Salish Sea Communications

Friday, March 22, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review March 22 2024

Aloha Seal Friday!
Pinnipeds, commonly known as seals, are a widely distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammals. They comprise the extant families Odobenidae, Otariidae, and Phocidae, with 34 extant species and more than 50 extinct species described from fossils. (Wikipedia)

Alaska lawsuit claims feds owe state $700B for quashing mine
A complaint filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims is part of a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn the EPA decision barring development of the controversial mine.

How one river in south Puget Sound tells the story of salmon’s plight
Carving his boat through the the river, Willie Frank III, chairman of the Nisqually Tribe, called out nearby bald eagles over the roar of the motor. “My grandfather Willie Frank Sr. used to say the Nisqually Indians lived in paradise before the white man came,” he said Thursday morning. “We still live in paradise. We’ve just got to protect it, restore it and bring it back to life.”

Orcas seen attacking other whales may be new population, according to UBC researchers
After observing a group of killer whales hunting other marine mammals off the coastline in California and Oregon, UBC researchers think that a new population of orcas may exist.

B.C. officials warn of early, 'challenging' wildfire season
Government and wildfire officials in British Columbia are warning that the province could see an early and active spring wildfire season due to persistent drought conditions that have left soil parched and snowpack levels low.

Herring fishery is wrapping up around Vancouver Island
The annual herring spawn is wrapping up this year and it appears “pretty encouraging” on the west coast of Vancouver Island and in the Strait of Georgia. This year’s total catch for herring for the entire coast has been set at 9,251 tonnes, up somewhat from the previous year. Carla Wilson reports.

Salmon-spilling company ends fight to resume farming at Puget Sound sites
The company behind a massive spill of Atlantic salmon in 2017 has thrown in the towel on its efforts to keep farming fish at two sites in Puget Sound. Cooke Aquaculture withdrew its appeal Friday of a 2022 Washington Department of Natural Resources order to shut down its floating farms off Bainbridge Island, just west of Seattle, and Hope Island in Skagit County.

$34B Trans Mountain expansion pipeline begins filling with oil with first shipments before Canada Day
The odyssey of developing and building the Trans Mountain expansion project in Western Canada is finally nearing the finishing line as sections of the pipeline begin filling with oil. The project will transport oil from Alberta to the West Coast and triple the amount of crude that is shipped on an existing pipeline, from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 bpd.

Climate change is bringing earlier springs, but it's wreaking havoc on animals
With Canada coming out of its warmest winter on record, some may be enjoying the signs of spring that are showing up much earlier this year: plants beginning to pop up out of the ground, the earlier calls of robins or migrating birds or even just the warmer and sunnier days. But this isn't good news for the natural world.

Agencies release final environmental impact statement evaluating options for restoring grizzly bears to the North Cascades
The National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have announced a preferred alternative that would restore grizzlies to their historic homelands, where they are functionally extinct.

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

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Friday, March 15, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review March 15 2024

Aloha Ides of March Friday
The Roman calendar, which dates back to 753 BCE, had three fixed points throughout the month: Nones, Ides, and Kalends. Ides took place around the midpoint of each month, occurring on the 13th or 15th. In March it took place on the 15th. The Ides of March is most remembered as being the anniversary of the day that Julius Caesar was assassinated, in 44 BCE. It is believed that a seer had warned Caesar that harm would come to him on the Ides of March. In William Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar, the seer has ascribed the phrase "Beware the Ides of March." Caesar was stabbed to death at a meeting of the Senate at the Theatre of Pompey.

Removing WA salmon barriers surges to $1M a day, but results are murky
Washington, rushing to meet a court deadline in a tribal fishing rights lawsuit, spends billions on construction, but some of it may be useless for salmon today.

Sea otter's return opened path to restore West Coast salt marsh
The multi-decadal study, carried out in central California, could hold lessons for British Columbia, whose sea otter population was nearly exterminated through decades of poaching.

Flurry of mini earthquakes off Vancouver Island hints at undersea expansion
Swarms of mini earthquakes along tectonic plates five kilometres underwater on the Pacific Ocean floor off the coast of Vancouver Island have caught the attention of ocean scientists because they point to an “impending magmatic rupture” on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, 240 km from Vancouver Island.

Companies to pay for Duwamish salmon, wildlife habitat restoration
Several industrial businesses have agreed to pay for the harm they caused to natural resources in the lower Duwamish River as part of two proposed settlements announced in recent days.

As the Northwest spring arrives, so do anxieties over water for farming, and summer wildfires
Across the Northwest, federal, state and regional officials are in general accord, there isn’t enough snow and with the start of spring just days away, the next couple of weeks will determine just how challenging it could get this summer for agricultural irrigators, fish and wildfires.

A New Surge in Power Use Is Threatening U.S. Climate Goals
Over the past year, electric utilities have nearly doubled their forecasts of how much additional power they’ll need by 2028 as they confront an unexpected explosion in the number of data centers, an abrupt resurgence in manufacturing driven by new federal laws, and millions of electric vehicles being plugged in.

Province seeks input on plan to protect Clayoquot Sound
The province is seeking public input on proposals to establish 77,000 hectares of protected, old-growth forest around Clayoquot Sound — about 70 per cent of which is more than 250 years old.

The world’s largest ‘dark sky sanctuary’ is now in Oregon
A section of southeastern Oregon is now home to the largest “dark sky sanctuary” in the world. The area spans 2.5 million acres of Lake County. It was certified this month by DarkSky International, a U.S.-based nonprofit that aims to reduce light pollution.

Friday, March 8, 2024

Salish Sea Mews Week in Review March 8 2024

Aloha International Women's Day!

International Women's Day commemorates the movement for women's rights and celebrates the political, cultural, social, and economic achievements of women. It is also a day to continue fighting for gender equality: for equal pay and work opportunities for women, and for equality in access to education and healthcare worldwide. It is also a day to work to eradicate violence against women. It is celebrated around the world and supported by various groups. Small and large gatherings and conferences take place. It is a day of celebration, but also a day of taking new initiatives and action.

Washington’s first state park in nearly 40 years is closer to completion
The development of Nisqually State Park outside Eatonville has been in the works for nearly four decades and is expected to be fully completed by next summer. It’s the first time a local tribe, the Nisqually Tribe, has been made a serious partner in the development of a new park.

‘They’ve destroyed the land’: Illegal dumping on BC farmland
It’s against the law to dump construction material on land reserved for farming but its increasingly being used as a cheaper alternative to authorized sites, which can charge more than $1,000 a load.

Long-term forecast predicts increased forest fire activity in Oregon and Washington’s dampest areas
Hotter and more intense fires are likely coming to the Pacific Northwest’s cooler and wetter forests. That’s from new research led by an Oregon State University scientist.

Can Marine Mammals and Munitions Coexist?
As the humpback whale population rebounds in an area of the Salish Sea used for military weapons training, scientists raise concerns. andrea bennett reports.

B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman won't seek re-election
Heyman will endorse former Vancouver councillor Andrea Reimer to seek NDP nomination.

Sanmar embarks on construction of world’s first methanol-fueled escort tugs
The new tugs will service Canada’s Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP), escorting tankers from the harbour limits of the Port of Vancouver to the open Pacific Ocean through the commercial shipping lanes of the Salish Sea.

U.S. hydropower output drops to 20-year low as Northwest snowpack shrinks
Washington hydropower fell 23% in “water year 2023”— the 12-month period from October 2022 to September 2023. In Oregon, the next-biggest hydro producer, it fell 22%.

Friday, March 1, 2024

Salish Sea Mews Week in Review March 1 2024

Aloha Pig Friday!
National Pig Day honors the domesticated pig. According to Mary Lynne Rave, who started National Pig Day with her sister Ellen Stanley in 1972, the purpose of the day is "to accord to the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place as one of man's most intellectual and domesticated animals." Pigs are from the Suidae family of mammals; species include wild boars, warthogs, the pygmy hog, and the domesticated pig—the species focused on today. Pigs were one of the first domesticated animals, leaving their wild roots about 6,000 years ago in China. They were first brought to the New World by Hernando de Soto, in 1539.

New Columbia Basin plan promises $1B for fish restoration and a break from court cases
This agreement, combined with other funding, will bring more than $1 billion to wild fish restoration and a 10-year break from court cases, according to the Biden administration.

Chinook Indian Nation land claim settlement awarded, nation could be closer to federal recognition
The federal government awarded over half a million dollars to the Chinook Indian Nation to settle the nation’s long-running land claim.

BC Urged to ‘Completely Change Its Approach to Firefighting’
A 14-member government-appointed expert task force is expected to report soon with recommendations on improving emergency preparedness and response. Premier David Eby says the province is already acting on the task force’s preliminary recommendations.

New ferries will carry more people, use green technology
B.C. Ferries is unveiling plans for new major vessels that feature more space for passengers and vehicles and greener technology. Up to seven new major vessels will join the fleet, with the first set to arrive in 2029.

B.C. First Nation sues federal government over ban on herring spawn fishery
The Heiltsuk Nation claims the federal fisheries minister's decision to close the commercial harvest of herring spawn-on-kelp in the nation's territory was an infringement of its Aboriginal rights.

Trans Mountain's latest cost estimate climbs 10%, regulatory filing shows
According to a regulatory filing Trans Mountain Corp. provided to the Canada Energy Regulator on Monday, the company building the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion now estimates the project's costs will come in 10 per cent higher than its May 2023 estimate of $30.9 billion.

Gray whales return to Salish Sea as population struggles
Each year in the late winter, a small group of gray whales will detour from their usual 5,000-mile migration between the southern tip of California and the Bering Sea near Alaska to make a stop in the Salish Sea.

Oil spilled by Fraser River sturgeon habitat. Why did it take almost 3 months to start cleaning up?
A landslide in early December caused a spill that First Nations leaders say endangers prime sturgeon habitat in the Fraser River. They’re left wondering why it’s taken so long to address.

BC wildfire: Expect early, intense battle as drought lingers
A drought that has lingered across much of B.C. since the fall of 2022 could be a harbinger of a “grim” wildfire season.

Friday, February 23, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 23 2024

Aloha Skip the Straw Friday!
The Coral Keepers, a group of nine eighth grade students at Whitehall Middle School in Whitehall, Michigan, founded National Skip the Straw Day with their advisor, Susan Tate, in 2017, "to encourage Americans to give up the straw habit and help spread awareness about the damage caused by disposable plastics." National Skip the Straw Day encourages people to switch to renewable straws or to forgo straws altogether when drinking on the day—or on any day.

Oregon classifies orca whales as endangered
Oregon’s Fish and Wildlife Commission has decided to add a group of whales that forage along the Oregon Coast to the state’s endangered species list.

Puyallup Tribe celebrates as Electron Hydro is ordered to remove temporary rock dam
District Court Judge John C. Coughenour ruled that energy company Electron Hydro must remove part of a temporary rock wall at the Electron Dam site.

Snohomish County partners with feds on North Cascades grizzly plan
Last week, the Snohomish County Council approved a memorandum of understanding between the county’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

Cleanup at Rayonier site still years away
The years’ long cleanup process at the old Rayonier mill site on the Port Angeles waterfront is moving forward but is likely at least another eight years from being completed.

Supreme Court will hear challenge to EPA's 'good neighbor' rule that limits pollution
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in an important environmental case that centers on the obligation to be a "good neighbor." At the heart of the dispute is the part of the Clean Air Act designed to help protect people from severe health problems they face because of pollution that floats downwind from neighboring states.

How an endangered hawk could topple plans for WA’s largest wind farm
More than 100 of the turbines, which could stand taller than the Space Needle, might pose a danger to a little-known and endangered species in the Tri-Cities area: the ferruginous hawk.

Feds secure surrender of last oil and gas permits off B.C. coast
Canada has secured the surrender of the last remaining permits for oil and gas development off its Pacific Coast, the federal natural resources minister said on Wednesday, after Chevron Canada voluntarily relinquished 23 permits as of Feb. 9.

NDP Hits Brakes on Land Act Reconciliation Plan
Facing public backlash encouraged by opposition parties, the B.C. government has cancelled planned changes to the Land Act, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Nathan Cullen said Wednesday.

The 50th anniversary of the Boldt Decision is a celebration of Native leadership
A landmark lawsuit reaffirmed treaty fishing rights after decades of intertribal activism, inspired by the civil rights movement.

Friday, February 16, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 16, 2024

Aloha Kyoto Protocol Friday!
Kyoto Protocol Day honors the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. The day takes place on February 16, on the anniversary of the date that the Kyoto Protocol took effect in 2005. The protocol has been ratified by 191 countries and the European Union. It was signed by the United States, but not ratified, and they dropped out of the protocol in 2001. After initially participating, Canada has since withdrawn from the protocol.

World temperatures go above 1.5 C warming for a year: EU scientists
The average temperature for the past 12 months was 1.52 C above pre-industrial times, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

What do ‘clean’ and ‘green’ actually mean? Canadian watchdog receives complaints about environmental claims by Shell, RBC, Enbridge
The list of companies whose marketing is being accused of deceiving Canadians about their environmental commitments continues to grow.

They started building a bulkhead for a new home on Hood Canal. Then the feds found out
A judge ruled the structure was built in Hood Canal without a proper permit, and now the homeowner faces a $250,000 fine.

Many birds are named for enslavers, colonizers and white supremacists. That’s about to change
Black birdwatchers on the practice’s racist history, the move to rename North America’s feathered species and other changes needed to make birding inclusive.

First Nations group criticizes federal fisheries department
An Indigenous-led group is criticizing what it says is the "gross mismanagement" of aquaculture in British Columbia by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, as it calls for a separation of its regulatory and promotional responsibilities.

PFAS in Washington’s well water could make you sick
‘Forever chemicals’ linked to ailments from high cholesterol to cancer are in our clearest aquifers — but steep costs pose cleanup challenges.

Sea Change: How and When Washington’s Catch Ebbs and Flows
From smelt to sea cucumbers, the seafood we take from Northwest waters is ever-changing.

Rays of hope for kelp and climate in south Salish Sea
Some pockets of bull kelp vital for sea life off southern Vancouver Island and B.C.’s Gulf Islands are proving to be resilient to rising sea temperatures and marine heat waves, a new University of Victoria study has found.

Whidbey diver-turned-citizen scientist provides ongoing data
Longtime Whidbey diver Jan Kocian has circled the island exploring the marine environment. It looks a lot different than it used to, he said. “That diversity is gone,” he said. “It’s unfortunately in every location on the island. The diving is not even close to what it used to be. I know I sound like an old guy.”

Friday, February 9, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 9 2024

Aloha Bob Marley Friday!
Robert Nesta Marley OM (b. Feb. 9, 1945) was a Jamaican reggae singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of the genre, his music fused elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady, and he was renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style.

Record number of Bigg’s Killer Whales sightings in 2023
More than 1,400 Bigg’s Killer Whales sightings were reported in the Salish Sea in 2023, according to the Orca Behaviour Institute. This number surpasses the 2022 record by about 200 sightings, the institute says, and contributes to an eight-fold increase in sightings from 10 years ago.

WA’s snowpack languishes with little hope for the months ahead
Snowpack across the entire state sits below normal levels, in some places less than half what an average winter might bring. “It’s worse than I expected,” state climatologist Nick Bond said.

Out of gas: Inslee’s oil transparency bill stalls in Legislature
The bill was a top climate priority for the governor this session but critics questioned the cost and whether the state could keep sensitive corporate data safe from hackers.

Energy company is back in court for endangering fish on the Puyallup River
Electron Hydro and its CEO last year agreed to pay more than a million dollars in fines for their illegal use of artificial turf in the Puyallup River four years ago. On Tuesday, Electron Hydro’s owners will be back in court – this time in a suit brought by the Puyallup Tribe under the Endangered Species Act.

B.C. groups request review of tire chemical linked to salmon deaths
Peter Ross, senior scientist at Raincoast Conservation Foundation, says the mystery of coho dying in urban waterways had persisted for years, until a 2020 study uncovered the role of a particular chemical used in tire rubber.

Environmental groups celebrate court ruling as a win for at-risk birds in B.C. and beyond
Court case was launched against backdrop of old growth logging protests on Vancouver Island.

Loggerhead sea turtle found at Pedder Bay
The turtle, typically found much farther south, was rushed to the Vancouver Aquarium suffering from hypothermia.

Thousands of Chinook wasted as bycatch in B.C. fishery, new report finds
Nearly 30,000 Chinook salmon were wasted as bycatch in the Canadian trawl fishery, which was targeting hake and walleye pollock, a new report from Canadian fisheries officials found.

UW's Burke Museum working with Native tribes to repatriate Indigenous artifacts
Museums across Washington state may no longer display some Native artifacts without permission under a new federal rule.