Salish Sea Communications: May 2023

Friday, May 26, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review May 26 2023

Happy Buddha Birthday!
Buddha's Birthday or "'Buddha Day"' is a Buddhist festival that is celebrated in most of East Asia and South Asia commemorating the birth of the Prince Siddhartha Gautama, later the Gautama Buddha, who was the founder of Buddhism...The exact date of Buddha's birthday is based on the Asian lunisolar calendars. The date for the celebration of Buddha's birthday varies from year to year in the Western Gregorian calendar, but usually falls in April or May. In leap years it may be celebrated in June. (Wikipedia)

Researchers rush to find cause of contagious cancer in PNW clams
he cancer, found in dozens of shellfish species around the globe, was first discovered in Salish Sea cockles during a 2018 health screening as the Suquamish Tribe began rolling out a hatchery program.

Inside Canada’s first spill response organization on the west coast
The Western Canada Marine Response Corporation has been responding to oil spill emergencies for almost 50 years.

Within the Salish Sea, Samish divers research kelp forests
Western science and traditional knowledge help them monitor seaweed health, vital to their culture and local ecosystems. Luna Reyna reports. (Crosscut)

Preparing for the Worst with a Kelp Seed Bank
In Washington State, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s new preservation facility offers a back-up plan for an uncertain future.

Tribes ramp up pressure on WA over gas prices as climate laws’ effects take hold
Leaders from at least a dozen Washington tribes may soon meet with Gov. Jay Inslee’s administration to raise concerns and ask questions about the effects of the state’s new carbon-cap system on gas prices and tribal sovereignty.

Environmental alliance launches legal challenge against expansion of B.C. container port
A group of Canadian conservationists says it has launched a legal challenge against Ottawa's $2 billion plan for an expanded container terminal in Delta, B.C. The David Suzuki Foundation, Georgia Strait Alliance, Raincoast Conservation Foundation and the Wilderness Committee filed an application for a judicial review in federal court under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

Seattle City Council passes new tree ordinance
The Seattle City Council voted Tuesday afternoon to pass an updated version of a city ordinance regulating trees on private property, which had not been adjusted since 2009.

On This Disputed River, Progress May Mean a Return to the Past
Winding through British Columbia and Washington, the Skagit has a history that reflects competing conceptions of advancement.

As Supreme Court weakens Clean Water Act, what does it mean for WA?
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday that eroded longstanding water protections might have little effect in Washington because of the state’s more stringent laws safeguarding wetlands, but it could have implications for endangered species and tribal lands.

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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

Friday, May 19, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review May 19 2023

Vaquita, the world's most endangered animal

Aloha Endangered Species Friday!
The United States Congress created Endangered Species Day in 2006 with the adoption of Senate Resolution 431. The day is for learning why it's important to protect endangered species, for learning how to take part in protection efforts, and for celebrating species that have recovered as a result of these efforts.

Rare blankets made from fur of extinct woolly dog on display at North Vancouver museum
For thousands of years, the Salish woolly dog resided on B.C.'s southwest coast, providing their owners with companionship — and hair. Now, blankets woven from the fur of this extinct dog are on display at the Museum of North Vancouver until early July.

The overbudget Trans Mountain pipeline project is carrying $23B in debt — and needs to borrow more
The overbudget Trans Mountain expansion project owes its lenders at least $23 billion and is looking to take on more private debt as the federal government shuts its wallet and construction costs skyrocket.

Washington slates $50M for trees to shade salmon streams
Gov. Jay Inslee and a bipartisan group of legislators are using a low-tech approach to combat deadly warming waters.

Snoqualmie Tribe enacts 2% land protection tax to help preserve ancestral lands
The Snoqualmie Tribe has instituted a new land protection tax that’s believed to be the first of its kind in North America.

Washington passes law to cut ‘forever chemicals’ in makeup
Starting in 2025, the Toxics-Free Cosmetics Act will be among the country’s strongest legislation against hazardous products.

WA launches dashboard tracking ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water
The Department of Health unveiled a public-facing dashboard sharing data from drinking water wells in the state that have been tested for the presence of these toxic chemicals.

Friday, May 12, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review May 12 2023

Kruckeberg Botanic Garden [Thrive2day]

Aloha Public Garden Day!
The Kruckeberg Botanic Garden, a four-acre public garden founded in 1958 in Shoreline, contains a unique blend of Pacific Northwest native plants and unusual exotics set in a naturalistic wooded setting. It may take multiple visits to see the more than 2,000 species, which include native and exotic conifers, hardwoods, rhododendrons, magnolias, ferns and groundcovers. Several trees are the largest or most rare in the state. Birdwatchers have identified more than 40 bird species while visiting the Garden. Admission is free. (Kruckeberg Botanic Garden)

Research finds some Pacific salmon migration out of sync with food supply
Climate change is knocking some Pacific salmon out of alignment with the growth of the ocean plankton they eat to survive, new research says.

Puget Sound Tribes Want WFC Hatchery Lawsuit Dismissed
Five Western Washington tribes have filed paperwork in federal court to intervene in a Wild Fish Conservancy lawsuit targeting state hatchery salmon production in Puget Sound and the Lower Columbia.

A Disaster the Size of Multiple Katrinas Is Building Off Washington’s Coast
Someday — next week, next year, maybe next century — a sudden and deadly marine shock will strike the Northwest coast: what locals call the Big One, a circa 9.0-magnitude offshore earthquake generating tsunami surges reaching 60 feet high or more. See also: Tsunami could hit west Vancouver Island in under half hour

Unseen worry: Firefighting ‘forever chemicals’ linger near Paine Field
A construction mistake in 2014 at Boeing's Paine Field facility resulted in activating a fire-suppression system that spilled hundreds of thousands of gallons and firefighting foam that's resulted in the state Department of Ecology last month adding the area to its small but growing list of PFAS-contaminated cleanup sites around the state. Where did high levels of PFAS in San Juan Island water come from? ...Even in a privileged community on an otherwise pristine archipelago, PFAS has leached into the drinking water. A stone’s throw from the Hannah Heights well is the neighborhood’s fire station. Yet the source of the pollution remains elusive with a state investigation pending.

Seaweed invasions of coral reefs not necessarily bad, B.C. researchers find
Seaweed invasions have been used as a yardstick for measuring coral reef health, but a new study led by B.C. researchers has found the slimy macroalgae isn't all bad news.

Vancouver Park Board approves 'lethal removal' plan to control Canada goose population
Staff reports that there were a minimum of 2,200 geese in Vancouver in 2022 and the population is estimated to be growing by 18 per cent every year.

Port of Everett settles stormwater lawsuit for $2.5M
In May 2022, water quality watchdog Puget Soundkeeper Alliance filed the lawsuit alleging water samples exceeded various pollution “benchmarks” — including for pH, copper, zinc and turbidity — set in the port’s state-issued permit over two dozen times between 2018 and early 2022.

Scientists discover colossal underwater mountain off Vancouver Island
Measured by scientists aboard the U.S. research ship Okeanos Explorer, the seamount rivals Mount Baker and re-writes old nautical charts.

Friday, May 5, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review May 5 2023

Aloha Oyster Friday!
Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not all oysters are in the superfamily Ostreoidea. Wikipedia

Seattle City Light commits to fish passage over Skagit River dams
As part of the process to relicense the three Skagit River dams, Seattle City Light Friday committed to providing fish passage at each dam... Seattle City Light will file its final license application — a 15,000-page document — with FERC on Sunday.

A mystery in the Pacific is complicating climate projections
The El Niño-Southern Oscillation, which has a huge influence on global weather patterns, isn’t behaving as computer models predicted. That’s puzzling scientists.

Quarry plan near Lake Cowichan raises alarms
A local First Nation’s plan for an aggregate quarry near Lake Cowichan is raising concerns among nearby residents about the prospect of their quiet rural environment being disturbed by noise, dust and sounds of heavy equipment for more than two decades.

A New Hydropower Boom Uses Pumped Storage, Not Giant Dams
New research released Tuesday by Global Energy Monitor reveals a transformation underway in hydroelectric projects — using the same gravitational qualities of water, but typically without building large, traditional dams like the Hoover in the American West or Three Gorges in China. Instead, a technology called pumped storage is rapidly expanding.

30 federal politicians each disclosed over $10,000 in oil and gas investments
Ministers and members of the natural resources committee reported investments in industry giants like Enbridge, Suncor and TC Energy.

To protect orcas, federal judge orders closure of iconic Southeast Alaska troll fishery
A federal judge issued an order Tuesday voiding an environmental review that helped authorize the small-scale fishery, a $30 million industry that employs hundreds.

Federal, Tribal, and State Leaders Launch Puget Sound Federal Leadership Task Force7
[On May 4] the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, and western Washington Tribes kicked-off the first meeting of the Puget Sound Federal Leadership Task Force, mandated by Congress in 2022 to coordinate the federal government’s efforts to restore Puget Sound and address Tribal treaty rights.

First first time in 10 years, tribe to have limited fishery on Elwha
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe will conduct a limited fish harvest on the lower Elwha River this October, the first time the river has been open to any fishing in more than a decade when dam removal on the river began.