Salish Sea News Week in Review| January 5 2024

Aloha National Bird Friday
National Bird Day was created by Born Free USA (which was the Animal Protection Institute until 2007) and The Avian Welfare Coalition, to reduce the suffering of wild and captive birds. The day is meant to raise awareness of the destructive bird trade and cruel breeding mills, and to work for the improvement of conditions for birds already in captivity.

Baby orca update: It’s a boy!
Oca surveyor Dave Ellifrit at the Center for Whale Research confirmed that the whale, less than a week old, is male.

Despite opposition and environmental violations, major B.C. pipeline project nearly complete
A controversial pipeline meant to transport natural gas across northern British Columbia has passed a major milestone as TC Energy announced it has finished installing pipe on its Coastal GasLink pipeline project.

Those breathing poorer air in WA live sicker, die younger, report says
Residents in parts of Washington disproportionately impacted by poor air quality are, on average, sicker and die younger compared with the rest of the state, a new report https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/publications/UIPages/documents/2302115.pdf from the Washington Department of Ecology found.

Avian influenza death of Alaska polar bear is a global first and a sign of the virus’ persistence
The highly pathogenic influenza that has already killed vast numbers of birds and numerous mammals continues to circulate in the world’s wild populations.

State Department of Labor and Industries tightens oil refinery safety regulations
The state Department of Labor and Industries announced last week that it would adopt regulations that strengthen process safety management in the five Washington refineries.

'Prolific' killer whale matriarch Wake presumed dead after nearly a year without a sighting
Decades-old orca T46 was last spotted near Alert Bay, B.C., in February 2023.

Victoria’s Christmas Bird Count: Delight and decline
The birders counted more than 85,000 individuals of 143 species.

Conservation group buys out hunting rights in B.C.'s Great Bear Rainforest to protect wildlife
The Raincoast Conservation Foundation, based in Sidney, B.C., said Thursday that it raised $1.92 million over two years to buy the rights from hunters that cover roughly a quarter, or 18,000 square kilometres, of the Great Bear Rainforest on the province's north and central coast.

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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