Salish Sea Communications: March 2022

Friday, March 25, 2022

Salish Sea News Week in Review March 25 2022

Aloha Pecan Friday!
The pecan is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico, which produces nearly half of the world total.

Priest Point Park in Olympia to be renamed Squaxin Park
After receiving only positive oral feedback during their meeting on Thursday night, the advisory committee to the city of Olympia’s Parks, Arts & Recreation Department voted unanimously in favor of renaming Priest Point Park to Squaxin Park.

Logging forests takes this toll on already-strained Nooksack River, new research suggests
The Nooksack River is under enormous strain, as development brings its ecosystems to the brink of collapse and climate change chokes summer water supply by reducing the region’s annual snowpack.

Trans Mountain blames massive spike in project cost on natural disasters, debt costs — and frogs
The projected cost of twinning the Trans Mountain pipeline has nearly tripled because of natural disasters, environmental protection measures and rising debt payments, according to the government-owned pipeline corporation.

Tribal members, community offer prayer and cedar for the return of orca
In continuing to offer prayer for the repatriation of southern resident orca Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut from the Miami Seaquarium to her home waters of the Salish Sea, Lummi Tribal members and the Bellingham community gathered Sunday, March 20, at the sacred site of Cherry Point — named Xwe’chi’eXen in the Lummi language.

To limit global heating to 1.5 C, Canada must end oil and gas production by 2034: report
Canada is among a handful of rich countries that must end its oil and gas production by 2034 if the world is to have even a 50 per cent chance of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a new report has found.

WA creates first sea grass and kelp sanctuary off Everett
A first-of-its-kind sanctuary has been created offshore of Everett, where 2,300 acres of state tidelands have been put off-limits to development for 50 years.

Groups urge Alaska to protect B.C.-bound salmon, criticize treaty
A coalition of Canadian groups is calling on Alaska's governor to stop the state's harvest of Canadian-bound salmon, while it criticizes the international treaty that prevents overfishing of Pacific salmon.

Tech entrepreneur donates $14.5M to protect threatened B.C. ecosystems
A tech entrepreneur has given the B.C. Parks Foundation $14.5 million to protect local ecosystems.

90 scientists call on Trudeau to protect forests ahead of climate plan
As Canada gets set to release its plan to reduce emissions by up to 45% by 2030, scientists say we need to pay more attention to protecting boreal and temperate forests — major carbon sinks that account for 16 per cent of the world's remaining primary forests.

Call for tearing out lower Snake River dams gaining support in D.C. and WA state
For more than two decades Eastern Washington residents have heard proposals to tear out the lower Snake River dams, but only recently has the idea gotten bipartisan support in the nation’s capital, said Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash.

Rethinking flood control for the Nooksack River
Can restoring the natural balance of the Nooksack River also reduce flood risks?

Russian vessel leaves salmon-study expedition
An international expedition to study salmon in the Gulf of Alaska lost its Russian vessel part-way through the venture as a result of sanctions in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.

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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Friday, March 18, 2022

Salish Sea News Week in Review March 18 2022

Aloha Sleep Friday!
World Sleep Day highlights and celebrates the importance of quality, healthy sleep. It has the goal of bringing attention and awareness to sleep problems and disorders, while promoting prevention and management of them, in order to reduce them in society. Up to 45% of the world's population has a sleep problem, and most of these problems can be prevented or treated, but only about one in three people seek treatment.

The marvel of old-growth forests that once cloaked the Pacific Northwest
....Since the time of European settlement, about 72% of the original old-growth conifer forest in the Pacific Northwest has been lost, largely through logging and other developments.

Ottawa urged to pause proposed B.C. port expansion, consider alternative plan
A plan to build a new shipping container terminal the size of nearly 144 football fields at a major Metro Vancouver port has sparked a rival proposal along with concerns for endangered orcas and the salmon they depend on.

Inside June’s Deadly Heat Dome. And Surviving the Next One
Hundreds succumbed to scorching temperatures. Why was BC’s toll so much higher than Washington and Oregon?

How Your Caffeine Addiction Is Hurting Marine Life
Lab trials show caffeine has a range of negative effects on marine species. Larry Pynn reports.

Metro Vancouver moves to restart troubled $1-billion North Shore treatment plant
Metro Vancouver will try over spring and summer to get its much-delayed, over-budget new North Shore wastewater treatment plant back on track and devise a plan for completion of the now $1-billion project with the help of a new contractor.

State partners with British Columbia on flooding response
Gov. Jay Inslee announced plans to develop a flooding prevention and response initiative with British Columbia Premier John Horgan.

State says choice of estuary is likely outcome for Capitol Lake
Converting Capitol Lake to an estuary — a step that would mean removing the Fifth Avenue dam in Olympia and letting the body of water rise and fall with the tides — is likely to be the recommendation of the final environmental impact statement for the lake.

Oregon and the West may be stuck in perpetual drought, study says
Many parts of the American West, including Oregon, have entered or will enter a state of “perpetual drought” if global warming, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, continues unabated.

No more COVID testing to enter Canada
Vaccinated travellers will no longer need to show a COVID-19 test to enter Canada beginning April 1.

Friday, March 11, 2022

Salish Sea News Week in Review March 11 2022

Fukushima [Reuters]

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami occurred at 14:46 JST on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, 72 km east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes, causing a tsunami. Following the major earthquake, a 15-metre tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling of three Fukushima Daiichi reactors, causing a nuclear accident. All three cores largely melted in the first three days.

'Grunts, growls and hums': B.C. researchers help compile online database of fish sounds
Some fish grunt, some growl, and some squeal. These fish noises — and many more — are part of a new database created by researchers who hope that cataloguing the sounds will allow for a better understanding of marine ecosystems and the health of aquatic life.

Debris from cargo ship spill last fall spreading along B.C. coast, say beach cleaners
A volunteer organization that has been cleaning up debris from a cargo ship that lost 109 containers off the B.C. coast last fall says the incident should be a wake-up call to the need for more urgent action.

This tribe has fought for years to get federal recognition. It's about their identity
The Duwamish have been fighting a legal battle for decades with the federal government make good on treaty.

Octopus houses and clam gardens: What ancient sea harvesting practices can teach us about sustainability
Most people strolling along British Columbia's vast shoreline likely wouldn't think twice if they stumbled upon low mounds of rocks while looking for crabs or other sea life. But for those who study these formations, they represent once-thriving sea gardens Indigenous people used to harvest food and other animal products.

Cruise ships will return to B.C. in April, following new federal COVID-19 guidelines
Passengers must be vaccinated and tested before boarding and disembarking the ships.

B.C. adds conditions for Trans Mountain expansion, ministers say concerns remain
British Columbia has amended the conditions of its environmental assessment certificate for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and told the federal government it still has concerns about its response to potential marine oil spills.

Indigenous groups still aim to buy Trans Mountain pipeline, even as costs soar
Indigenous-led groups remain committed to pursuing ownership of the Trans Mountain pipeline, even as cost overruns for the pipeline expansion project soar.

Researchers and Indigenous land stewards create story map of Indigenous seaside habitats
The story map highlights information about “ancestral mariculture across the Pacific Ocean.” It is rooted in Indigenous stewardship of the oceans, intergenerational knowledge, governance systems, and cultural practices.

Biden ban on Russian oil hits Anacortes, Washington refinery
Russian oil could be en route to Washington state for several more weeks despite a ban on Russian oil and gas imports imposed by President Joe Biden on Tuesday.

Oil spill ‘not matter of if, but when’: Gulf Islands renew call for rescue tug
Island Trust and San Juan County councils have renewed their request for a rescue tug to be positioned on Vancouver Island in Sidney.

Tsleil-Waututh measure Burrard Inlet degradation since contact
Between 1792 and 2020, according to reports released on Thursday, Burrard Inlet lost 1,214 hectares of intertidal and subtidal areas to development and erosion.

New bridges and ferries, wider highways, and free fares in freshly passed WA transportation package
Majority Democrats in the Washington Legislature drove the largest transportation spending roadmap in state history across the finish line on Thursday on nearly party line votes.

West Coast celebrates herring spawn spectacle
Ribbons of milky turquoise green water twist and swirl along the coast of the northern Strait of Georgia each year when Pacific herring return to spawn.

Friday, March 4, 2022

Salish Sea News Week in Review March 4 2022

The Waltz, by Camille Claudel
(cast in 1905)

Aloha Waltz Friday!
The waltz, from German walzer, meaning "to roll or revolve", is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple (3/4 time), performed primarily in closed position. There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the waltz that date from 16th century Europe. The waltz, especially its closed position, became the example for the creation of many other ballroom dances. Subsequently, new types of waltz have developed, including many folk and several ballroom dances. (Wikipedia)

Near Stanwood, thousands of fish discover a restored estuary
Between Stanwood and Camano Island, where the Stillaguamish River pours into Puget Sound, fish have found their way to a new estuary at Leque Island.

Streamside shade: fish and farm advocates struggle to find common ground
Salmon recovery is a priority for many in Washington who see vegetated streamside buffers as important to salmon-friendly habitat. But some in the state's agricultural community see the threat of loss of productive farmland.

This Whatcom activist will help the state determine what a green, just future looks like
Whatcom activist Rosalinda Guillen will help Washington leaders determine what a green, just future looks like in her new role on the state’s Environmental Justice Council.

What new projections of sea level rise mean for Puget Sound and the WA coast
Sea level rise will affect each area of the planet in a unique way, but new projections are helping researchers and lawmakers in Washington state identify which coastal communities are most vulnerable.

Massive warehouse for South Tacoma
A 2.5 million square foot warehouse complex and distribution center is being planned for an area in South Tacoma.

Catching Crabs in a Suffocating Sea
When oceans are starved of oxygen, it can be devastating to crabs and the fishers who rely on them. New tools could help crabbers sidestep dead zones.

Shrinking WA kelp and eelgrass beds draw legislative attention
One of the building blocks of Puget Sound aquatic life is disappearing from the ecosystem, and scientists have only a fuzzy idea of why it’s happening and what to do about it.

Do salmon have rights?
A legal battle between Seattle and the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe could test the Rights of Nature movement.

New calf joins endangered southern resident orcas; 2 other pregnancies lost
A new calf was born to J pod of the southern resident orcas, Center for Whale Research director Ken Balcomb confirmed Tuesday morning. But the birth to orca mother J37 is tempered with news of the loss of two other pregnancies in southern resident families.

Last remaining southern resident orca in captivity will no longer perform at Miami Seaquarium
In a surprise move the federal agency in charge of the welfare of captive marine mammals has brought the curtain down on Lolita, the captive performing killer whale, a fixture of performances at the Miami Seaquarium for more than 50 years.

This Map Shows Where Biodiversity Is Most at Risk in America
Let your eyes wander to the areas of this map that deepen into red. They are the places in the lower 48 United States most likely to have plants and animals at high risk of global extinction. It’s the most detailed map of its kind so far.