Salish Sea News Week in Review January 8 2021

Aloha Galileo Friday!
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (d. Jan. 8, 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath, from Pisa. Galileo has been called the "father of observational astronomy", the "father of modern physics", the "father of the scientific method", and the "father of modern science". (Wikipedia)

Hotly debated national permit for shellfish farms could be passed to Biden administration
Legal protections for marine shorelines, streams and wetlands could be revised just before President Trump leaves office, as the Army Corps of Engineers updates 52 “nationwide permits” that allow for a variety of water-related projects. Of particular interest in Washington state is a nationwide permit proposed for shellfish farms that would, purportedly, help to resolve an ongoing court battle over the effects of aquaculture on the shoreline environment.

Lake Washington sockeye hit record low, another signature Seattle fish at brink of extinction
They are as Seattle as the Space Needle. But Lake Washington sockeye, once the largest run of sockeye in the Lower 48, are failing.

Report: Pinto abalone in peril
Pinto abalone, the only abalone species native to the Salish Sea and a species undergoing restoration efforts in Skagit and San Juan counties, is in trouble.

Study: Humans cause more orca deaths than previously understood
A ten-year study of killer whale carcasses found washed up on beaches in the eastern Pacific Ocean has found a significant number who died from more direct human causes.

EPA finalizes rule to limit science behind public health safeguards
The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a rule to limit what research it can use to craft public health protections, a move opponents argue is aimed at crippling the agency’s ability to more aggressively regulate the nation’s air and water.

Trump administration scales back wild bird protections
The Trump administration on Tuesday finalized changes to a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species despite warnings that billions of birds could die as a result.

How Trump Tried, but Largely Failed, to Derail America’s Top Climate Report
The National Climate Assessment, America’s premier contribution to climate knowledge, stands out for many reasons: Hundreds of scientists across the federal government and academia join forces to compile the best insights available on climate change.

Cooke’s Washington steelhead switch approved
Cooke Aquaculture has been granted permission to start growing steelhead at four of its former salmon sites in Washington State.

Trump auctions drilling rights to Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday
Trump administration officials auctioned off oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday, capping Republicans’ decades-long quest to drill in one of the nation’s most vast unspoiled wild places.

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 can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow @savepugetsound

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told