Salish Sea Communications

Friday, November 18, 2022

Salish Sea News Week in Review November 18 2022

Aloha Mickey Mouse Friday!
Mickey Mouse made his screen debut in the short film Steamboat Willie, on November 18, 1928. Today is seen as being Mickey's birthday, as well as Mickey Mouse Day. He was the creation of Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. Disney needed a character to replace Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, after he had lost the rights to Oswald to Universal Studios. He asked Iwerks to draw up the new character, and various animals were rejected before a mouse was settled upon.

Secret files reveal Boeing doctor warned of toxic risks, birth defects
In 1980, a doctor wrote factory chemicals would cause “life-long chronic illness, cancer and death.” Lawsuits claim his worst fears came true.

BLM agrees to reverse Trump administration post-fire logging rule
The Bureau of Land Management has agreed to reverse a rule put in place during the Donald Trump presidency that allowed the agency to log large areas of forests after a wildfire without first doing an environmental review.

Salmon’s Arctic Expansion Has Communities Worried
Inuvialuit fishers are adapting to rising numbers of Pacific salmon in the western Canadian Arctic, but fears remain about impacts on native species.

More dikes and bigger dams could be a multi-billion dollar mistake: here’s how B.C. could ‘build back better’
A year after catastrophic floods in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, some are concerned the recovery is too focused on trying to fight water with bigger engineering, instead of embracing a global movement to work with water and prioritize nature-based solutions

WA will not renew leases for Puget Sound fish farms, 5 years after spill
The state Department of Natural Resources announced Monday morning that they will not renew the last of the fish-farming company’s leases on net pens here.

Cooke hits back at Washington State’s license decision
Cooke Aquaculture says the decision by the Washington Department of Natural Resources not to renew the company’s steelhead trout farming licenses is out of line with both science and judicial precedent.

The Demon River
On the night of November 15, 2021, British Columbia’s Nicola River sounded like thunder. Boulders boomed beneath a raging current that was bursting its banks, taking out everything in its path. It was the costliest disaster in the province’s history, resulting in an estimated $13 billion worth of damage.

Feds restore WA water quality standards for chemical discharges
In a reversal of Trump administration policies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week reinstated federal water quality standards for chemicals discharged into Washington state waterways.

WA lands Commissioner Franz seeks funding boost for urban forestation, state seedling nursery
Wednesday morning, on the sidelines of an urban forestry conference in downtown Seattle, Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz announced her plan to seek $15.8 million in additional funding during the next state legislative session.

These news clips are a selection of weekday clips collected in Salish Sea News and Weather which is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe at no cost to the weekday news clips, send your name and email to mikesato772 at gmail.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Friday, November 11, 2022

Salish Sea News Week in Review November 11 2022

Aloha Origami Friday!
Origami, from ori meaning "folding", and kami meaning "paper" is the of paper folding, which is often associated with Japanese culture. In modern usage, the word "origami" is used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques. Modern origami practitioners generally discourage the use of cuts, glue, or markings on the paper. Origami folders often use the Japanese word kirigami to refer to designs which use cuts.

Tacoutche Tesse, the Northwest’s great ghost river
The Fraser River, long known as “the mighty one,” —Tacoutche Tesse, to local Carrier speakers— faces challenges from human intrusion, climate change and more. Part 1: Not the Columbia.

Researchers, growers face the challenge of acidic ocean water
Salish Sea waters are acidifying faster than ever before, but researchers in Washington are leading the world in addressing the looming disaster.

WA building council votes to require heat pumps in new homes and apartments
New homes and apartments in Washington will be required to install heat pumps beginning in July, the Washington State Building Code Council ruled Friday.

Dungeness crab dying amid low oxygen levels linked to climate change
(P)iles of dead Dungeness crab washed ashore on Kalaloch Beach this summer... fishers have shared stories about hoisting up dead or suffocating crabs in their pots. Now, scientists are working to understand how climate change is affecting Dungeness crab, which is both culturally significant and a pillar of Washington’s seafood industry.

Welcoming Herring Home
In Howe Sound, British Columbia, a new generation of stewards is keeping careful tabs on the comeback efforts of a tiny fish with big cultural value.

The “Brazil of the North” Grapples with Cutting its Old Growth Forests
British Columbia’s government proudly announced this past week that logging of old-growth forests in the province, once nicknamed “Brazil of the north” for its vast clearcuts, has declined to a record low in the past six years. Not low enough, critics responded.

Who’s Driving Climate Change? New Data Catalogs 72,000 Polluters and Counting
A nonprofit backed by Al Gore and other big environmental donors says it can track emissions down to individual power plants, oil fields and cargo ships.

B.C. hasn’t taken $50 million federal offer for old-growth forest protections
Ottawa’s offer to fund the protection of B.C.’s vanishing old-growth forests is a ‘game-changer,’ but so far the provincial government hasn’t made a matching commitment.

Feds resume study of restoring grizzlies to North Cascades
The National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said they would jointly prepare an environmental impact statement on restoring the endangered bears to the North Cascades ecosystem.

The Intensifying Push to Build a Fraser Delta Superport
Critics warn of harm to vital biodiversity. But the backer is making new promises and deals, winning over First Nations.

Friday, November 4, 2022

Salish Sea News Week in Review November 4 2022

Aloha King Tut Friday!
King Tut Day celebrates the day that King Tut's tomb was discovered in Egypt's Valley of the Kings by British archaeologist Howard Carter, on November 4, 1922. King Tut, whose full name was Tutankhamun, was the 12th pharaoh of the 18th Egyptian dynasty, and reigned from roughly 1332 to 1323 BCE, assuming power at the age of nine. His original name was Tutankhaten, which means "the living image of Aten," but he changed it to Tutankhamun after assuming the throne, which means "the living image of Amun." In Egyptian mythology "Aten" was the sun disk god.

Has this iconic Northwest tree reached a tipping point?
Diebacks have felled countless trees throughout the region but, according to emerging research, perhaps never so prominently among Western red cedars or in such noticeable concentrations west of the Cascades.

B.C. permanently bans use of rat poison
The province of B.C. has decided to make a temporary ban on the use of rat poison permanent.

Indigenous people of the ‘Salmon Seas’ sign proclamation at Woodland Park Zoo
Dozens of Indigenous knowledge keepers, leaders and fishers from around the Salish Sea, Southeast Alaska and the Sea of Okhotsk gathered at the zoo over the weekend. They shared ancestral knowledge, ceremony and strategies to protect salmon and the people who have cared for them since time immemorial.

State announces its official recommendation for future of Capitol Lake
The state’s Department of Enterprise Services will recommend allowing Capitol Lake to revert to an estuary, its final Environmental Impact Statement for Capitol Lake says.

Emails Reveal a Key Forestry Regulation Is ‘Out of Whack’
B.C.’s cornerstone forest regulation, the annual allowable cut, sets out how many trees can be cut down each year with the intent of sustaining the industry for years to come. But a legal loophole can allow companies to log beyond the limit for years with no repercussions.

Seals and sea lions vex Washington tribes as Marine Mammal Protection Act turns 50
50 years ago, President Nixon signed the Marine Mammal Protection Act into law. The act has been hugely successful in restoring the abundance of the marine species it protects. But some say it’s too successful.

B.C. says old-growth logging has reached record lows as critics call for greater transparency
The B.C. government says old-growth logging has reached record lows, but one conservationist is decrying a lack of transparency from the province.

Have you read the Salish Current?
Independent, fact based news for Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties. Free to read, free from ads. Catch the Current here.

Friday, October 28, 2022

Salish Sea News Week in Review October 28 2022

Aloha Lemur Friday!
World Lemur Day celebrates lemurs and spreads the word about the need to conserve them; it inspires a love for them and actions to save them from extinction. It also celebrates Madagascar, the island nation located 250 miles off the east coast of Africa that lemurs call home. Events are held around the world on the day, in person and virtually. World Lemur Day takes place on the last Friday of October, and the World Lemur Festival takes place during the weeks surrounding it.

Through Pacific Northwest drought and downpour, what will happen to the salmon?
...After Western Washington saw the driest June to October on record, several storms were slated to soak the region beginning Friday. It’s a welcome sight for many, including fish stuck downstream. But it comes at the risk of scouring eggs already laid in vulnerable places throughout the Northwest.

These Island gems are among B.C.’s seven biodiversity hot spots
They’re called “key biodiversity areas,” and seven swaths of land across British Columbia — including Tofino’s mudflats, the Trial Islands and Fort Rodd Hill — now have that international designation, which is meant to prevent the decimation of wild animal and plant species before it’s too late.

Canada is 'weaving' Indigenous science into environmental policy-making
Myrle Ballard is the first director of Environment and Climate Change Canada's new division of Indigenous Science, a role in which she's tasked with raising awareness of Indigenous science within the department and helping the government find ways to integrate it into its policies.

Recycling plastic is practically impossible — and the problem is getting worse
The vast majority of plastic that people put into recycling bins is headed to landfills, or worse, according to a report from Greenpeace on the state of plastic recycling in the U.S.

Rare spotted owls released into protected habitat in 1st stage of recovery program
The effort to revive one of Canada's most endangered species has taken flight. There is only one known northern spotted owl in the wild, according to the B.C. government — but three birds released into a protected habitat in B.C.'s Fraser Canyon on Friday bring the total to four.

How oil and gas lobbyists build ‘very close relationships’ with politicians and governments
The relationship between governments and the fossil fuel industry in Canada is under the spotlight again after a high-profile staffer jumped straight from the Alberta premier’s office to one of the country’s most powerful oil and gas companies.

BC's 'most endangered' Fraser River in dire need of protection: report
‘Eden in our midst’: Outdoor Recreation Council of B.C. calls for urgent action to protect section of the river between Hope and Mission that faces threats from industry and climate change.

'Forever chemicals' detected in almost all U.S. waterways
The new study, published last week by the Waterkeeper Alliance Initiative and Cyclopure, found that 83% of waterways in the United States are contaminated with PFAS, including several rivers and lakes in Washington.

Court halts DNR timber sales in Jefferson County
Superior Court Judge Keith Harper ruled Wednesday in favor of plaintiffs Center for Sustainable Economy and Save the Olympic Peninsula who argued Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had violated the state Environmental Policy Act by failing to consider the impacts of climate change from two timber sales in the county.

Friday, October 21, 2022

Salish Sea News Week in Review October 21 2022

Aloha Apple Friday!
Apple Day is mainly celebrated in the United Kingdom, where it was started. Common Ground, a group dedicated to building strong communities, strengthening local distinctiveness, and connecting people with nature and each other, held the first Apple Day in 1990, at Covent Garden in London, England. Their goal was to create an autumn holiday that would not only be celebrated in London, but also in other cities, villages, parishes, markets, and even orchards. They wanted to demonstrate the richness and diversity of apples, but also the diversity of landscape, ecology, and culture as a whole.

The Clean Water Act at 50: Big Successes, More to Be Done
Sparked by the 1970s environmental movement, the Clean Water Act — which marks its 50th anniversary this month — transformed America’s polluted rivers. The Delaware, once an industrial cesspool, is one of the success stories, but its urban stretches remain a work in progress.

The Trans Mountain Boondoggle: Taxpayers Lose Billions, Oil Companies Win
A new analysis confirms the pipeline expansion makes no economic sense and taxpayers will subsidize Big Oil.

RCMP Spending on Pipeline Conflict Reaches $25 Million
As Coastal GasLink begins drilling under the Morice River, police presence on Wet’suwet’en territory appears to be on the rise.

It’s ludicrous’: Coastal GasLink pushes its pipeline under a Wet’suwet’en river while salmon are spawning
Coastal GasLink is drilling under the Wedzin Kwa (Morice River) as spawning salmon lay their eggs throughout the river system.

Carbon auctions will bring WA more money than predicted. Transportation could benefit
The cornerstone of the 2021 Climate Commitment Act, the new carbon “cap and invest” program requires the state’s largest emitters to either reduce their emissions or purchase carbon allowances at auction if they exceed a set limit.

Big ships transiting North Puget Sound asked to slow down, quiet down for orcas
Big ships entering and leaving Puget Sound will be asked to temporarily slow down to reduce underwater noise this fall.

Scientists confirm newborn endangered orca is a female
Scientists were celebrating Wednesday after determining that K-45, the southern resident killer whale calf born in April, is a female.

Metro Vancouver's last remaining glacier is disappearing fast
Metro Vancouver's last surviving glacier, a source of local fresh water, will disappear in less than 30 years, according to local scientists.

What killed these giant fish?
A dozen white sturgeon died recently in a B.C. river. No one knows what killed them. Georgie Smyth reports.

Have you read the Salish Current?
Independent, fact based news for Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties. Free to read, free from ads. Catch the Current here.

Friday, October 14, 2022

Salish Sea News Week in Review October 14 2022

Aloha Winnie-the-Pooh Friday!
On this day in 1926 Winnie-the-Pooh made his literary debut. The popular children’s book character was created by British author A.A. Milne and first appeared in a collection of short stories called Winnie-the-Pooh. Winnie, a teddy bear, lives in Ashdown Forest, Sussex, England. The book followed his adventures in the forest with his friends Piglet, Owl, Rabbit, and Eeyore.

Why the country’s largest shellfish farm is struggling to hire and retain workers
It used to be that [Taylor Shellfish] could fill a job opening within a few weeks. Now, amid a remarkably tight labor market, that process can take four months.

Historic drought behind B.C. wildfires, salmon die off could continue, experts say
Thousands of dead fish, a prolonged wildfire season and intense water shortages leading to ice rink closures are all symptoms of record-setting drought in parts of British Columbia. The Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast and West Vancouver Island areas are experiencing Level 5 drought conditions — the most severe in the province's classification scale.

Conservation concerns cancel Alaska’s Bering snow, king crab seasons
Alaska officials have canceled the fall Bristol Bay red king crab harvest, and in a first-ever move, also scuttled the winter harvest of smaller snow crab. The move is a double whammy to a fleet from Alaska, Washington and Oregon pursuing Bering Sea crab in harvests that as recently as 2016 grossed $280 million.

West Coast gray whale population continues to decline but scientists remain cautiously optimistic
U.S. researchers say the number of gray whales off western North America has continued to fall over the last two years, a decline that resembles previous population swings over the past several decades.

Seattle’s record-setting warm and dry weather is both random and a dress rehearsal, experts say
Seattle’s identity has been synonymous with drizzle, moss and the angsty grunge music and compulsive coffee drinking that’s fueled by its notoriously damp, gray weather. But this year’s summer and start of fall are threatening to wring those traits from the city’s long-held character.

Puget Sound salmon habitat restored with tribes leading the way
Reconnecting estuaries — the place where fresh and salt water meet — is an effort largely led by Washington’s tribes and backed by local and state leaders... At 353 acres, the Port of Everett’s Blue Heron Slough restoration project is among the largest along the Puget Sound.

We need to talk about B.C.’s drought
In the depths of this record-breaking B.C. drought, pretty much everyone I know is tormented by two opposing sentiments: 1) Overwhelming joy at the endless summer we’re having and 2) A growing sense of anxiety about how nearly three months with no rain in much of B.C. is impacting, well, all other living things.

Groups working to remove thousands of tires from Puget Sound
The Washington Scuba Alliance (WSA) has teamed up with Coastal Sensing and Survey to locate 500,000 tires that were put underwater in Puget Sounds and Hood Canal in the 70s to create fish habitat. The organization said a recent study revealed the decomposing tires are poisoning sea life including Coho salmon.

Friday, October 7, 2022

Salish Sea News Week in Review October 7 2022

Aloha Smile Friday!
World Smile Day is dedicated to the smiley face, which was created by Harvey Ball in 1963. He also came up with the idea for World Smile Day, which was first held in 1999, two years before his death. Following his death, the Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation was created, with the slogan "improving the world, one smile at a time". The foundation's goal in raising awareness for World Smile Day is to "encourage smiles and acts of kindness around the world."

U.S. Supreme Court takes on Clean Water Act in Idaho couple’s case
A challenge to The Clean Water Act comes in the form of Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, a case that will be heard by the Supreme Court on Monday, the first day of the court’s new term.

Final federal report on saving salmon calls for removing Snake River dams
The final draft of a federal report on rebuilding salmon and steelhead populations in the Pacific Northwest includes a call for removing the four Lower Snake River dams, among other actions.

Logging industry targeted B.C. old-growth forests for more than a century, SFU study finds
Ken Lertzman's paper shows between 1860 and 2016, 87 per cent of logging took place in old-growth forests.

B.C. government in court Tuesday to face inadequate climate plan allegations
The lawsuit — filed by Ecojustice on behalf of Sierra Club B.C. — alleges the government’s plan for the 2025, 2040 and 2050 climate targets is inadequate, and leaves out details on how it plans to cut carbon pollution from the oil and gas sector.

The complicated truth about pipelines crossing Wet’suwet’en territory
Alberta-based energy giant TC Energy frequently points to its agreements with 20 First Nations along the route of the Coastal GasLink pipeline. This is true, but look a little deeper and it's a lot more complex.

Low water levels caused by drought preventing salmon from spawning
Persistent dry conditions have left salmon populations struggling with low water levels and higher temperatures in streams where they typically spawn.

Report: Aging orca taken from Puget Sound fighting chronic infection at Miami Seaquarium
Ongoing medical issues may further hinder efforts to return an orca that was captured and sold to an aquarium in Florida, back home to Washington state.

Eleanor Stopps Award presented
Environmental advocate Lorna Smith was recognized for decades of conservation work Wednesday when she was given the 2022 Eleanor Stopps Environmental Leadership Award during a Port Townsend Marine Science Center ceremony at Fort Worden.

B.C. premier signs new climate agreement with U.S. governors
B.C.'s premier and governors from the western United States have signed a memorandum agreement on climate approaches for the Pacific region.

Buttigieg wades into Northwest salmon transportation
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg paid a visit Thursday afternoon to Carey Creek, a tributary of Issaquah Creek that is an ancient migration route for now-threatened salmon. Standing under smoky skies with Democratic politicians, he announced that the first $196 million of a $1 billion fish-passage fund.