior to the Jan. 26 public meeting to be held online at tvw.org. The Navy’s proposal is to conduct special operations training in 28 state parks including Deception Pass State Park. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Study: Humans cause more orca deaths than previously understood
Researchers have long known that dwindling salmon runs, water pollution and loud underwater boat noise are major contributors to the reduced number of orcas along the West Coast. Now, a ten-year study of killer whale carcasses found washed up on beaches in the eastern Pacific Ocean has found a significant number who died from more direct human causes. “This study was really a decade-long look at what do killer whales die from, from California to Alaska all the way out to Hawaii,” said Joe Gaydos, a wildlife veterinarian with UC Davis who participated in the study. Liam Moriarty reports. (Jefferson Public Radio)

Junban
I grew up on a small farm on a big river. The river was called the Fraser..." Jillian Tamaki relates a story. (The New Yorker)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- 208 AM PST Mon Jan 4 2021
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM PST THIS MORNING THROUGH LATE TONIGHT TODAY SW wind 15 to 25 kt becoming W 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 14 ft at 17 seconds. Rain in the morning then a chance of showers and a slight chance of tstms in the afternoon.
TONIGHT SW wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 15 ft at 17 seconds. A chance of showers in the evening then a slight chance of showers after midnight.