Salish Sea News Week in Review October 18 2024

Aloha Moby Dick Friday!
The epic novel by Herman Melville was published on this day in 1851 as 'The Whale' in London and a month later as 'Moby Dick' in the United States.

Baby orca in L pod is ailing
The newest southern resident baby orca is ailing, and researchers dread a devastating blow to its first-time mom and the struggling population of orcas.

The U.S. gets a new national marine sanctuary, the first led by a tribe
More than 4,500 square miles of ocean will soon be protected by the federal government off the Central California coast, creating a new national marine sanctuary, which will be the third largest in the U.S.

Why the future of B.C.'s forests has become a huge election issue
The province's trees are connected to concerns about the economy, climate change and reconciliation.

Lack of salmon may not be the problem after all for endangered orcas, report suggests
A key assumption about dwindling numbers of southern resident killer whales pins the blame on a lack of salmon, but a study out of the University of British Columbia has found they have twice the number of chinook available in summer as their much healthier cousins, the northern residents.

Oregon's Land Board approves plan to put state forest in a carbon market
The decision, which officials said would fight climate change, makes Oregon the second state after Michigan to dedicate an entire state forest to storing harmful emissions while selling carbon credits for revenue.

Amazon announces nuclear power deals as tech giants scramble for more clean energy
Amazon today announced agreements supporting the construction of a next-generation nuclear power plant in its home state of Washington — marking the latest development in the tech-driven resurgence of nuclear energy.

B.C. election: where do the parties stand on key climate and conservation issues?
Here’s where the NDP, Conservatives and Greens stand on the carbon tax, LNG, old-growth forests and other key issues.

Road closed
The Mount Baker Highway road to Artist Point (HWY 542) is closed for the seasons of Wednesday morning.

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 salishseacom.com .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Salish Sea News Week in Review October 11 2024

Aloha Egg Day!
World Egg Day celebrates eggs and highlights their versatility and the benefits they bring to people of all ages. The day has a different theme each year, and celebrations are held in countries all around the world. Eggs are nutrient-rich, being high in protein as well as in 13 vitamins and minerals that the body needs, such as choline, vitamin B12, iron, and iodine. They improve brain function, support physical strength and the immune system, and aid with child development.

Endangered Southern Resident orcas return to Puget Sound
Whale researchers on Saturday spotted orcas that are part of the endangered Southern Resident pod. They’re back in Puget Sound, for the first time since April.

Have you considered the Canada Goose?
Giant Canada geese, so ubiquitous today in cities across the country, were once considered extinct. What can we learn from watching them up close?

Orca census shows declining population; researchers discuss risk of extinction
Three deaths and one birth among the southern resident killer whales have been documented over the past year.

What happens to shipping containers when they have been lost at sea?
More than 20,000 shipping containers have tumbled overboard in the last decade and a half.

Carbon dioxide pollution in the West could drop with expansion of electrical grid, report says
Planet-warming carbon dioxide pollution could dramatically drop in the West if a dozen electrical energy transmission projects currently proposed or being built are completed in the next five years, a new report found.

Are WA schools ready for earthquakes? We don't know
Seismic data helps prioritize building improvements and inform emergency planning. But the data is inconsistent, incomplete and difficult to access.

(Re)explaining Washington’s Climate Commitment Act
Understanding the cap-and-invest law that Washington Initiative 2117 would repeal.

Unravelling the complicated past of B.C.’s newest pipeline conflict
B.C. has until the end of November to decide if the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line requires a new environmental assessment. 

Native bees are an important piece of the pie. Why aren’t we protecting them?
Our food security relies on a diversity of pollinators on Canadian farms. Honeybees get a lot of credit, but they’re pushing native species out.

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 salishseacom.com .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Salish Sea News Week in Review October 4 2024

Aloha Diversity Friday!
Taking place during Global Diversity Awareness Month, National Diversity Day is "a day to celebrate and embrace who we are, despite our differences, no matter what race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, nationality, or disability. A day to reflect on and learn about different cultures and ideologies. A day to vow acceptance and tolerance. A day to consciously address these areas at educational and religious institutions, as well as in the workplace and at home."

Oregon’s offshore lease sale canceled as bidders back out, governor raises concerns
Oregon’s upcoming floating offshore wind auction has been canceled because only one of the five companies eligible to bid was still interested. 

Why the Salish Sea's new baby orca surprised researchers
News of L90 becoming a mother is a bit of an "outlier," according to NOAA wildlife biologist Brad Hanson. At her age, it's likely that L90 has been pregnant several times before but lost those calves. "She's also a relatively small female. So to be honest, we had sort of written her off, if you will,” he said. 

Bycatch of nearly 20,000 Chinook salmon shuts down Alaska trawl fishery
Nearly 20,000 Chinook salmon were caught inadvertently as bycatch in the pollock fishery in the Gulf of Alaska, shutting it down early and sparking outrage among orca scientists and wild salmon advocates. Chinook salmon are the most prized food for endangered southern resident orcas that frequent the Salish Sea. 

The grid is insufficient for renewables. BPA has a $2 billion plan
The Bonneville Power Administration announced a plan to move ahead with more than $2 billion in multiple high-voltage transmission substation and line projects necessary to reinforce the transmission grid that connects the Pacific Northwest with the American Southwest and points east.

Litigation looms over latest round of Washington state timber sales
A group pressing to save older forests from logging is threatening to sue. School officials and others are raising alarm about lost revenue.

Sister seas on opposite shores face same foe: polluted runoff
For decades, Puget Sound and its East Coast counterpart, the Chesapeake Bay, have had federal, state, and local programs aimed at restoring them to ecological health. Yet America’s two biggest estuaries south of Alaska remain in poor health.

Canadians Are Still Paying for Trudeau’s Trans Mountain Pipeline
The federal government is the owner of the $34 billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX), yet charges oil companies less than half of the tolls required to recover the eye-watering capital costs owed to the Canadian taxpayer. According to a new report from the International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD), this amounts to a subsidy to the fossil fuel sector of up to $18.8 billion, or $1,248 per Canadian household.

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 salishseacom.com .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Salish Sea News Week in Review September 27 2024

Aloha Koala Friday!

On the last Friday in September, Save the Koala Day raises awareness for the plight of the koala. It's also a day to educate the public on the importance of conserving the koala's natural habitat. Even though it's called a koala bear, the koala isn't actually a bear. Instead, the koala is a marsupial.

Steelhead: Washington's 'gray ghost' battles extinction
Steelhead already are listed for federal protection almost everywhere they live, up and down the rivers of the West Coast, including in the Columbia and Snake rivers and all over Puget Sound. And they were recently petitioned for listing on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula.

‘Give them a chance’: The fight to bring salmon back to Edmonds stream
The Edmonds Stream Team has released 8,000 coho fry in an upper stretch of Perrinville Creek. Volunteers placed fish in other local creeks as well, with the larger goal of reestablishing salmon runs in small streams that coho, in particular, depend on for rearing and spawning.

Dan Evans, three-term Washington governor, dies at age 98
Daniel J. Evans, former governor of Washington and U.S. Senator, died Friday at the age of 98.

Forever chemicals are everywhere. These burnt wood chips could help change that
Forever chemicals are everywhere, from cookware to cosmetics to clothes to carpets. For decades, they've been building up in the environment and our water – and in our bodies. Now Canadian researchers say they have developed a practical way to remove the toxic compounds from our drinking water.

Dungeness are WA’s most lucrative seafood, but we know little about them
For decades this crab has helped sustain Washington fishing communities, averaging an annual harvest of 23.3 million pounds over the past 10 years. The nontreaty/state harvest alone was worth an average of $63 million. Even so, relatively little is known about this native species and how future conditions might affect its abundance.

New research reveals diet differences between thriving and endangered killer whale populations
A research team led by scientists from the University of Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has uncovered new insights into the diet of resident killer whales, which could aid in the conservation of endangered populations.

$8.5 million awarded to 21 proposals to advance Puget Sound habitat recovery
The Habitat Strategic Initiative Lead (HSIL) announced its 2024 investment list for EPA Puget Sound Funds to advance habitat protection and restoration.

As Southern Oregon opposition to offshore wind mounts, energy developers opt not to bid
At least one company is no longer interested in bidding on a chance to develop a floating offshore wind project off the Southern Oregon coast, and others may also have backed out.

New Southern Resident orca calf seen in stunning NOAA drone video

A new killer whale calf has joined L pod, the largest pod of southern resident orcas. The calf, dubbed L128, was spotted alongside its mother, L90.

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 salishseacom.com .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Salish Sea News Week in Review September 20 2024

Aloha National Hispanic Heritage Month!

National Hispanic Heritage Month is annually celebrated from September 15 to October 15 in the United States for recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. (Wikipedia)

$7.3 million state grant will go toward cleanup of contaminated Bellingham Bay site
A state grant is providing $7.3 million to address a toxic waste site on the Bellingham waterfront, the site of a planned city park. Officials at the state Department of Commerce Public Works Board announced the $7.3 million award for the Cornwall Avenue landfill cleanup.

Too hot for humpbacks: The race to protect Pacific whales
Move over Moby Dick. Big Mama, the first humpback whale to have returned to the North Pacific's Salish Sea after decades of absence, is telling a new story about the global threat to whale populations.

New baby for endangered southern residents; mom spotted alone with calf
A new calf has been reported in the endangered southern resident killer whale population. The tiny orca was spotted with L90 Ballena — a 31-year-old female who has never been documented with a calf — on Sunday off Lime Kiln Park on San Juan Island.

Scientists just figured out how many chemicals enter our bodies from food packaging
More than 3,000 chemicals from food packaging have infiltrated our bodies, a new study has found.

One woman's goal to protect islands in the Salish Sea
Conservationist and author Shelia Harrington has a new book titled, "Voices for the Islands." In it, Harrington highlights the importance of protecting nature on and around the islands of the Salish Sea located off the shores of Washington state and British Columbia.

B.C.’s cash-strapped wildlife ministry operating in triage mode
Disease monitoring for bighorn sheep, bats, among programs affected by government wildlife funding woes.

Province provides millions of dollars for communities to tackle effects of climate change
Island projects range from tackling shoreline erosion on Saanich Inlet to planting trees in Saanich and installing cooling infrastructure in Victoria.

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 salishseacom.com .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Salish Sea News Week in Review September 13 2024

Aloha Friday the 13th Friday!

Is it an unlucky day because of the Norse myth of the trickster Loki joining the dinner of 12 gods as the 13th guest and causing the death of the god Balder and the whole Earth turned dark? Or because there were 13 disciples at the Last Supper on the 13th of Nisan, the night before Good Friday? Or? Go figure.

Very few sockeye have passed Chilcotin River landslide area
Fisheries and Oceans Canada says this year's Fraser River sockeye salmon run is 2nd lowest on record.

A record 86 Vancouver Island marmot pups born this year
The critically endangered ­Vancouver Island marmot is experiencing a baby boom. So far, 86 pups have been born in the alpine regions of the Island — a record number — and scientists and volunteers have yet to finish their count. 

Dead harbor seal in Puget Sound helps expand knowledge on infectious disease
Epidemiologists with the Kitsap Public Health District have co-authored a new report documenting the first recorded case of a human contracting the infectious disease tularemia, also known as "rabbit fever" from a marine mammal.

B.C. sets up a panel on killing of bears
B.C. will review conservation officer training after conservation officers destroyed 603 black and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, according to figures from the B.C. government.

Nearly 2,000 species are at-risk in B.C. Only 42 are being considered for new protections
Internal government records show officials are working to update list of at-risk species under forestry legislation for the first time in almost two decades. 

Are BC’s Forests Running Out of Trees?
The province prides itself on its sustainable forestry. But even industry is now sounding the alarm. Zoë Yunker reports.

Salish Sea too noisy for endangered orcas to hunt: study
The Salish Sea is too noisy for the critically endangered southern resident orcas to hunt successfully, according to a new study led by the University of Washington.

Micro-hydroelectric power may be the next big climate solution
An InPipe turbine installed by Skagit PUD in partnership with InPipe Energy spins the excess power flowing through miles of water pipe into enough electricity to power 14 Mount Vernon homes and to be sold back to the power utility for about $12,000 dollars a year.

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 salishseacom.com .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Salish Sea News Week in Review September 6 2024

 

Aloha Food Bank Friday!

National Food Bank Day was created in 2017, to commemorate fifty years since the founding of St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance, the first food bank in the world, and to "recognize the outstanding contributions of food banks around the country". St. Mary's was founded by John ven Hengel in 1967, and its mission is to "alleviate hunger through the gathering and distribution of food while encouraging self-sufficiency, collaboration, advocacy and education."

Thawing Alaskan permafrost is unleashing more mercury, confirming scientists’ worst fears
Alaska’s permafrost is melting and revealing high levels of mercury that could threaten Alaska Native peoples.

Lummi Nation salmon hatcheries to undergo major renovations
The Lummi Nation received $2 million as part of a large federal award given to tribes meant to help repair hatcheries. The Skookum Creek Fish Hatchery near Acme, WA, will undergo major infrastructure improvements as a result of the funding.

Puget Sound tanker traffic thickens as Canadian pipeline boosts oil flow
Tankers have been ferrying fossil fuels through the island-studded Salish Sea for decades — but the amount of it is. [There is] a surge of tanker traffic in Washington and British Columbia since the Trans Mountain Pipeline from Alberta to Burnaby, British Columbia, nearly tripled its capacity in May.

Companies logged B.C. forests 170 times without authorization since 2021, records show
The provincial government can’t say how much was improperly harvested and refuses to release details about fines.

Columbia, Snake River tribes fight to keep fishing traditions alive
The U.S. government recently recognized the harm caused by the dams and has promised to work to restore salmon runs but tribal members doubt much will change.

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 salishseacom.com .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Salish Sea News Week in Review August 30 2024

Aloha Slinky Friday!
The Slinky was invented and developed by naval engineer Richard T. James in 1943 and successfully demonstrated at Gimbels department store in Philadelphia in November 1945. The Slinky was originally priced at $5, but many paid much more due to price increases of spring steel in Pennsylvania. It has, however, remained modestly priced throughout its history as a result of Betty James' concern about the toy's affordability for less affluent customers. In its first 60 years, about 300 million Slinkys were sold. (Wikipedia)

B.C. Parks Foundation announces protection of coastal habitats with funding help from Chip Wilson's foundation
More than a square kilometre of land in the Salish Sea is now protected, after the B.C. Parks Foundation announced five newly protected “biodiversity hot spots” on Friday. The areas won't be available for public access until use and management plans are developed.

Tribe, USFW sign pact for refuges
The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a co-stewardship agreement for the Dungeness and Protection Island National Wildlife Refuges, with the Tribe taking over the day-to-day management of the refuges.

BC Hydro begins filling reservoir as Site C dam megaproject nears completion
It will take up to four months to fill the 83-kilometre-long reservoir, which will cover about 5,550 hectares of land, BC Hydro says.

Vancouver tanker traffic rises tenfold after TMX project
Publicly available data shows that an average of two tankers loaded oil from Trans Mountain's Westridge Marine Terminal until May of this year...In June and July, the numbers increased to an average of 20 tankers a month.

No more wildfires of note burning in B.C.
Weekend rain across a large area of the province has dampened the number and risk of wildfires.

More underwater microphones being installed to protect whales
More underwater microphones that can detect killer whales are being installed in Haro Strait, across from Vancouver Island. 

Inside Seattle Aquarium’s new Ocean Pavilion, a high-tech showcase for the tropical deep sea
Years of construction along Seattle’s waterfront is intended to bring people closer to the water and natural beauty of Puget Sound. The opening Thursday of Seattle Aquarium’s new Ocean Pavilion expansion practically puts people in the water, to explore and better understand one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems on the other side of the Pacific.

Plan finalized to kill thousands of barred owls around Northwest
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a decision on Wednesday to adopt a controversial barred owl management strategy that calls for lethal removal of the birds by shooting them with shotguns and, in some cases, capturing and euthanizing them.

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 salishseacom.com .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Salish Sea News Week in Review August 23 2024

Aloha Gene Kelly Friday!

Gene Kelly, born on this day in 1912, was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessible to the general public, which he called "dance for the common man". He starred in, choreographed, and, with Stanley Donen, co-directed some of the most well-regarded musical films of the 1940s and 1950s.(Wikipedia)

With new facility, Mountlake Terrace to treat chemical that kills coho
Used in tires, 6PPD seeps into streams during storms. A state grant will help the city design a vault to filter it.

Climate change is already reshaping PNW shorelines. Tribal nations are showing how to adapt
Tribal nations along the coasts of Washington and Oregon are navigating impacts ranging from ocean warming and acidification, which threaten culturally and economically important fisheries, to increased coastal flooding and erosion from sea level rise and storm surges.

B.C. tour guides haul 32.5 tonnes of plastic debris from ocean
The crew removed discarded fishing tackle, polystyrene floats, plastic bags and bottles and more from the Great Bear Sea coastline during the 24-day trip.

One year after Tokitae's death, Lummi Nation and community honor the orca's life
The community came together Sunday to pay respect to Tokitae, who died Aug. 18, 2023, after over 50 years in captivity.

Drought in the West has cost hydropower industry billions in losses
Persistent drought in the West over the last two decades has limited the amount of electricity that hydropower dams can generate, costing the industry and the region billions of dollars in revenue.

What Lake Washington’s mud can tell us about toxic chemicals
At the bottom of Lake Washington, nearly 200 feet deep in the murky water, below where the giant sturgeon swim, there is mud. And that mud, and the compacted dirt below it, keeps track of us here in the Greater Seattle area when the lake bed accumulates whatever substance floats down, layer after layer.

BP’s Cherry Point Refinery secures nearly $27M for ‘green’ aviation fuel production
BP’s Cherry Point Refinery was awarded nearly $27 million to produce sustainable aviation fuel, using renewable biomass feedstocks, in Whatcom County. 

Life, Death, and Dollars Spent
The Canadian government and the Ehattesaht First Nation dropped a huge chunk of change trying to save the stranded killer whale kʷiisaḥiʔis (Brave Little Hunter). Now, they’re wondering how to make up the money.

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 salishseacom.com .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Salish Sea News Week in Review August 16 2024

Aloha Roller Coaster Friday
National Roller Coaster Day is dedicated to roller coasters, and has been celebrated since 1986. Modern day roller coasters were first patented and built in the late 19th century in America. John G. Taylor was issued a patent in 1872 for a roller coaster in Rhode Island, and LaMarcus Adna Thompson built one in Coney Island in 1884. Early roller coasters were wooden, but now steel is mainly used in making them.

Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe poised to help manage key Salish Sea wildlife refuges
The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe is close to finalizing an agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to co-manage two Clallam County wildlife refuges: the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and the Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge, both key breeding places for Salish Sea animals.

Tribe poised to co-manage Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge
Does it make sense for an entity that seeks to financially profit from the use of a federal resource, to be given co-management powers of that resource?

Sniffing out invasive mussels to protect Washington’s waters
Fin is the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s mussel-smelling dog. He’s about 4 years old and is a Catahoula leopard dog, blue lacy and Australian kelpie mix.  Like a drug or bomb-smelling dog, his nose is particularly good at sniffing out tiny, invasive mussels.

55k dump trucks of sediment and how much money? Details emerge on estuary restoration
The end goal of the project is to remove the 80-foot tide gate and 420-foot earth infill dam that connects west Olympia to downtown and restore tidal flow. The project also is designed to increase the city’s climate resiliency and reduce economic impacts from flooding.

The Past and Future of Washington’s Ferries
From the mosquito fleet of yore to the hybrid ships to come.

Researchers discover eelgrass superpower in Puget Sound
Already highly valued as nurseries for sea life, researchers have discovered  a new eelgrass superpower, as living urban systems that reduce human pathogens in seafood by as much as 65%.

Shellfish harvesters are having to consider biotoxins later into fall and winter
In recent years, recreational and commercial harvesters, state agencies and tribes are noticing biotoxin outbreaks more commonly in the winter.

Transient orcas thriving in Salish Sea, as southern residents continue to struggle
The Orca Behavior Institute said Tuesday that the transient orcas have been spotted in local waters every day since March 12. July was particularly noteworthy, with 214 unique sightings of Bigg’s killer whales.

How the world’s oldest humpback whale has survived is a mystery
Old Timer is now a male of at least 53 years, making him “the oldest known humpback whale in the world,” said Adam A. Pack, co-founder and president of The Dolphin Institute.

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 salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Salish Sea News Week in Review August 9 2024

Nagasaki, August 9, 1945

The bombing of the Japanese city of Nagasaki with the plutonium bomb device on August 9, 1945, caused terrible human devastation and brought an end to World War II. Although estimates vary, perhaps 40,000 people were killed by the initial detonation. By the beginning of 1946, 30,000 more people were dead. And within the next five years, well over 100,000 deaths were directly attributable to the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.

Hanging by a thread: B.C.’s southern resident orcas on a path to extinction
A recent peer-reviewed paper suggests a baseline rate of population loss of roughly one per cent per year — based on modelling and 40 years of observations — putting the whales on a path toward a "period of accelerating decline that presages extinction."

Sustainable Alaskan Chinook Salmon? That’s a Problem

The Gulf of Alaska and the petition to list all chinook salmon from rivers flowing into the Gulf of Alaska as threatened or endangered cover a vast area from the Aleutians to the Canadian border. No one knows which distinct populations within that area may warrant a listing.

Metro Van Is Losing Trees. That Means a Hotter Future
According to new data, Metro Vancouver has been simultaneously losing tree coverage and adding pavement, making for dangerous conditions when extreme weather hits.

Drones, robots, sensors: farming isn’t what it used to be. Will tech help the environment?
Digital sensors measure soil quality, GPS systems guide tractors, drones check the cows — as farming adopts higher-tech methods, some hope it will help the environment, too.

Chilcotin landslide presents new barriers for struggling salmon
Warmer water, lower flows are dangerous for fish, while debris could affect their ability to navigate.

The Fraser River's trusty debris trap and its Chilcotin challenge
A trap built to keep Vancouver's shores and waterways clear of wood faces one of its biggest tests.

Long Beach’s Willapa refuge turns timber land back into wilderness
Conservation-minded forest management, though costly, helps restore this former logging site as a wildfire-resilient ecosystem.

How a Washington Tax Break for Data Centers Snowballed Into One of the State’s Biggest Corporate Giveaways
Companies have saved $474 million since 2018, with most of the windfall going to Washington-based tech giant Microsoft. 

What dinner in Burrard Inlet looked like 500 years ago
Tsleil-Waututh Nation hopes to use data on its ancestors’ diet to restore habitat and heal the heavily industrialized Burrard Inlet.

B.C. government considers 'Plan B' if salmon need help through Chilcotin slide zone
Plans to help migrating salmon make it up British Columbia's Chilcotin River to spawning grounds are in the works after a massive landslide breach created barrier challenges.

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 salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Salish Sea News Week in Review August 2 2024

Aloha Dinosaur Friday!

Richard Owen, an English anatomist, came up with the word "Dinosauria" in 1842. The word comes from the Greek word "deinos," meaning terrible or fearfully great, and "sauros," meaning reptile or lizard. He applied the term to three animals whose fossilized bones had been found over the previous few decades. Scientists believe they first appeared about 245 million years ago, at the beginning of the Middle Triassic Epoch, and existed for about 180 million years, going extinct about 66 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period. The period when they lived is called the Mesozoic Era.

Monsanto agrees to settlement with Seattle over Duwamish River pollution
Ending an eight-year legal battle, chemical giant Monsanto has agreed to a $160-million settlement with Seattle for its part in polluting a river that runs through the heart of the city with toxins that posed a threat to humans, fish and wildlife.

US promises $240 million to improve fish hatcheries, protect tribal rights in Pacific Northwest
The U.S. government will invest $240 million in salmon and steelhead hatcheries in the Pacific Northwest to boost declining fish populations and support the treaty-protected fishing rights of Native American tribes.

Data centers guzzle power, threatening WA’s clean energy push
Some Washington utility officials might face a daunting choice: violate a state green energy law limiting fossil fuel use or risk rolling blackouts. Artificial intelligence, which requires extraordinary computing power, is accelerating the need to build data centers across the world, and experts say the industry’s global energy consumption as of just two years ago could double by 2026.

A River of Deception
Historical documents reveal how Seattle City Light's dams deprived the Skagit Rive of fish, impacting the Upper Skagit Tribe's treaty rights for over a century.

Two shark species documented in Puget Sound for first time by Oregon State researchers
Oregon State University researchers have made the first scientific confirmation in Puget Sound of two distinct shark species, one of them critically endangered.

What’s the cost if WA voters erase capital gains tax, end cap-and-trade?
Analyses bound for the state’s voter pamphlet examine the financial effects of Initiative 2109 and Initiative 2117 passing this fall.

Ship fire off Victoria shows Canada isn't prepared for marine emergencies: TSB
The container ship rolled and lost 109 containers overboard, spilling cargo along Vancouver Island's beaches. About 36 hours later, while the vessel was anchored off Victoria, a fire broke on the ship.

A decade after disastrous breach, Mount Polley mine tailings dam could get even bigger
A faulty tailings dam at the B.C. mine dumped billions of litres of waste into the environment — and Quesnel Lake is still contaminated. Now Imperial Metals wants to expand the same dam.

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@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Salish Sea News Week in Review July 26 2024

 

Aloha Tofu Friday!

World Tofu Day was created by the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA) Canada and the first World Tofu Day was marked in 2014. In Montreal, at least 12,000 people attended a vegan barbecue on the inaugural celebration. Tofu is made from soybeans that are curdled and then pressed into blocks. It is high in protein, relatively low in calories, and low in carbohydrates. It is low in saturated fat but higher in heart-healthy fats. Tofu contains iron, magnesium, manganese, selenium, and calcium, and is sometimes fortified with other minerals and vitamins.

Environmental groups push for toughening of salmon farm rule change
New federal rules for fish farms have cut the amount of allowable sea lice in farmed salmon but environmental groups say it doesn’t amount to much.

Washington State Has Been Sitting on a Secret Weapon Against Climate Change
Wetlands are carbon-storage powerhouses — and many are unmapped.

Project 2025’s extreme vision for the West
The demolition of public lands, water and wildlife protections are part of conservatives’ plan for a second Trump term.

Coastal B.C. First Nations take the lead on many marine search-and-rescue missions
New formalized role and funding helps First Nations become integral part of coastal search and rescue.

Intalco Aluminum agrees to $5.25 million penalty for hazardous pollution violations at Ferndale
Intalco Aluminum, the company that operated the shuttered aluminum smelter in Ferndale, has agreed to pay $5.25 million as part of a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The settlement stems from Clean Air Act violations discovered during a 2019 EPA inspection of the site.

Planet Sets Record for Hottest Day Twice in a Row
Researchers with the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said Sunday was Earth’s hottest day. Then it happened again on Monday.

WA nears a plan to remove key culverts for salmon — after spending $4B
As the Washington State Department of Transportation spends billions of dollars removing concrete and metal pipes that block spawning salmon, another state agency is finally finishing a strategy to fix all the state’s fish migration barriers.

Voters to decide on pace of Washington’s transition off natural gas
State election officials on Wednesday certified an initiative for the November ballot that seeks to reverse Washington’s controversial tactics to phase out natural gas use in homes and other buildings.

Hakai Magazine to close down
Founding editor Jude Isabella wrote yesterday to readers: "The only way to deliver this bad news is bluntly: Hakai Magazine will cease to publish at the end of 2024. For nearly a decade, we’ve made our cozy berth within the Tula Foundation, voyaging alongside its core missions that conduct long-term ecological research in British Columbia and deliver essential healthcare of Guatemalan mothers and babes. It has been a privilege beyond measure.... We’re actively looking for new funding sources—if you have ideas, please get in touch, because we’re open to suggestions. Over the next six months, we will keep you informed of our progress in finding a new haven for our next chapter."

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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

Salish Sea News Week in Review July 19 2024

Aloha Beekeeping Friday!
 On December 3, 2019, Detroit Hives, a non-profit organization, declared July 19 of every year as National Urban Beekeeping Day. The holiday was created to raise awareness about supporting urban beekeepers, inform the public on the role of urban beekeeping, and also to discuss the importance of bees in our environment.

Tacomans struggle with high temperatures, heat and access to cooling varies across the city
Shade is a problem for Tacomans.  The city is dense and in the Puget Sound region, it has the lowest amount of tree canopy cover for cities. 

Butterfly sightings in Metro Vancouver plummet
Fewer butterflies are flying around Metro Vancouver this year, and their scarcity is leaving scientists and community members with more questions than answers. Extreme swings in weather may be to blame, but planting more native trees in cities could help.

Single-use plastic bags banned as next round of B.C. plastic regulations kicks in
Plastic shopping bags and other single-use products are no longer available at British Columbia stores as the government implements the latest step in its plan to phase out certain plastic items and keep harmful chemicals out of landfills.

Bringing Salmon Home to Kus-kus-sum
In 2020, the Comox Valley Project Watershed Society finally raised enough funds to purchase the eight-acre site from lumber producer Interfor, and in 2021, the land was transferred to the society. Since then, it has removed more than 12,000 cubic metres of concrete from the industrial site and revegetated five acres of it.

At new Marysville water treatment facility, plants filter out pollutants
The city’s new stormwater treatment plant isn’t landmarked by large tanks and pipes — or any buildings for that matter. Near the shore of Ebey Slough, the plant — charged with treating 460 acres of urban runoff — looks like a park, with paved walkways and rows of native grasses.

Seagrass and Plastic Are Not Friends
In 2021, what sounded like a good news story hit the media: in the Mediterranean, seagrasses were trapping plastic waste, capturing fragments in their leaves and locking microplastics in seafloor sediments...But that hopeful narrative is, unfortunately, too optimistic and only tells part of the story.

Seattle Aquarium’s Ocean Pavilion to open in August
Seattle Aquarium’s new, $160 million Ocean Pavilion will open Aug. 29. The 50,000-square-foot exhibit space is already transforming the city’s central waterfront, and will feature the region’s largest tropical reef ecosystem, with sharks, rays, other animals and plants.

WA awards $52 million from carbon auctions for tribal climate adaptation
More than $50 million in revenue from the state’s carbon market auctions is going to 32 tribal nations across the Northwest for clean-energy projects and efforts to better safeguard communities from the effects of climate change.

Birthing the Blob
In 2013, a huge marine heatwave known as the Blob hit the northeast Pacific Ocean.

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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

Salish Sea News Week in Review July 12 2024

Aloha Kebab Friday!
The first kebabs may have been cooked when soldiers grilled meat of recently-killed animals on their swords. Kebabs emerged from Turkish cuisine and were first mentioned in a Turkish text in the fourteenth century. The dishes spread around the world along with Muslim culture, and now are common in restaurants that serve Turkish, Indian, and Mughlai cuisines.

Southern resident orca numbers decline during census year; Bigg’s orcas continue to expand
Preliminary results are now available from the annual orca census from the Center for Whale Research. At least two southern resident killer whales have died over the past year, with one of them being a little more than a month old. Meanwhile, sightings of Bigg’s killer whales have increased to record numbers. 

Environmental group buys Fraser River island to protect salmon
The Nature Conservancy of Canada says Carey Island is one of the Fraser's last salmon habitat strongholds.

Over half of Clayoquot Sound’s iconic forests are now protected — here’s how First Nations and B.C. did it
The Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations will now manage 760 square kilometres of old-growth conservancies with the help of philanthropic funding.

The Pacific Northwest is littered with ‘deadbeat dams’
Aging structures dubbed 'deadbeat dams' choke off habitat and threaten human life in some instances. Native nations are at the forefront of the effort to address these lingering dams.

Baker sockeye tribal fishery returns after banner year
Upper Skagit Indian Tribe fishers celebrated the return of the Baker River sockeye fishery this week. A record number of sockeye salmon swam through the Baker River last year, with about 65,000 returning. This year, Upper Skagit tribal fishers are hoping for more of the same.

PNW data center boom could imperil power supply within 5 years
The Pacific Northwest’s power grid could be pushed beyond its limits in just five years by the staggering electricity demands of the booming data center industry, regional power planners recently reported. The forecast cautioned that data centers could consume as much as 4,000 average megawatts of electricity by 2029 — enough to power the entire city of Seattle five times over. Lulu Ramadan reports. (Seattle Times)

Record sockeye salmon run on Columbia now threatened by hot water
Smashing records, sockeye salmon are booming up the Columbia River, in a run expected to top 700,000 fish before it’s over. But a punishing heat wave has made river temperatures so hot many may never make it their last miles home. With water temperatures above 80 degrees in the Okanogan River, sockeye are stacking up at its mouth and waiting rather than entering the tributary to get to their spawning grounds across the U.S.-Canada border. 

Washington issues burn ban on state lands
A burn ban is in effect for all state lands in Washington. The state Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday issued the statewide ban on outdoor burning, campfires, the use of charcoal briquettes and prescribed burns on its lands. The ban started at 1 p.m. on Wednesday and will go until at least Sept. 30, 2024.

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 salishseacom.com. 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

Salish Sea News Week in Review July 3 2024

Great Auks extinction day
Great auks were native to the Arctic and sub-Arctic, and became extinct in 1844. On July 3, 1844, fishermen killed the last confirmed pair of great auks (Pinguinus impennis) at Eldey Island, Iceland.  It is believed that the extinction of these birds was caused by human activities and hunting due to the high demand for their feathers. (National Geographic)

All killer whales will remain one species — for now, according to marine mammal committee
A formal proposal to designate resident and Bigg’s killer whales as separate species has been rejected by a committee widely recognized as the authority in naming new marine mammal species.

A warning signal from grey whales: The animals are getting smaller
A population of grey whales that feeds off B.C.'s coast has seen its adult population physically get smaller over the past two decades, a new study has found.

The Owls Who Came From Away
Over the past 80 years, one of the most resilient and hearty owls has practically engulfed a continent. Not everyone is pleased.

Scientists can now rapidly link heat waves to climate change
Canadian scientists can now estimate how much human-induced climate change contributed to an extreme heat wave or flood within a week of the disaster.

Measure to prevent phasing out of natural gas in WA is on track for November ballot

Supporters have submitted 400,000-plus signatures in support of Initiative 2066 to prevent phasing out of natural gas.

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 salishseacom.com. 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