PHOTO: Laurie MacBride
A
Quiet that Resonates
Laurie MacBride in
Eye on Environment writes: "Last
summer we anchored in a little bay that I’ve considered writing
about for a long time. But where to begin? The moss-topped
terraces on the cliffs that rise over one side of the bay? Their
brilliant reflections in the water below? The deep green of the
firs, cedars and salal along the shoreline, dipped in saltwater
at high tides? (Read more...)
2020 MUST WATCH: The Democracy Rebellion
It’s the missing story of American politics. Not Washington, but
grassroots America. Not stale gridlock, but fresh reforms. Not
negative ads and billionaire donors, but positive change and
citizen activists pressing for gerrymander reform, voting rights
for former felons, exposing dark money, and winning surprising
victories to give voters more voice and make elections fairer in
states as disparate as Florida and California, North Carolina
and South Dakota, Ohio, Michigan, Colorado, Missouri, Utah and
more. Veteran Frontline Correspondent Hedrick Smith, one of
PBS’s most trusted voices over three decades, takes viewers into
half a dozen states with citizen activist leaders. Watch
January
9 at 8 PM on KBTC-28 or J
anuary 11 at 11 PM on KCTS-9.
For a sneak peek,
click here.
If you like to watch: Pride of the PNW: Tribe's
perspective on saving the Salish Sea
Climate change is threatening to take the Salish Sea away from
the Coastal Salish People that need it most.
Part
1 and
Part
2 Jordan Steele reports. (KING)
Refinery
cancels xylenes project in settlement agreement
(12/31) A legal battle over a project at Marathon Anacortes
Refinery has come to a close after a settlement agreement was
reached under which the refinery will scrap its plans to produce
xylenes for shipment overseas. The agreement was signed Monday
by the Skagit County Board of Commissioners after it had been
signed by representatives of the refinery and of various
environmental groups that filed a series of appeals against the
three-part project. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley
Herald)
Lawsuit
alleges failure to clean up Deschutes River, Budd Inlet
(12/28) A lawsuit filed this week alleges federal authorities
have failed to take action on pollution in Olympia area waters
that violates the Clean Water Act. The lawsuit, filed Monday in
federal court in Seattle by Portland-based Northwest
Environmental Advocates, argues the Environmental Protection
Agency has failed to put cleanup plans for Budd Inlet, Capitol
Lake and the Deschutes River on the books. Abby Spegman reports.
(Olympian)
B.C.
Supreme Court grants injunction against Wet'suwet'en
protesters in pipeline standoff
(12/28) A B.C. Supreme Court judge has issued an injunction
against members of the Wet'suwe'ten Nation who have blocked
access to a natural gas pipeline project inside their
traditional territory in northern B.C. Justice Marguerite Church
granted Coastal GasLink's application for an interlocutory
injunction in a Prince George courtroom on Tuesday, restraining
protesters from barring workers from getting through their
checkpoints along a remote logging road near Houston, B.C.
Bethany Lindsay reports. (CBC)
Ban
on foam cups and containers in Vancouver goes into effect
Jan. 1
(12/29) Don’t expect to sip your takeout caffeinated hangover
cure from a foam cup on the morning of Jan. 1. Come New Year’s
Day, food and beverages in foam cups and foam take-out
containers will be banned from Vancouver’s restaurants and
takeout stalls, part of the city’s single-use-item reduction
strategy. Gordon McIntyre reports. (Vancouver Sun)
What
is the future of Washington state's forests? Endangered
marbled murrelet seabird caught in fight
(12/30) Nobody’s happy about the latest plans for our state’s
forest lands. Not the environmentalists....Not the timber
industrialists, who predict lost jobs...Not the local officials,
whose economies and budgets rely on timber revenue...Caught in
the hubbub is the marbled murrelet, a zippy, robin-sized bird
that spends time in coastal waters and nests in Washington
forests. Evan Bush reports. (Seattle Tims)
County
appeals state timber harvest plan
(12/31) Skagit County has appealed a state timber harvest plan
that is expected to result in less revenue for local taxing
districts. The Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed
a complaint Monday in Skagit County Superior Court regarding the
Board of Natural Resource’s adoption Dec. 3 of a sustainable
harvest calculation for 2015-2024. Kimberly Cauvel reports.
(Skagit Valley Herald) See also:
Skagit
County sues over timber harvest, teeing up fight over
Washington's forests - and money (1/1) Evan Bush
reports. (Seattle Times)
Pacific
Northwest forests fit trifecta for curbing climate change —
if we stop logging them
(1/1) A new study finds some Northwest forests have a lot of
potential to capture carbon and offset climate change. That is,
if they’re preserved and not logged. Researchers at Oregon State
University and the University of California, Berkeley, looked at
which forests in the Western United States should be prioritized
for preservation under climate change scenarios. Cassandra
Profita reports. (OPB)
Land
trust saves half-mile stretch of Whidbey Island beach from
development
(12/30)Just south of Clinton on Whidbey Island, a forested
hillside descends into an isolated beach, with rocky bluffs
stretching into the distance and a view of Mount Baker appearing
on a clear day. The half-mile stretch of beach will open to the
public in 2020 as the Whidbey Camano Land Trust’s newest
project, Possession Sound Preserve. As beachfront property is
increasingly developed, the project is a rare chance to open
undeveloped shoreline. Julia-Grace Sanders reports. (Everett
Herald)
New
Year Brings New Protections For West Coast Seafloor Habitat
(1/1) Along with the new year, the West Coast is getting new
protections for corals and sponges that live on the seafloor.
Regulations starting Jan. 1 restrict bottom trawl fishing on
about 90% of the seafloor off Oregon, Washington and California.
Cassandra Profita reports. (OPB)
Massive
anchovy school in White Rock draws a crowd
(12/28) Thousands of anchovies provided a holiday feast for sea
birds, seals and sea lions in White Rock this week, with the
seaside spectacle also attracting crowds of curious onlookers. A
vast school of the tiny fish teemed in the water near the
repaired pier, while thousands of dead fish washed up on shore.
Glenda Luymes reports. (Vancouver Sun)
World's
bird species face much higher risk of extinction than
previously known, study says
(12/27) Bird species may be going extinct up to six times faster
than previously thought, but the numbers would be much worse
without conservation efforts over the last three decades,
according to new research from a B.C. scientist. The study
suggests conservation projects targeting critically endangered
species have reduced the rate of bird extinctions by about 40
per cent over the last 28 years. (CBC)
Canadian
fish-farm operator says most of its escaped salmon were
likely eaten
(12/27) The owners of a Canadian facility north of Vancouver
Island where thousands of Atlantic salmon escaped following a
fire said it is likely predators ate most of the fish. Mowi
Canada West downplayed threats to wild salmon stocks because of
the number of sea lions feeding on the 21,000 non-native salmon
held in pens there, CoastAlaska reported Thursday. Mowi Canada
West’s fish farm off Robertson Island caught fire Dec.
20.(Associated Press)
* * *
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, send your name and email to msato (@)
salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you
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