Salish Sea Communications: October 2020

Friday, October 30, 2020

Salish Sea News Week in Review October 30 2020

Aloha Lemur Day!
Lemurs are mammals of the order Primates, divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are native only to the island of Madagascar. Most existing lemurs are small, have a pointed snout, large eyes, and a long tail. They chiefly live in trees, and are active at night. Lemurs are mammals of the order Primates, divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are native only to the island of Madagascar. Most existing lemurs are small, have a pointed snout, large eyes, and a long tail. They chiefly live in trees, and are active at night. (Wikipedia)

State details Padilla Bay bacteria issue
The state Department of Ecology released Thursday a draft report that details the problem of fecal coliform bacteria in sloughs that flow into Padilla Bay and that lists possible solutions.

Controversy flares up over proposed policy revisions for state salmon hatcheries
A state policy revision that could boost salmon production at fish hatcheries in Washington state has raised red flags among scientists and environmental groups worried about potential damage to wild salmon runs.

B.C. NDP will form decisive majority government, CBC News projects
The NDP will form a historic majority government in British Columbia for the first time in more than 20 years.

Fight over Snake River dams is likely going back to court
The fight over salmon and dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers could be headed back to the courtroom. Conservation and fishing groups say the federal government’s newest plans to manage dams and protect salmon are inadequate.

Trump administration buries dozens of clean energy studies
The Department of Energy has blocked reports for more than 40 clean energy studies. The department has replaced them with mere presentations, buried them in scientific journals that are not accessible to the public, or left them paralyzed within the agency.

With Justice Barrett, a Tectonic Court Shift on the Environment
The accession of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court will cement a conservative majority that is likely to give polluting industries freer rein, limit the ability of citizens to sue, and call into question the very basis of the EPA to issue and enforce regulations.

Oregon Supreme Court rules against youth plaintiffs in climate change lawsuit
The Oregon Supreme Court ruled against two young plaintiffs this week in a lawsuit that alleged the state has failed to address the mounting threats posed by climate change.

Youth-led climate change lawsuit dismissed by Federal Court
A Federal Court judge ruled Tuesday that the Canadian government won't be going on trial for contributions to climate change — striking down a lawsuit brought by 15 young Canadians who argued the government was violating their charter rights.

Vancouver outlines its Climate Emergency Action Plan
The City of Vancouver on Wednesday released its Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP), with ambitious proposals to tackle climate change by cutting excess carbon in half by 2030.

Wolves To Lose Federal Protection In Washington And Oregon, Conservation Groups Vow A Fight
The federal government says it will remove endangered species protections for gray wolves in the Lower 48. The move will reduce protections for the predators in the western two-thirds of Washington and Oregon.

Development has made the Pilchuck River warmer, harming fish
The Pilchuck River is getting warmer, and that’s not a good sign for future salmon runs. The temperature of the water has risen about 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit above the historic norm, according to the state Department of Ecology.

Deal falls through to sell Puget Sound Energy's stake in Montana's Colstrip coal plant.
The future of Colstrip, the Northwest’s largest coal plant, got more uncertain Monday as a deal fell through to sell Puget Sound Energy’s stake in one of the four generating units in Montana.

These news clips are a selection of weekday clips collected in Salish Sea News and Weather which 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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Friday, October 23, 2020

Salish Sea News Week in Review October 23 2020

Aloha World Fish Migration Day (Oct 24)
World Fish Migration Day is a one-day global celebration to create awareness of open rivers and migratory fish. Migratory fishes are fishes that swim short or long distances from daily to annually, as a way to complete their life cycle, feed and / or make love! Some migratory fishes migrate up and down rivers, others between rivers and oceans, and others across the oceans.

The Elwha dams are gone and chinook are surging back, but why are so few reaching the upper river?
They were the king of kings in Puget Sound, the biggest chinook of them all, strong enough to muscle up the falls at the Goblin Gates and power on all the way through nearly 4 miles of chutes and falls in the Grand Canyon of the Elwha...But fewer chinook are reaching the deliciously cold, uppermost reaches of the watershed. Why?

Minor bridge modifications could help young steelhead escape from Hood Canal
Help could be on the way for migrating steelhead and salmon in Hood Canal, where many young fish are killed each year by seals and other predators that lie in wait at the Hood Canal floating bridge.

From worriers to warriors, they’re fighting climate change
Local environmental groups are forming, growing and attracting new members, young and old. Julie Titone reports. (Everett Herald)

Salish Sea Shared Waters forum wraps up third and final year of work to reduce risks of oil spills
Washington has been stepping up systems to prevent and reduce the risk of oil spills, due in part to the looming expansion of Canada’s Trans Mountain Pipeline.

B.C. election: where the NDP, Greens and Liberals stand on climate and environment issues
As Sonia Furstenau's Greens pledge to end oil and gas subsidies and Andrew Wilkinson's BC Liberals promise to expand LNG, John Horgan's NDP sticks to the middle road. Ainslie Cruickshank writes. (The Narwhal)

Photos show pregnant southern resident orca J46 in Puget Sound
More great news for the southern resident orcas, a J-pod member is pregnant, according to recent reports from a Puget Sound whale watcher who captured photos of the whale on Sunday.

New study suggests fish farms raise risk of exposure to infectious disease for wild B.C. salmon
A new study suggests that the presence of active fish farms in B.C. waters can more than double the chance of finding genetic material from pathogens that cause disease in wild salmon.

Vancouver’s Stanley Park aquatic life on ‘red alert’: ecology report
Stanley Park’s tree cover is growing, but aquatic life in Beaver Lake isn’t doing very well at all, according to a new report on the park’s ecological health.

What Would a British Columbia Seal and Sea Lion Cull Actually Entail?
University of British Columbia (UBC) professor emeritus of oceans and fisheries Carl Walters is pushing for the slaughter of 50,000 harbor seals and 25,000 Steller sea lions—half their populations on the BC coast. Another 3,000 seals per year would be killed on an ongoing basis to keep the animals in check.

There's A Lot At Stake For The Climate In The 2020 Election
Joe Biden calls climate change an existential threat to our health, economy, and national security. President Trump continues to question climate science.

Comment period opens on whale watching rules
A public comment period has opened for proposed commercial whale watching rules. The state Department of Fish & Wildlife released a draft of the rules Wednesday, opening a comment period that will close at 5 p.m. Dec. 5.

WSDOT tries a ‘bridge-in-a-backpack’ in Duvall as an innovative way to replace fish-blocking culverts
Steelhead, coho and other fish may soon enjoy more room to swim Loutsis Creek, where Washington state just built its first bridge using composite fibers.

Friday, October 16, 2020

Salish Sea News Week in Review October 16 2020

Aloha World Food Day!
World Food Day is an international day celebrated every year around the world on 16 October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945.

Alaska’s Magnificent Tongass National Forest Threatened by new “Chainsaw Rule” The Trump Administration is substituting the “Chainsaw Rule” for the Roadless Rule in managing the vast Tongass National Forest. The largest national forest in the United States, at 16 million acres, it takes up most of Southeast Alaska.

Wolverines denied federal protection
The North American wolverine found in mountain habitats including the North Cascades does not warrant federal Endangered Species Act protection, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced.

Park reopens as project to help Chico Creek salmon wraps up
There's a new bridge, a restored stream, and now all that's left to wait for are the surging salmon. Fall chum runs will soon fill Chico Creek, and thanks to a $4.4 million project that replaced a box culvert with a bridge on Golf Club Hill Road, their journey to spawn should run a little easier.

Under Trump, Criminal Prosecutions for Pollution Dropped Sharply
Prosecutions of environmental crimes have “plummeted” during the Trump administration, according to a new report. The first two years of the Trump administration had a 70 percent decrease in criminal prosecutions under the Clean Water Act and a decrease of more than 50 percent under the Clean Air Act.

Earth has warmest September on record, and 2020 may clinch hottest year
The planet just recorded its hottest September since at least 1880, according to three of the authoritative temperature-tracking agencies in the world. The data, most of which was released Wednesday, shows that 2020 is on track to be one of the hottest years on record, with the possibility of tying or breaking the milestone for the hottest year, set in 2016.

Winter in Seattle area expected to be colder, wetter than usual, says new report
The Puget Sound region is likely to have a La Niña winter this year, meaning it will be a colder and wetter season than usual, according to a new report. Christine Clarridge reports. (Seattle Times) B.C.'s South Coast could be colder and snowier than normal this winter, meteorologists say Experts say a developing La Niña could mean more winter storms on B.C.'s South Coast. Tiffany Crawford reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Wildfire smoke in US exposes millions to hazardous pollution
Wildfires churning out dense plumes of smoke as they scorch huge swaths of the U.S. West Coast have exposed millions of people to hazardous pollution levels, causing emergency room visits to spike and potentially thousands of deaths among the elderly and infirm, according to an Associated Press analysis of pollution data and interviews with physicians, health authorities and researchers. Matthew Brown and Camille Fassett report. (AP)

Friday, October 9, 2020

Salish Sea News Week in Review October 9 2020

Aloha Nautilus Friday!

Chambered nautiluses (Allonautilus and Nautilus species) are the only living descendants of a group of ocean creatures that thrived in the seas 500 million years ago when the earth’s continents were still forming. Chambered nautiluses are known as living fossils because they have remained virtually unchanged for millions of years. Among the last representatives of the ancient lineages of cephalopods (animals with no backbones but with tentacles or arms), chambered nautiluses are easily distinguished from their closest living relatives -- the octopus, squid, and cuttlefish -- by their distinctive external coiled shells. A feat in molluscan evolution, the internal chambers of their shell provide a buoyancy mechanism to facilitate movement that inspired the inventor of the earliest modern submarine to name the invention “Nautilus.”

New Orca-focused rules take shape for whale watching in Washington
Washington state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife published on Sept. 23 a draft Environmental Impact Statement examining options for licensing commercial whale-watching companies to better protect the endangered orcas.

UTC staff suggest regulators deny PSE request to sell stake in coal-fired power plant
Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission staff are recommending that Puget Sound Energy not be allowed to sell part of its stake in a coal-fired power plant in Montana.

Critics vow to continue efforts to remove Snake River dams in Washington
Environmental groups are vowing to continue their fight to remove four dams on the Snake River in Washington they say are killing salmon that are a key food source for endangered killer whales.

Puyallup Tribe plans to sue Pierce County dam owner over AstroTurf, impacts on fish
The Puyallup Tribe intends to sue Electron Hydro and its backers over violations of the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.

Multiple wildlife species being managed to zero, BCWF says
B.C.’s spending on wildlife and habitat protection has declined by 65 per cent over the past 20 years as wild populations of caribou and endangered runs of steelhead and salmon plumb new lows, according to an analysis by the B.C. Wildlife Federation.

Dozens of boaters being investigated for violating killer whale safe zones
Transport Canada is pursuing 89 investigations of boaters for alleged violations of safe-distance requirements and sanctuary zones intended to protect southern resident killer whales.

Canada to ban plastic grocery bags and straws in 2021
Plastic bags and straws could be illegal in Canada come next year. Federal environment minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced the list of single-use plastic items the Liberals plan to ban in order to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030.

Friday, October 2, 2020

Salish Sea News Week in Review October 2, 2020

Aloha World Smile Friday!
World Smile Day is dedicated to the smiley face, which was created by Harvey Ball in 1963. He also came up with the idea for World Smile Day, which was first held in 1999, two years before his death. Following his death, the Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation was created, with the slogan "improving the world, one smile at a time". The foundation's goal in raising awareness for World Smile Day is to "encourage smiles and acts of kindness around the world". The foundation also raises money to support children's causes.

Judge hears lawsuit over fish farms
Whether Cooke Aquaculture’s plan to raise native steelhead at fish farms in Puget Sound is a simple business transition or a complex threat to the marine ecosystem is being debated in King County Superior Court.

Controversial Discovery Islands fish farms pose 'minimal risk' to wild salmon, DFO says
The battle to have 18 open-net fish farms removed from a critical salmon migration route is heading for more consultation after Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced they present little risk to wild Fraser River salmon stocks, which are in serious decline.

Another baby orca born to J pod — the second this month
Another baby orca has been born to J pod, the Center for Whale Research confirmed Friday morning. It’s the second calf born this month for the endangered southern resident orcas that frequent Puget Sound.

More female southern resident killer whales needed for population growth: scientists
The addition of a new male calf to a critically endangered pod of southern resident killer whales has experts happy, yet disappointed because it won’t further the population of the orcas.

‘Super-Enzyme’ Speeds Up Breakdown of Plastic, Researchers Say
A new cocktail of enzymes that speeds up the degradation of plastic offers a step forward in finding a new form of recycling that is faster, is more affordable and works on a larger scale than current methods, British and American researchers said this week.

British Columbia’s Seamounts Are Becoming Uninhabitable
In the northeast Pacific, the upper 3,000 meters of water has lost 15 percent of its oxygen over the past 60 years, and the top 500 meters is simultaneously becoming more acidic at an unprecedented rate, a study by Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists has found.

Ottawa opens door to First Nations fisheries authority
Fisheries and Oceans Minister Bernadette Jordan said today the federal government is open to the creation of a First Nations fisheries authority, if that's the direction Mi'kmaw chiefs want to take.

Youth activists say Canada has legal duty to protect vital resources as public hearing ends
Fifteen young Canadians attempting to sue the federal government say the country has a duty to all its citizens to protect vital natural resources like the air and shorelines — a duty it's failing by emitting greenhouse gases.