Salish Sea News Week in Review May 14 2021

 

Aloha Fintastic Friday!

Fintastic Friday: Giving Sharks a Voice celebrates and raises awareness for sharks, and is geared towards children. It encourages them to get involved in shark conservation efforts and to help change public opinion about sharks—from fear to appreciation and from hate to love. Not only is the day dedicated to sharks, but to other elasmobranchs like rays and skates as well.

Scientists seek to understand increase in grey whale deaths on West Coast
The recent sighting of an emaciated grey whale off Vancouver Island and the discovery of a dead whale washed up on a B.C. beach highlights concerns that the marine mammals are dying in increasing numbers.

Songhees teaming up with other nations to remove derelict boats
 The Songhees First Nation is spearheading a drive to take more derelict boats out of the water while providing jobs and training for other nations on the South Island.

The Big Melt
This is Klinaklini, the largest glacier in Western North America beyond the Alaskan border. As this giant melts, so go B.C.’s more than 16,000 other mountain glaciers — and the pace is fast accelerating. In mere decades, Klinaklini will be gone.

Expect longer wait times: Washington ferries to use smaller-capacity vessels after boat fire
Washington State Ferries (WSF) announced last week that it would be forced to make service changes on several routes after an engine room fire took the MV Wenatchee out of service in late April.

Interior drops Trump proposal easing rules for Arctic offshore drilling
The U.S. Interior Department said Friday that it would not pursue a Trump administration proposal that critics feared would have weakened rules for exploratory oil and gas drilling in Arctic waters.

Thousands of salmon fry released in B.C. river to restore populations devastated by Big Bar landslide
Thousands of salmon fry have been released in a river west of Prince George, B.C., in the hope they will help restore the salmon population devastated by the Big Bar landslide.

B.C. auditor general flags province’s inadequate management of lands, fish and wildlife
An audit of the province’s conservation program shows how B.C. is failing to address a biodiversity crisis, including monitoring and enforcement gaps and a lack of collaboration with First Nations.

Interior Department approves first large-scale offshore wind farm in the U.S.
The Biden administration on Tuesday approved the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States, a project that envisions building 62 turbines off Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and creating enough electricity to power 400,000 homes.

BLM will revisit sage grouse protections after Trump’s attempt to open habitat for mining
The Bureau of Land Management announced Tuesday that it will revisit a key provision of sage grouse protection plans that would limit mining and drilling on the birds’ habitat.

B.C. ‘shouldn’t have approved’ plan that failed to protect Nahmint old-growth forests: watchdog
A three-year review by the forest practices board found the provincial government did not meet its legal objective to protect ecosystems and ancient forests in a treasured Vancouver Island watershed.

Community Voices / Local team launches innovative approach to help curb climate change
We must act, not just worry, and use as many solutions to curb climate change as we can, say a team of professors, graduate fellows, student interns and sustainability professionals working on one solution for Whatcom County — that can be replicated anywhere.

Stakeholders: Proposed Skagit River dam studies "inadequate"
Despite Seattle City Light expanding its study plan associated with the relicensing process of its Skagit River dams, at least 17 commenting government agencies, tribes and nonprofits wrote in letters last week that they remain dissatisfied.

‘They never said a word’: DFO told B.C. salmon farmers, but not First Nations, about mouth rot infestation
Documents released under access to information legislation show federal scientists raised the alarm about a bacteria that causes potentially deadly lesions in Atlantic salmon, saying migrating Fraser River salmon were at risk.

Gov. Inslee, Washington state’s U.S. senators reject GOP congressman’s pitch on Lower Snake River dam removal
Washington state’s U.S. senators and its governor have joined forces against a proposal from U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, to remove four hydroelectric dams on the Lower Snake River and replace their benefits as part of a multitrillion dollar infrastructure bill being crafted by the Biden administration.

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 at no cost to the weekday news clips or to this weekly compilation, send your name and email to mikesato772 at gmail.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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