Thursday, March 12, 2026

Salish Sea News Week in Review March 13 2026

 



Aloha Uranus Day!
William Herschel first observed Uranus on 13 March 1781, leading to its discovery as a planet, expanding the known boundaries of the Solar System for the first time in history and making Uranus the first planet classified as such with the aid of a telescope. The discovery of Uranus also effectively doubled the size of the known Solar System because Uranus is around twice as far from the Sun as the planet Saturn.


State adjusts strategy to address low-oxygen levels in Puget Sound
The Washington State Department of Ecology is responding to new legal rulings and public concerns with changes in planning and potentially future enforcement. In January, the agency decided to abandon its “nutrient general permit,” originally designed to control nitrogen releases from sewage-treatment plants throughout Puget Sound. 

Republicans target public lands protections in a new way
Over the past year, GOP leaders and the Trump administration have used a law known as the Congressional Review Act to push for coal mining in Montana, oil drilling in Alaska and copper mining in Minnesota, while also attempting to reverse protections for a national monument in Utah. The rarely used act gives Congress a few months to revoke new federal regulations. Only in the past year has it ever been used to overrule land management plans.  

3 unidentified orcas spotted in Vancouver Harbour never before documented in B.C.
Experts say the unfamiliar whales could belong to a rarely seen killer whale population from the high seas. 

A marmot puppet is the star of Washington’s new anti-littering campaign, asking people to think before they toss their trashThe star of Washington’s new “We Keep Washington Litter Free” campaign is a marmot puppet who’s reminding people to think before they throw trash out of their car or don’t secure their loads – and let debris fly out the back of trucks.

Nearly 40% of California produce contains PFAS pesticides, report finds
A new report shows that nearly 40% of conventionally grown fruits and vegetables tested by California regulators have residues of “forever” or PFAS chemicals, a family of compounds that can be lasting and harmful. 

Port of Tacoma sues to recoup $10M for cleanup of ‘toxic legacies’ at 2 parcels

The Port of Tacoma is seeking to recoup millions of dollars in environmental cleanup costs over previous industrial contamination at sites the port acquired from PQ Corp. in 2008 for more than $8.5 million. 

Oregon finds a new way to fund wildlife conservation—tax tourists
The new law will raise the state’s lodging tax from 1.5% to 2.75%, which supporters call a modest increase in a state tax that’ll amount to a substantial chunk of money: an estimated $37 million annually. Most of that money will go toward Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife efforts to conserve habitat for species ranging from puffins to bats to frogs. 


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 msato(at)salish-current.org .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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Thursday, March 5, 2026

Salish Sea News Week in Review March 6 2026



Aloha Oreo Cookie Friday!
Oreos were created by Nabisco and first sold on March 6, 1912 by grocer S.C. Thuesen in Hoboken, New Jersey. Nabisco applied for a trademark on March 14, 1912, and received it on August 12, 1913. The current design of the cookie has been in place since 1952.The cream used today was created by Sam Procello, who was Nabisco's principal scientist, known as "Mr. Oreo."



Japanese-beetle pesticide spraying coming to south King County
In a first for western Washington, the Washington State Department of Agriculture aims to spray up to 2,000 properties, covering about 1,000 acres of lawn in south King County, starting in late March. 

Plenty opposed to Washington environmental crimes bill
A parade of union officials, industry association leaders and representatives of landowners and fisheries appeared at a Washington state legislative hearing to oppose a bill, SB5360, that would attach criminal penalties to environmental violations. [The bill died this week.]
Microsoft urges major changes to Washington data center regulations as bill nears final vote
After weeks on the sidelines, Microsoft publicly declared its opposition to a controversial state bill that aims to rein in the environmental and economic impacts of the massive data centers powering the AI boom. [The bill died this week.]

B.C. to end time changes, adopt year-round daylight time
March 8 will be the last time most British Columbians have to change their clocks, premier announces. 

From Vancouver Island to Howe Sound, spawning herring hit B.C.'s waters
The B.C. coastline is on the verge of one of its biggest natural events of the year: the annual herring spawn. 

‘No reason on earth’ to log endangered Canadian rainforest: scientist
Forestry companies hold licences to log in Canada’s inland temperate rainforest, home to endangered caribou and rare lichens. That makes a proposal for a new provincial park more urgent than ever. 

Hummingbird Hill in Metchosin to be a bird sanctuary, research centre
The 21-hectare Hummingbird Hill will serve as the Rocky Point Bird Observatory headquarters. 

Canada signs Aboriginal rights, fishing and marine management agreements with Musqueam
The federal government has released details of recent agreements with the Musqueam Indian Band recognizing Aboriginal title over an area potentially covering much of Metro Vancouver. The agreements do not have any effect on privately owned land, according to the government.  

The sea is higher than we thought and millions more are at risk, study finds
Climate change’s rising seas may threaten tens of millions more people than scientists and government planners originally thought because of mistaken research assumptions on how high coastal waters already are, a new study said. 

Seattle City Light proposes $4 billion for Skagit River hydropower dams 
Seattle City Light, the city’s electric utility, has agreed to commit about $4 billion to continue to operate its hydropower dams on the Skagit River over the next 50 years. 

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 msato(at)salish-current.org .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, February 27, 2026

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 27 2026



Aloha Polar Bear Friday
The polar bear is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear and land carnivore by body mass, with adult males weighing 300–800 kg. (Wikipedia)

Trump administration eases limits on coal plants for emitting mercury, other toxins
The Environmental Protection Agency last Friday weakened limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from coal-fired power plants, the Trump administration’s latest effort to boost the fossil fuel industry by paring back clean air and water rules. 

Feds propose opening millions of acres of western Oregon forests to 1960s logging levels
The Bureau of Land Management on Thursday shared in a notice of intent that officials will propose new updates to the Western Oregon Resource Management Plans that have governed logging and conservation on 2.5 million acres of forests in 17 Oregon counties for decades, and that were last updated in 2016. 

Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission denies petition to alter Dungeness crabbing rules
With whale entanglements on the rise, last December, a petition to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission recommended a suite of sweeping new deployment and equipment rules intended to prevent whale entanglements.

B.C. moves at ‘warp speed’ to change landmark Indigenous Rights law
B.C. plans to amend the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act by June. Opposition is growing — will the government listen? 

WA proposes tighter rules on harvesting shellfish, including geoducks 
The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife is proposing to increase the minimum harvest size for cockles from one and half inches to two and a half, decrease the limit of geoducks that can be gathered daily from three to one and modify harvesting seasons for certain beaches. 

Supreme Court agrees to hear from oil and gas companies trying to block climate change lawsuits
The Supreme Court said Monday that it will hear from oil and gas companies trying to block lawsuits seeking to hold the industry liable for billions of dollars in damage linked to climate change. 

First signs of herring spawn spark excitement on Vancouver Island
The herring spawn attracts wildlife and onlookers to witness an increase in marine activity. 

Vancouver port applies to dredge Burrard Inlet this year to fuel oil exports
An application to federal authorities contemplates deepening a navigational channel starting in September 2026. Stefan Labbé reports. (BIV) 

Conservation Enters a New Era
One year after the Trump administration slashed biodiversity protections at home and abroad, people and organizations are figuring out where to go from here. A four-part series. (bioGraphic) 

Judge orders protective measures for Columbia River salmon after Trump canceled historic deal
A federal judge in Oregon has ordered dams that operate on the Columbia and Snake rivers to generate less hydropower and allow more water to pass in an effort to keep salmon populations from dying out.

Bird Flu Strikes California Elephant Seals for the First Time
Thirty seals, primarily weaned pups, have died since late last week, scientists said. 


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 msato(at)salish-current.org .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, February 20, 2026

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 20 2026



Aloha Muffin Day!
National Muffin Day is observed not as a food holiday about consuming but as a day about giving back to communities. Each year people around the world bake muffins, with some organizing big baking parties. Known as Muffinteers, handing the muffins out to people experiencing homelessness and donating to a homelessness cause. The organizers of the day incentivize participation by donating to homeless causes for each person who bakes and gives. They suggest that people "give a dozen," meaning they give to a charity in $12 increments to symbolize the twelve muffins of a muffin tin.

As U.S. abandons climate fight, Washington state feels the heat to do more
Washington state’s push for a rapid switch to electric vehicles is in jeopardy— with its ultimate fate likely to be decided in the courts. 

Trump budget maintains many Columbia River salmon, environment programs — despite dramatic proposed cuts
Columbia River salmon recovery programs fared better in the 2026 federal budget than tribes, advocates, bureaucrats and biologists feared.

Feds launch whale-safe fishing gear strategy to try to prevent entanglements
Entanglement is a top threat for all large baleen whales on Canada’s coasts, including humpbacks, minke, blue and fin whales. 

Should 600-year-old oaks be cut down in Tacoma for a new storage facility?
The trees at 3802 S. 74th St. will be cut down if the city of Tacoma approves the landowner’s permits to build a new self-storage facility on the one-acre, triangular site. 

Bayer agrees to $7.25 billion proposed settlement over thousands of Roundup cancer lawsuits
Agrochemical maker Bayer and attorneys for cancer patients announced a proposed $7.25 billion settlement Tuesday to resolve thousands of U.S. lawsuits alleging the company failed to warn people that its popular weedkiller Roundup could cause cancer. 

WA climate funds needed to plug huge budget gap, lawmaker says 
Lawmakers can’t find a better way to fill part of Washington’s perennial budget gap than by dipping into the billions raised by the state’s Climate Commitment Act.

New Southern Resident orca calf spotted in L pod
The Center for Whale Research spotted a new Southern Resident orca calf traveling with L pod on Feb. 16 in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Designated L129, the calf was seen with two females, the 49‑year‑old L55 and her daughter L103. Researchers said it is too early to know which whale is the mother. 

Lawsuits challenge renewed push for oil drilling in Alaska petroleum reserve and upcoming lease sale
Conservation organizations and an Iñupiat group filed legal challenges Tuesday to the Trump administration’s renewed push for oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and an upcoming lease sale that they say improperly makes available ecologically sensitive lands that have been long protected. 


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 msato(at)salish-current.org .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, February 13, 2026

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 13 2026



Aloha Galentine's Day
Galentine's Day is a global holiday that celebrates women's friendship.  Galentine's Day is typically marked as February 13, but can be observed any day. Galentine's Day events are typically all-female occasions of mutual "empowerment...a reminder for women to support and uplift one another."  The concept and name of the holiday was imagined into existence by Parks and Recreation in the eponymous episode "Galentine's Day."


The Stillaguamish Tribe gives its river north of Seattle room to roam
Over the past 15 years, the Stillaguamish Tribe has purchased 2,000 acres of land for fish and wildlife habitat. Under the 1855 treaty, the Stillaguamish and other Puget Sound tribes gave up almost all of their land but kept their rights to fish and hunt. What the tribe wants back on track is salmon. 

Trump Opens Marine National Monument in Atlantic to Commercial Fishing
Off the coast of Cape Cod, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is a unique stretch of ocean that had been protected for a decade. 

Trump Allies Near ‘Total Victory’ in Wiping Out U.S. Climate Regulation
A small group of conservative activists has worked for 16 years to stop all government efforts to fight climate change. Their efforts seem poised to pay off. 

Orcas and ourselves
Sea pandas or sadistic killers? These enigmatic creatures invite contradictory labels that say far more about us than them. 

Edmonds receives federal grant to advance marsh restoration
The $677,400 grant will go toward a public planning process and developing a design to connect the marsh with the Puget Sound.

Vigil to mark 5 years since deadly northern B.C. tugboat accident, push for stronger standards
Charley Cragg, Troy Pearson died after tugboat Ingenika sank near Kitimat in Feb. 2021.
Trump’s EPA plans to end a key climate pollution regulation 
The Trump administration will rescind the Environmental Protection Agency's endangerment finding  allowing regualtion of greenhouse gasses under the Clean Air Act. (NPR) 

Washington and other Democratic-led states drop lawsuit against Arctic refuge oil drilling in Alaska
Fifteen Democratic-led states have dropped a six-year-old lawsuit challenging the legality of a federal plan that allowed oil and gas drilling in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska but said they will continue their opposition to ANWR drilling. 

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 msato(at)salish-current.org .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

Thursday, February 5, 2026

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 6 2026


Aloha Chopsticks Friday!
Chopsticks trace their beginnings to China, to at least 1200 BCE, during the Shang dynasty, when they were used for cooking, not eating. Consisting of twigs from trees, they were used to reach into deep cooking pots to retrieve food. The Chinese philosopher Confucius was an advocate for chopsticks and can be credited for helping raise their popularity. A vegetarian, he thought sharp utensils would remind diners of the slaughterhouse and that knives would bring warfare and violence to their minds. Because of his beliefs, chopsticks became more widespread throughout Asia. By 500 CE they had spread to modern-day Korea, Vietnam, and Japan.


Appeals court upholds ban on fish farms in B.C.'s Discovery Islands
Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal has upheld Ottawa’s decision to end salmon farming in B.C.’s Discovery Islands.  

Olympic marmots under review
The Olympic marmot is being considered for the endangered species list, the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife Service has announced.  

B.C. would struggle to contain oil spill off north coast, research suggests
Decades of research shows waves, wind and darkness would defeat containment efforts for much of the year, raising questions about new oil export plans. 

The Trump Administration exempts new nuclear reactors from environmental review
The announcement comes just days after NPR revealed the administration had secretly rewritten safety and environmental standards. 

BC Halts Plans to Make Polluters Pay for Cleanup Costs
The province billed its Public Interest Bonding Strategy as a key step to protect the public from massive cleanup bills. Now it’s on hold. 

MAHA has reshaped health policy. Now it's working on environmental rules
MAHA activists who want to hold corporations accountable for harming Americans’ health have found an unlikely ally in a Republican-led Environmental Protection Agency that has traditionally supported big businesses and less regulation. 

Trump Administration Is Delaying Hundreds of Wind and Solar Projects
Federal agencies are delaying approvals for renewable energy projects on both federal land and private property at a time when electricity demand is going up. 

9 C in February: Heat records fall across B.C., raising questions about winter's future
Repeated ridges of high pressure have been driving temperatures in B.C. up into the double digits, with daily heat records falling in at least a dozen cities from Vancouver to Cranbrook to Dawson Creek. 

Trans Mountain proceeding with first of three expansions of oil pipeline
Trans Mountain is moving ahead with its first project to pump more oil through its pipeline system between Alberta and British Columbia by using drag reducing agents with the goal of moving up to 10 per cent more oil. 

The bills that didn’t survive the WA Legislature’s first major deadline
Many policy ideas in the Washington Legislature met their end less than a month in, as they failed to pass the first key deadline on Wednesday to remain in play. Passage of those that survived is far from assured. 


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 msato(at)salish-current.org .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

Thursday, January 29, 2026

Salish Sea News Week in Review January 30 206


Aloha Beatles' Last Concert
On 30 January 1969, the Beatles performed a concert from the rooftop of their Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row, in central London's office and fashion district. Joined by guest keyboardist Billy Preston, the band played a 42-minute set before the Metropolitan Police arrived and ordered them to reduce the volume. It was the final public performance of their career. (Wikipedia)
Legal fight over natural gas initiative crescendoes at WA Supreme Court
The 2024 ballot measure aims to ensure consumers maintain access to natural gas. Voters approved it, but opponents say it’s flawed and should be tossed out. 

Augmented reality experience lets museum visitors 'swim' with orcas
A new exhibit titled Critical Distance, which opened Friday, lets visitors dive into the world of a 10-year-old J Pod orca dubbed Kiki. 

Tumwater’s historic oak tree protected by court order 
Community activists worked for more than a year and a half to protect a Garry oak tree in Tumwater, Washington, that the city estimates is 400 years old. A superior court judge ruled in late December that the city’s Historic Preservation Commission has the final word on what happens to the tree, not the city. 

Who will pay to electrify North Coast LNG and mining projects? All of us, it turns out

Energy minister’s order could exempt North Coast transmission line customers from paying millions — and shift the cost to the rest of us. 

America Officially Leaves the Paris Climate Agreement. For the Second Time.
As of Tuesday, the United States is no longer a party to the Paris agreement on climate change, becoming the only country in the world to abandon the international commitment to slow global warming.  

Major Gorge energy development gets fed go-ahead
The hotly contested Goldendale Energy Storage Project, located near Goldendale, Wash., has been awarded a key 40-year construction and operations license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The decision comes after a five-year application process. Yakama Nation leaders continue to oppose pumped hydropower storage project in Klickitat County. 

Federal judge ends oft-used exemption to environmental review for logging on federal land
A 34-year-old rule exempting some commercial logging projects on federal lands from environmental review is unlawful because it lacked statutory limits, a federal judge recently ruled.  

Bruce Springsteen releases anti-ICE protest song ‘Streets of Minneapolis’ 
On Wednesday Bruce Springsteen released a protest song condemning the violence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis. The song wmemorializes the lives of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti, who were fatally shot by federal agents this month. 


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 msato(at)salish-current.org .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