Salish Sea Communications: 2025

Friday, October 17, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review October 17 2025

Aloha Mulligan Friday.
Mulligan is a term used in golf when someone who shoots a bad shot is given a do-over. Mulligan Day is a day when people redo something that didn't turn out the first time. It's a day when people give themselves or others a second chance. The word likely came from David Mulligan, a Canadian golfer prominent in the 1920s, who either hit a poor tee shot, was jumpy and shaky after a shot, or overslept and was late for a shot.

Republicans try to weaken 50-year-old law protecting whales, seals and polar bears
Conservative leaders feel they now have the political will to remove key pieces of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, enacted in 1972 to protect whales, seals, polar bears and other sea animals. The law also places restrictions on commercial fishermen, shippers and other marine industries.

A push for ‘global energy dominance’ puts Alaskan wildlands at risk
The National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), at 23 million acres, is the largest sweep of public land in the country, and it has remained largely undeveloped. Now President Donald Trump in his second term, just as in his first, is calling for full-on extraction of oil and gas here.

Southern resident killer whales show signs of slow decline toward disappearance
There's 'a fairly good chance' at least one of the three orca pods being gone within the next 50 years, says a director with the Center for Whale Research.

University of B.C. launches mushroom-powered toilet, turning waste into fertilizer
The toilet turns human waste into compost using mycelia, the root network of mushrooms. The MycoToilet separates liquids from solids, with the solid waste going into a mycelium-lined compartment, where lab tests have shown 90 per cent of the odour-causing compounds are absorbed.

With one mystery solved, researchers examine new strategies for sea star recovery
Knowing the cause of sea star wasting disease allows scientists to look for ways to increase resilience among the ravaged sea star population.

Oregon, environmental groups ask courts to help Columbia Basin fish
Environmental groups and the state of Oregon asked a judge Tuesday to OK a suite of changes to dam operations in the Columbia Basin to reduce harm to endangered salmon and steelhead. The requests are the first major development in a decadeslong legal battle in the basin since the Trump administration blew up a 2023 agreement that had provided a path to dam removal on the lower Snake River.

New research links wildfire smoke to lower sperm counts
A study comparing the sperm samples of 84 men who donated during potentially high exposure to smoke showed lower counts, as well as more inactive sperm, compared to samples taken when the air was cleaner.

Scientists Hope Underwater Fiber-Optic Cables Can Help Save Endangered Orcas
Scientists from the University of Washington recently deployed a little over 1 mile of fiber-optic cable in the Salish Sea to test whether internet cables can monitor endangered orcas like a continuous underwater microphone to capture the clicks, calls and whistles of passing whales — information that could reveal how they respond to ship traffic, food scarcity and climate 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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

Friday, October 10, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review October 10 2025

Aloha Squid Friday!
There are over 300 species of squid, which are in the Teuthida order. They live in every ocean, alone or in schools. They range in size: The giant squid may grow as long as 59 feet, while the pygmy squid is about the size of a pinky fingernail. They have a sleek, torpedo-like body, and are much quicker than cuttlefish. They use jet propulsion to move: They fill their mantle with water from small openings in their head, then shoot it out a funnel called a siphon, which they can move to change the direction they want to go. Squids have a pen, a flexible, feather-like structure, and a type of internal shell that supports the mantle and allows it to keep its shape.

Why too many pink salmon in Snohomish County may not be a good thing
New study shows booming pink salmon populations affect threatened Chinook salmon and Southern Resident orcas.

Marine carbon removal system launches after testing phase
The energy company Ebb Carbon’s Project Macoma marine carbon removal system officially launched Thursday following a testing phase this summer on the Port Angeles waterfront. The project is designed to enhance the ocean’s ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and in the process help make seawater less acidic and thus able to capture more CO2 than untreated seawater.

Supreme Court shoots down challenge to WA carbon market
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a high-profile challenge to Washington’s Climate Commitment Act, marking yet another victory for the state’s keystone climate policy.

Metro Vancouver votes to scale down sewage treatment project from $10B to $6B
The new $6-billion plan is to upgrade the existing facility in phases to comply with provincial and federal regulations for "secondary-level" treatment, which removes up to 90 per cent or more of pollutants typically found in wastewater, such as small suspended solids.

Trump Signs Order to Approve Ambler Access Road for Mining in Alaska
President Trump signed an executive order on Monday directing the government to approve a 211-mile industrial road that would cut through pristine Alaskan wilderness to reach a proposed copper and zinc mine.

Beavers disappeared from syilx territories. Could imitating their habitats bring them back — and restore their wetlands?
Historically seen as a ‘nuisance’ species to be trapped and removed, beavers may be key to restoring ecosystems amid deforestation and climate change.

Record number of sockeye salmon return to Skagit River system
About 92,000 adult sockeye made the annual migration to the Baker River and eventually to Baker Lake from June through October. Also worth noting, a record number of juvenile sockeye — about 1.5 million — headed down the Skagit River and out to sea.

Major solar farm in eastern Washington on cusp of approval
A large solar farm proposed in eastern Washington appears on course to clear a critical regulatory hurdle this month, despite opposition from the Yakama Nation.

Return of The Blob: Heat wave spans Pacific Ocean
Water temperatures several degrees above normal span thousands of miles, though they have mostly stopped short of the Pacific Northwest coast. Cool water welling up from the depths is thought to be keeping surface temperatures near the Oregon and Washington coasts closer to normal.

Friday, October 3, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review October 3 2025

Aloha Butterfly and Hummingbird Friday.

There are about 20,000 species of butterflies—some sources say there are 17,500, while some say there are as many 24,000. There are about 750 species found in the United States. Butterflies generally have short lives, with most only living for two to four weeks, during which they mainly eat and mate. There are about 325 species of hummingbirds, but only eight of them regularly breed in the United States. Although, up to two dozen species can be found there at various times. Most species of hummingbirds can be found in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, and there are no hummingbirds outside of the Western Hemisphere.

Study finds Skagit River delta restoration projects positively impacted salmon
Many restoration projects both large and small have been undertaken throughout the delta in the past few decades, totaling an area of about 630 acres. According to a study published in Frontiers in Marine Science, the restoration efforts show a cumulative population response.

Alaska’s Bristol Bay sockeye run and harvest increased this year, with fish sizes a bit bigger
The run of sockeye salmon, also known as red salmon, exceeded preseason expectations and totaled 56.7 million fish, the seventh highest since 2005. However, Bristol Bay’s harvest of Chinook, also known as king salmon, hit a 20-year low this year, totaling only 6,148 fish, compared to the most recent 20-year average of 33,469 Chinook.

B.C. First Nations want meeting with Carney about salmon, need for open-net farm ban
The First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance says the federal government should create a First Nation-led plan to protect the wild fish, similar to one created for the Great Bear Rainforest.

Saving Puget Sound's puffins: Bringing these ocean ambassadors back from the brink
In 1954, a Walla Walla College biology professor named Ernest Booth recorded tufted puffins on Williamson Rocks. Seventy years later, you’re more likely to encounter peanut butter Puffins in the cereal aisle of a Friday Harbor supermarket than an actual tufted puffin anywhere in the San Juan Islands.

Scientists Release Breathtaking Close-Up Drone Footage of Endangered Orca Pod
Footage taken by scientists with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance shows the Southern Resident killer whale pod swimming together in the Salish Sea.

Environmentalists, politicians, celebrities recall life and influence of primatologist Jane Goodall
Tributes are pouring in from around the world honoring the life and influence of famed primatologist Jane Goodall.

As Smith Pushes New Pipeline Plan, Eby Says No Way
British Columbia Premier David Eby said Wednesday that if he has failed to clearly condemn Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s push for a new bitumen pipeline to B.C.’s north coast, it’s only because he was being polite.

WA’s active wildfires offer warning, state lands chief says
Two wildfires burning east of the Cascade crest are now the state’s largest, and serve as a reminder that, despite rainy, fall weather in Western Washington, fire season rages on.

Friday, September 26, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review September 26 2025

Aloha koala Friday!
Save the Koala Day is observed on the last Friday in September to raises awareness for the plight of the koala and 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. This means that the koala is a mammal that carries its young in a pouch. In the late 18th century, English-speaking settlers in Australia called the animal a bear. These settlers thought the koala looked and behaved like a bear. Since then, many people call these animals, koala bears. Australia provides the only natural habitat in the world for the koala. Known as tree-hugging mammals, koalas live in eucalyptus trees. They grow up to 3 feet tall and weigh anywhere from 9 to 30 pounds.

Newborn orca spotted with Northwest's endangered J Pod
The newborn orca has been born to the J pod, and SeaDoc says it appears the mother is 18-year-old J42, also known as "Echo."

Invasive green crabs continue to spread
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife reports that about 174,000 green crabs were removed this spring and summer, an increase from about 130,000 in 2024, but a decrease from 485,000 in 2023. This summer, 1,413 were found in North Puget Sound.

Nations ratify the world’s first treaty to protect international waters
The High Seas Treaty is the first legal framework aimed at protecting biodiversity in international waters, those that lie beyond the jurisdiction of any single country.

Defense Department Delays Cleanup of ‘Forever Chemicals’ Nationwide
The new timeline could slow cleanup in some communities by nearly a decade. The chemicals, widely used in the military, are linked to cancers and other health risks.

With local orcas ‘in desperate condition,’ Snuneywuxw is monitoring ships’ noises
The First Nation is collecting sound data, hoping to protect at-risk southern resident killer whales from ‘acoustic smog’ of increased maritime traffic.

'Green scam': At UN, watched by drowning nations' leaders, Trump assails the ethos of climate change
In his address at the United Nations General Assembly, U.S. President Donald Trump excoriated renewable energy, international climate diplomacy, the science of global warming and other environmental issues.

LNG Expansion Brings New Health Risks to Kitimat
The project’s fast-tracked second phase would push a key pollutant far above current limits, documents reveal.

Totem pole reaches Elwha after 1,700-mile journey
After a 1,700-mile journey around the Pacific Northwest to bring attention to the potential harms posed by the Trump administration’s plan to repeal the Roadless Rule, a totem pole has reached its final destination.

At Global Climate Summit This Week, U.S. Isolation Was on Full Display
On Wednesday in New York, countries lined up to say they would accelerate their efforts to cut greenhouse-gas emissions. In staying away, the U.S. was all but alone.

Friday, September 19, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review September 19 2025

Aloha Talk Like A Pirate Day!
International Talk Like a Pirate Day is a day for everyone to talk like a pirate, and it was thought up by John Baur and Mark Summers of Albany, Oregon. They were playing racquetball on June 6, 1995, when they began to talk like pirates. They decided there should be a holiday dedicated to pirate talk, and since they didn't want the day to coincide with D-Day, Mark came up with September 19 as its date, which was his ex-wife's birthday. It was not until 2002 that the day began to be celebrated on a larger scale, as Dave Barry wrote a column that brought the attention of the holiday beyond the purview of John and Mark's friends.

Orca mom carries dead newborn calf in San Juans
An endangered orca was spotted Friday carrying a dead newborn on her nose, umbilical cord still attached, between Orcas Island and Cypress Island in Washington state.

A PNW bird is in mysterious decline. Two Salish Sea islands hold clues
In Washington, the tufted puffin has seen a 90% reduction in population in recent decades with fewer than 2,000 of the birds remaining on the West Coast. When Washington listed the species as endangered in 2015, the agency wrote that with the current rate of decline, the state’s population could be gone by 2055.

4 years after Fairy Creek, a new battle over B.C.’s old-growth forests looms in the Walbran Valley
A B.C. justice has granted an injunction against a group of people blocking a logging road on southern Vancouver Island. The decision paves the way for the RCMP to move in.

Feds greenlight killing more sea lions to protect endangered salmon as controversy fades
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service renewed a 2020 permit that had allowed the removal of 540 California sea lions and 176 Steller sea lions from Bonneville Dam and Willamette Falls.

Canada calls this newly approved LNG project green. For now, it will run on fossil fuels
Despite being touted as a clean energy project, B.C.’s Ksi Lisims LNG will likely run on fossil fuels for years before hydro power reaches the site. Matt Simmons reports.

Robert Redford remembered for his deep legacy in environmental activism and Native American advocacy
Fellow actors and leaders of the causes he fought for spoke of his unusually deep legacy, his fight for Native Americans and the environment that began at the height of his stardom.

Youth, scientists, argue for court to halt Trump executive orders 'unleashing' fossil fuel industry
For the second time in two years a youth-led lawsuit challenging the government’s role in climate change is seeing the inside of a Montana courtroom.

In an unprecedented warning, leading climate think-tank says Canada won't meet 2030 climate target
Years of progress on bringing Canada's carbon emissions down have stalled, and future progress looks increasingly fragile, according to an early 2024 emissions estimate from the Canadian Climate Institute (CCI).

Friday, September 12, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review September 12 2025

Flipper the Dolphin

Aloha Dolphin Friday!
A dolphin is a common name used for some of the aquatic mammals in the cetacean clade Odontoceti, the toothed whales. Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae, along with the river dolphin families Platanistidae, Iniidae, Pontoporiidae, and probably extinct Lipotidae. There are 40 extant species named as dolphins.

Musqueam to appeal Cowichan Tribes ruling on Aboriginal title
The Musqueam Indian Band is the latest government to announce its plans to appeal the recent B.C. Supreme Court decision that found another First Nation government holds Aboriginal title for land and fishing rights in an area of Metro Vancouver.

Warming seas threaten key phytoplankton species that fuels the food web, study finds
For decades, scientists believed Prochlorococcus, the smallest and most abundant phytoplankton on Earth, would thrive in a warmer world. But new research suggests the microscopic bacterium, which forms the foundation of the marine food web and helps regulate the planet’s climate, will decline sharply as seas heat up.

Who’s keeping an eye on B.C.’s oil and gas boom? Fewer people than you might think
Internal documents show inspectors lack training to manage long-term contamination, raising questions about oversight across the province

B.C. orders forage farmers to stop using water to protect endangered chinook salmon
The order applies to 490 users in the Salmon River and Bessette Creek watersheds, including farmers who grow grass, alfalfa and corn.

WA pink salmon populations surge in some Puget Sound areas, stagnant in others
The Puget Sound region is anticipating a substantial increase in pink salmon returns for 2025, with forecasts predicting a total of 7.76 million fish. This figure represents a 70% rise from the 10-year cycle average and is expected to be the third-largest return on record.

Invasive emerald ash borer has reached Portland, dooming ash trees
An invasive, tree-killing pest has made its way to Portland, spelling trouble for the many ash trees that cool residential neighborhoods on hot summer days. Forestry officials say Oregon will lose 99% of its ash trees to this pest in time.

How much have fossil fuel giants contributed to heat waves such as B.C.'s heat dome?
The deadly 2021 heat wave over B.C. was an estimated 2.3 degrees hotter because of climate change, says a new study.

Trump Moves to Scrap Biden Rule That Protected Public Lands
The proposal from the Bureau of Land Management would prioritize the use of public lands for oil and gas drilling, coal mining and other industrial activities. Maxine Joselow reports. (NY Times)

Friday, September 5, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review September 5 2025

Skagit Helping Hands [Nichole Long]

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."

Wildfire retardants help stop fires — but also impact ecosystems
In the rush to put out wildfires, hundreds of millions of litres of fire retardant are dropped on forests across North America. New research shows the effects they can have on water and ecosystems — especially when accidents happen.

Way of Masks and Totem Pole Journey.
Se'Si'Le, House of Tears Carvers and partnering NGOs present "Way of the Masks and Totem Pole Journey" events Sept.6-20 to narrate the interrelatedness of Treaty rights and inherent rights, Indigenous ways of knowing nature and environmental justice, healthy rivers and salmon habitat, spiritual and ecological balance, and ancient forests and climate resilience. Sept. 6, Bellingham; Sept. 8, Olympia, are Washington events. Information.

Trump administration cancels $679 million for offshore wind projects at ports
The Trump administration is cancelling $679 million in federal funding for ports to support the country's offshore wind industry, the latest move in President Trump's ongoing campaign against wind power.

Scientists Denounce Trump Administration’s Climate Report
More than 85 American and international scientists have condemned a Trump administration report that calls the threat of climate change overblown, saying the analysis is riddled with errors, misrepresentations and cherry-picked data to fit the president’s political agenda.

Smoketember Is Rolling In. Here’s How to Protect Yourself
There is no safe level of exposure to wildfire smoke.

WA plan to conserve 77,000 acres of older forests draws fire
Washington loggers, school leaders and conservation activists on Wednesday decried the state lands commissioner’s proposal to set aside 77,000 acres of older forests while opening 29,000 acres back up for logging. Some said the plan, announced by Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove last week, didn’t do enough to protect the state’s older forests, while others said it would lead to layoffs, business closures and delay of critical school construction projects.

Why Trans Mountain wants to expand when the oil pipeline isn't even full
A little more than one year after completing construction of the Trans Mountain expansion oil pipeline, the Crown corporation is pursuing two different methods to increase how much oil can be exported. The pipeline is operating at about 80%, while tankers are only 70% full.

Friday, August 29, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review August 29 2025

Aloha Friday Before Labor Day!
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements in the United States. (Wikipedia)

Victoria area in B.C. breaks over 100-year-old temperature record amid hot spell
Lytton records high of 38.6 C as temperature records broken throughout province.

B.C. recreational anglers get rare chance to reel in sockeye amid bumper salmon run
Fisheries and Oceans Canada opens recreational fishing for species on stretch of Fraser River for limited time.

Trump administration halts work on an almost-finished wind farm
The Trump administration has ordered companies to stop construction of a wind farm that's being built off the coast of Rhode Island.

Frustrated Commercial Fishers Are Hungry for More Sockeye
This year’s huge Fraser salmon return is lifting spirits. And raising questions about how DFO sets catch limits.

WA to conserve 77,000 acres of older forests on state lands
The move is in line with promises Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove made while campaigning. Timber industry groups and some activists fighting to save “legacy forests” were both unhappy with the outcome.

Ferguson pauses approval of major solar project in central Washington
The governor wants the Carriger Solar project to proceed, but not until the Yakama Nation has more time to weigh in on cultural resource protections.

Trump administration advances plan to reverse federal rule that limits logging in national forests
The ‘Roadless Rule’ has prohibited new road construction, a prerequisite for large-scale logging, on vast swaths of federal land since 2001.

Steven Cook, a Former Chemical Industry Lawyer, Now at E.P.A., Wants to Change PFAS Rules
A Trump appointee has proposed rewriting a measure that requires companies to clean up “forever chemicals,” documents show. The new version would shift costs from polluters.

Ten years of confronting a costly green crab invasion in Puget Sound
Since that first discovery, nearly nine years ago, green crabs have spread to more than 30 trapping sites throughout the northern half of Puget Sound and Hood Canal.

Friday, August 22, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review August 22 2025

Aloha Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker, born on this day in 1893, was an American poet, literary critic and writer of fiction, plays and screenplays based in New York; she was known for her caustic wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. Quotable Parker.

Drought is a big problem in Canada — and it’s getting worse
A rush of water-hungry AI data centres is just one reason to rethink industrial water use, as drought becomes a real, year-round problem across Canada.

Dwindling kelp beds gain protection with partnership between Squaxin Island Tribe, DNR

DNR’s Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove met with Squaxin Island Tribe chairman Kris Peters to sign an order creating the Squaxin Island Kelp Protection Zone, in an effort to bring the kelp bed and others around Puget Sound back to full health.

UW lab's seaweed-infused cement could slash carbon emissions
Cement is the source of as much as 10% of all carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. That’s according to materials scientists at the University of Washington who are aiming to reduce that carbon footprint, by adding seaweed to the mix.

Study finds impacts of colonization destroyed nearly 90% of Burrard Inlet food ecosystems
A new research study, in partnership with the səl̓ilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nation and the University of B.C., has found the impacts of colonization from as early as 1750, including smallpox, overfishing and industrialization, destroyed nearly 90 per cent of the food systems and sources in the Burrard Inlet in Metro Vancouver.

Salmon habitat is destroyed for development. Is it possible to replace what’s lost?
A human-constructed marsh in B.C.’s Fraser River was meant to mimic natural feeding and breeding grounds. Offset projects can succeed — if someone sticks around to care for them.

Well-known orca dies in Johnstone Strait surrounded by family, dolphins
There was no immediate word on what caused the death of the killer whale known as I76, but threats to the species include lack of prey, toxin accumulations and vessel impacts.

BC’s Coastal Fires Have Entered a New Era
The Mount Underwood fire near Port Alberni wasn’t your typical Vancouver Island blaze. But what is normal is changing. Thanks to droughts and heat waves, tiny fires that crews were once able to extinguish in a matter of hours are now ballooning into major blazes.

Monsanto settles with over 200 exposed to chemicals in Monroe school
This week’s announcement marks the largest, and only significant, PCB personal injury settlement since Monsanto was acquired by Bayer Pharmaceuticals in 2018, Bayer said. And it appears to be among the largest, if not the largest, PCB settlement stemming from a single site containing the pollutant.

Friday, August 15, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review August 15 2025

Aloha Woodstock Friday!
The iconic music festival, popularly known as Woodstock, opened on this day in 1969 in Bethel, New York at the 600-acre farm of farmer Max B. Yasgur. Over 450,000 people attended the festival, and the festival has become widely regarded as a pivotal moment in popular music history, as well as a defining event for the silent and baby boomer generations.

Rising electric bills: How states are tackling Big Tech's energy demands
Amid rising electric bills, states are under pressure to insulate regular household and business ratepayers from the costs of feeding Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers.

Site C dam energy project now fully operational, B.C. Hydro says
Power utility says sixth and final generating unit on hydroelectric megaproject in northeast B.C. now online.

AI images of B.C. wildfire fuel misinformation
Experts warn of a 'supercharged' era of misinformation, as AI-generated images—including over a half-dozen found by BIV—are increasingly shared on social media.

B.C. to appeal landmark Aboriginal title ruling over Fraser River land in Metro Vancouver
The most recent Indigenous rights and title ruling in B.C. is heading back to court after the province released a statement saying it plans to appeal the decision.

Plight of the Bumblebees
A journey into the wild and not-so-wild world of bumblebees and the unintended consequences of domestication.

Gen Z wants to work outside, but PNW conservation jobs are vanishing
Young people, eager to work outside, are facing the fallout of cuts to federal programs that have developed the next generation of workers for decades.

People often make wrong climate choices, a study says. One surprise is owning a dog
A study recently published by the National Academy of Sciences found that when asked to rank actions, such as swapping a car that uses gasoline for an electric one, carpooling or reducing food waste, participants weren’t very accurate when assessing how much those actions contributed to climate change.

The Fraser’s Impressive Sockeye Returns Prompt Fishery Openings
Wild salmon lovers in the province are expressing cautious optimism as Fraser River sockeye returns significantly exceed expectations.

Restoring the natural order
The Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians partners with natural resource groups to resurrect the Stillaguamish River delta. Eliza Aronson reports.

Seeing the Fungi for the Trees
Mycorrhizal fungi help plants thrive, and sequester a lot of carbon. But a new atlas shows these climate warriors need urgent protection.

Friday, August 8, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review August 8 2025

Aloha Zucchini Friday!

Zucchini is a summer squash with a thin, dark, or light green skin. There also is the golden zucchini, a deep yellow or orange hybrid. The lineage of zucchini, like all squash, starts in America, but zucchini was developed in Italy in the second half of the nineteenth century. Cucurbits were introduced to Italy in the sixteenth century, and the zucchini developed from them. In fact, the name "zucchini" comes from the Italian word for squash: zucca. Zucchini was introduced to the United States in the 1920s, likely being brought there by Italian immigrants.

Baker River sockeye storm back in record run — overcoming 2 dams
At least an estimated 90,000 sockeye will return from their high-seas journey to feed the land, forest, bears, osprey, human families — and spawn the next generation. It was an extensive intervention over decades after Puget Sound Energy’s largest hydropower operation nearly drove these fish to extinction.

How Trump Is Transforming the U.S. Government’s Environmental Role
The E.P.A. said this week it would revoke its own ability to fight climate change. It’s the latest move in an extraordinary pivot away from science-based protections.

LOTT Clean Water Alliance wants to make wastewater drinkable. Are you ready for that?
The wastewater utility in downtown Olympia that treats millions of gallons of sewer water per day, in partnership with the South Puget Sound Community College’s brewing and distilling program, aims to use about 500 gallons of that treated water to make beer and other beverages for the public to try.

Unmasking the Sea Star Killer
After a decade of carnage, we finally know what’s devastating sea stars along North America’s West Coast. Does that mean scientists can save them?

Two WA oil refineries fined over $1.3M each for mishandling of sludge and acid waste
Washington’s Department of Ecology said Tuesday that HF Sinclair would be penalized $1,303,000 and Tesoro $1,397,000 for violations of dangerous waste laws. Both companies run refineries located in Anacortes.

Another B.C. fault can produce megathrust earthquakes
Confirming the megathrust fault line off Haida Gwaii offers a path to improve tsunami modelling in a zone that has produced Canada's two largest recorded earthquakes.

Mount Polley Can Continue Tailings Expansion, BC Supreme Court Says
A B.C. Supreme Court justice has dismissed the Xatśūll First Nation’s request to overturn a provincial decision allowing the expansion of the Mount Polley mine’s tailings facility.

Great Barrier Reef records largest annual coral loss in 39 years
The Great Barrier Reef has experienced its greatest annual loss of live coral across most of its expanse in four decades of record-keeping, Australian authorities say.

Friday, August 1, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review August 1, 2025

Aloha World Wide Web Day!
The World Wide Web, often simply called the Web, is "a global information medium which users can read and write via computers connected to the Internet." World Wide Web Day marks the birth of the World Wide Web at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and honors and celebrates people being able to browse freely over it. The first website was published on August 6, 1991. It explained what the World Wide Web project was and how users could search the Web, set up their own web server, and create their own websites and web pages. After the Web's creation, its development was shared with other research institutes and organizations. On April 30, 1993, CERN made the World Wide Web public domain.

Where did the birds go? Why Oregon’s spring was quieter than usual
Some Oregon birdwatchers say this spring was strangely quiet – and the data backs that up.

Clearcutting tied to 18-fold increase in flood risk: UBC study
A new study from the University of British Columbia suggests that clearcut logging can make catastrophic floods up to 18 times more frequent. The study, published in the Journal of Hydrology, analyzed long-term data from one of the world's longest-running forest research sites in North Carolina, the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory.

EPA set to unravel U.S. authority to regulate greenhouse gases
The Trump administration is set to announce its plans to abolish the U.S. government’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases, threatening to strike a deep blow at Washington’s ability to fight climate change.

Canada wants cities to start filtering toxic forever chemicals from public drinking water, but that’s no easy feat.
Jaela Bernstien reports on the challenges facing water utilities as they try to adapt to new PFAS guidelines.

What we know about fossil fuel subsidies in Canada
Billions are given to oil and gas corporations each year, including loans, tax breaks and more. Exactly how many billions is a matter of debate.

Poll: Washington voters are ‘pretty pessimistic’ about the future
For only the second time in Cascade PBS/Elway poll history, respondents anticipate things will get worse for the country, the state and themselves.

Federal government rescinds Oregon’s offshore wind energy area
The Trump administration is rescinding more than 3.5 million acres of designated wind energy areas nationwide, effectively ending a yearslong effort to generate wind energy off the Southern Oregon Coast — for now. Nearly 195,000 acres off the Southern Oregon coast were previously identified as sites for offshore wind development.

Everett-based Helion breaks ground on ‘world’s first fusion power plant’
On the banks of the Columbia River in the small town of Malaga, Washington, Everett-based Helion has broken ground on what it says is “the world’s first fusion power plant.”

Friday, July 25, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review July 25 2025

Aloha Carousel Friday!
National Carousel Day, or National Merry-Go-Round Day, is celebrated at many carousels, particularly at antique wooden ones, and locations that house carousels, on the anniversary of the date that William Schneider of Davenport, Iowa—considered to be the inventor of the modern carousel—was issued a patent for his carousel.

‘Devastating’ spill in salmon habitat near Port Angeles: What to know
Hundreds of dead juvenile fish. An oily sheen. The overpowering smell of gasoline. These were the scenes over the weekend near where a fuel tanker truck crashed Friday off Highway 101, spilling some 3,000 gallons of fossil fuels into Indian Creek and prompting a “do not drink” order for Port Angeles tap water that ended Sunday evening.

EPA eliminates research and development office, begins layoffs
The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday it is eliminating its research and development arm and reducing agency staff by thousands of employees.

Here’s how Canada’s LNG exports could make your heating bill go up
Canada’s LNG industry is just getting going, but one expert says the ‘party is almost over’ when it comes to economic benefits.

Washington’s outdoor school programs reel from state funding cuts
The Outdoor Learning Grants program, established by the state Legislature in 2021, offered subsidies for schools to send fifth- and sixth-grade students to the outdoor school programs. But lawmakers zeroed out the grants as they worked to solve a budget gap this year. Enrollment is expected to drop as a result.

Plans to shoot thousands of barred owls in doubt after feds cancel grants
A controversial plan to kill up to half a million invasive barred owls to protect endangered spotted owls is in jeopardy after the Trump administration terminated three critical grants funding the program.

E.P.A. Is Said to Draft a Plan to End Its Ability to Fight Climate Change
The Trump administration has drafted a plan to repeal a fundamental scientific finding that gives the United States government its authority to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions and fight climate change, according to two people familiar with the plan.

Deadline set to declare steelhead protection
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has until Dec. 1 to issue its long overdue finding on whether Olympic Peninsula steelhead warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act, according to a recent court order.

Cleaning up toxic ‘forever chemicals’ in Washington isn’t easy
They get the nickname for a reason: PFAS, manmade chemicals linked to health concerns, don‘t break down easily. But limiting their use is complicated.

Port Angeles wants full site cleanup
The Port Angeles City Council is in favor of a complete, timely cleanup of the Rayonier Mill site. The council voted 5-0 to direct staff to write to the state Department of Ecology following a special meeting Tuesday night.

AI Observers Hit the High Sea
New AI analysis systems can count fish and identify species. Could they be key to making fisheries safer and less destructive?

Friday, July 18, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review July 18 2025

Aloha Nelson Mandela Day
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, born on this day in 1918, was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. (Wikipedia)

Will the pinks arrive on schedule?
Twenty-nine million pink salmon could be swimming in the salt water off British Columbia’s coast, waiting for their chance to journey up the Fraser and spawn. Canada’s Department of Fisheries is anticipating a record-breaking number of pink salmon to enter the Fraser River this August.

Washington state bans the sale of common ivy varieties starting in August
The Washington State Department of Agriculture announced it was adding the English (also known as common) and Atlantic varieties of ivy, among other plants, to its noxious weed seed and plant quarantine. On Aug. 9, the sale of the ivy varieties will no longer be legal in Washington.

Trump administration says it won’t publish major climate change reports on NASA website as promised
Earlier this month, the official government websites that hosted the authoritative, peer-reviewed national climate assessments went dark. The White House said NASA would house the reports to comply with a 1990 law that requires the reports, which the space agency said it planned to do. But on Monday, NASA announced that it aborted those plans.

Cowichan River could see another mass fish die-off
Warm temperatures, low river flows and declining water quality are sparking fears of another mass fish die-off in the Cowichan River this summer.

Poopy beaches? Three-quarters of tested WA shores saw unsafe fecal contamination
About 76% of tested Washington beaches showed potentially unsafe fecal-contamination levels on at least one testing day last year, according to the findings by Environment America Research and Policy Center.

Annual orca count grows by one, as the Puget Sound whales stay on the hunt for food
Although an official census report is not due until October, it appears that the population of our southern resident killer whales has increased by one over the past year.

Trump administration hints at a lifeline for embattled Pebble mine project
After a landmark veto, Trump administration officials say they’re “open to reconsideration” and are negotiating a potential settlement of a lawsuit filed by Pebble’s developer.

Friday, July 11, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review July 11, 2025

Aloha Rainier Cherry Day!
Rainier is a cherry cultivar developed in 1952 at Washington State University by Harold Fogle, and named after Mount Rainier. It is a cross between the Bing and Van cultivars. Rainiers are considered a premium type of cherry. They are sweet with a thin skin and thick creamy-yellow flesh. The cherries are susceptible to temperature, wind, and rain, and the flesh is generally more watery than other sweet cherries. (Wikipedia)

WA’s drought deepens and the summer forecast offers no respite
This is summer and it’s supposed to be hot and dry. But this year we’re much drier than normal and, fresh off major droughts in 2024 and 2023, the effects of these lingering dry spells is compounding. (Seattle Times)

E.P.A. Suspends 144 Employees After They Signed a Letter Criticizing Trump
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday placed 144 employees on administrative leave and opened an investigation into their decision to sign a letter https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/climate/epa-employees-warning-letter.html accusing the Trump administration of politicizing the agency. (NY Times)

Act Now to Save Killer Whales, Urges New Report
In March, nearly three dozen scientists gathered over three days in Vancouver with a single focus — to evaluate the state of the southern resident killer whale and figure out how to prevent its likely extinction. Today (July 7) they issued their report, “Strengthening Recovery Actions for Southern Resident Killer Whales.”

Trump Administration, Reversing Itself, Won’t Rewrite a Ban on Asbestos
The Trump administration has withdrawn its plan to rewrite a ban on the last type of asbestos still used in the United States.

A photographic tour of the entire Puget Sound shoreline by watercraft and aircraft
Kayaker-scientist Brian Footen is back on the waters of Puget Sound this summer, paddling through inlets and circling islands on a 2,700-mile journey to photograph the shoreline and document natural and human-caused changes to the habitat.

Increasingly Acidic Seas Threaten Oyster Farming
Researchers and hatcheries are exploring new ways to protect shellfish in the Pacific Northwest, although Trump budget cuts may thwart their efforts.

Thousands expected for canoe journey this month
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Chair Frances Charles told the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce that more than 100 canoes are expected to land during Paddle to Elwha later this month, and 4,000 people are expected to participate.

State proposes keeping marbled murrelet on endangered list
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is proposing to keep the marbled murrelet, a small seabird that forages on open waters throughout the Salish Sea, but nests in inland old-growth forest habitat. on the state’s endangered species list.

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review July 3 2025

Fireworks!
The earliest fireworks came from China during the Song dynasty (960–1279). Fireworks were used to accompany many festivities.[5] In China, pyrotechnicians were respected for their knowledge of complex techniques in creating fireworks and mounting firework displays. During the Song dynasty, common folk could purchase fireworks such as firecrackers from market vendors.The Chinese pyrotechnics were described by the French author Antoine Caillot (1818): "It is certain that the variety of colours which the Chinese have the secret of giving to flame is the greatest mystery of their fireworks." (Wikipedia)

EPA employees send 'declaration of dissent' over policies under Trump
A group of Environmental Protection Agency employees on Monday published a declaration of dissent from the agency’s policies under the Trump administration, saying they “undermine the EPA mission of protecting human health and the environment.”

WA lawsuit says Trump order disrupts clean energy, conservation
Fifteen states claim the administration has fabricated a “national emergency” as cover to boost fossil fuels.

No bones, no scales, no problem: The first lab-grown salmon sold in the U.S.
Wildtype’s cell-cultivated salmon is the first seafood to earn FDA approval, marking a significant milestone for the alternative protein industry. Allyson Chiu reports. (Washington Post)

These orcas have been trying to feed people, new research shows
Wild orcas on more than 30 occasions in four oceans have attempted to share their prey with people, potentially to develop relationships with humans, researchers have found.

'Terrible setback': Indigenous tourism industry says it's suffering as U.S. bookings decline
Almost 70% of Indigenous tourism businesses in Canada are reporting a drop in U.S. bookings.

California Democrats Agree to Roll Back Landmark Environmental Law
California leaders on Monday rolled back a landmark law that was a national symbol of environmental protection before it came to be vilified as a primary reason for the state’s severe housing shortage and homelessness crisis.

Legal Victory: U.S. Supreme Court declines review of Port of Tacoma v. Puget Soundkeeper
The U.S. Supreme Court sided with Puget Soundkeeper in rejecting an appeal by the Port of Tacoma and their tenant, the multinational shipping corporation SSA Terminals.