Salish Sea News Week in Review August 19 2022

 

Aloha Orangutan Friday!
Known for their distinctive red fur, orangutans are the largest arboreal mammal, spending most of their time in trees. Long, powerful arms and grasping hands and feet allow them to move through the branches. These great apes share 96.4% of our genes and are highly intelligent creatures. The name orangutan means "man of the forest" in the Malay language. (World Wildlife Federation)

Behemoth moth lands in Bellevue, alarming agriculture officials
One of the world's largest moths showed up in Bellevue, Washington, to the astonishment of the homeowner who found it basking in the sun on the side of his garage — and the alarm of entomologists.

Conservationists worry about destruction of B.C.'s rare glass sponge reefs
...These reefs are as fragile as the most delicate crystal, given that they are made of silica, the main component of glass. They can be instantly shattered by things like crab and prawn traps, anchors, fishing line and downriggers.

‘Every citizen in British Columbia won’: court dismisses defamation suit against conservationists
On Monday, the B.C. Supreme Court dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by a developer against the Qualicum Nature Preservation Society and its president Ezra Morse, ruling that the case did not have substantial merit.

B.C. wildlife federation alleges DFO meddling in steelhead science
B.C.’s commercial fishers are anticipating a lucrative Fraser River sockeye salmon harvest this season, but conservationists fear critically low Interior steelhead trout remain at risk due to a federal decision not to list them as endangered.

Higher salmon returns celebrated upstream of 2019 Big Bar rockslide north of Lillooet, B.C.
First Nations are cautiously celebrating upstream of a 2019 landslide that dealt a devastating blow to salmon populations reaching the Upper Fraser River to spawn. This year, preliminary data suggest that more of the fish are finally reaching their spawning grounds upriver.

Skeena Sockeye Returns Are Surging — But Big Concerns Remain
Four million sockeye, twice the average for the last decade, are expected this year.

Biden signs massive climate and health care legislation 
President Joe Biden signed Democrats’ landmark climate change and health care bill into law on Tuesday, delivering what he has called the “final piece” of his pared-down domestic agenda, as he aims to boost his party’s standing with voters less than three months before the midterm elections.

Massive new climate law could give Pacific Northwest green businesses a boost
Companies large and small around the Pacific Northwest say they are excited by growth opportunities that may flow from the climate, healthcare and tax package signed by President Biden on Tuesday.

$3.1 million pumped into B.C. marine noise reduction as advocates call for targets
The federal government is putting $3.1 million into projects aimed at reducing underwater noise from vessels to protect marine mammals like southern resident killer whales...Part of a previously announced $26-million investment over five years, the $3.1 million will support 22 projects, including developing real-time tools to track underwater noise from marine vessels, detect marine mammals and alert nearby vessels.

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, 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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