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New Report Card Gets an A+ (Puget Sound Partnership blog)
An important online tool for gauging the progress of
Puget Sound recovery just got a brand new look. Over the past few months, Puget
Sound Partnership staff have been redesigning the Action Agenda Report Card,
which tracks the progress and funding of hundreds of activities carried out
across the Puget Sound region by our many partners. More than 350 such
activities, called Near Term Actions, or NTAs, are included in the 2016 Puget
Sound Action Agenda and tracked in the Report Card.
To read more >>
Bill to help the restoration efforts of Puget Sound
Partnership passes the House (Suburban Times)
Rep. Dick Muri’s, proposal to help the on-going efforts
of the Puget Sound Partnership was approved by the House today. The
Partnership’s mission is to oversee the environmental restoration of the Puget
Sound. Muri’s bill would make an adjustment to their reporting requirements….
Muri’s bill changes the frequency of the report from every two years, to four
years. By reducing the frequency of the updates, the proposal would help free
up the Puget Sound Partnership’s resources.
To read more >>
After 90 years, salmon are returning to upper Sultan
River (Everett Herald)
It’s not often that a project intended to restore salmon
habitat gets results quickly. But in the case of the Sultan River diversion
dam, it only took a month. In June, the Snohomish County Public Utility
District undertook a project to remove the dam’s sluiceway, a steep concrete
slide to channel the flow of the river. It was part of an agreement among the
PUD, the Tulalip Tribes, the cities of Everett and Sultan, and state and
federal agencies to improve fish passage.
To read more >>
Fisheries minister to announce protection for ancient
glass sponge reefs (CBC News)
Federal Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc is expected to
announce today a long-awaited Marine Protected Area for Canada's rare glass
sponge reefs, found on the B.C. coast. The kind of glass sponge found in B.C.
was thought to have died off 40 million years ago, before the discovery of
fragile living reefs in Hecate Strait, near Haida Gwaii, in 1987…. A Marine
Protected Area is a zone in the ocean designated by the Department of Fisheries
and Oceans with tighter regulations, meant to conserve and protect something
endangered, unique or ecologically important.
To read more >>
World Heritage Site designation sought for Saanich
Peninsula's Salish Sea (Peninsula News Review)
Long-time B.C. resident Laurie Gourlay nominated the
Salish Sea for consideration as a World Heritage Site for many reasons, which
he referenced to wearethesalishsea.eco. “It talks about 7,500 kilometres of
coastline, 3,000 species in the Salish Sea … and then there’s 113 threatened
species, including glass sponge, reefs and the like and they are some of the
oldest and most unique species on the planet, right here in the Salish Sea,”
said Gourlay, the director of the Salish Sea Trust. The application went into
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
at the end of January.
To read more >>
At the mouth of the Elwha River, Washington state's
newest sandy beach (Seattle Times)
High overhead, a new forest rises where just five years
ago there was a lake. The former Lake Aldwell is but a memory as the Elwha
River and forest reclaim their place. Already, thick terraces of gray sediment
along the river, rinsed down by the Elwha, are thick with alder trees. Animal
tracks mark fresh winter snow: Raccoons have been out exploring, the prints of
their front paws a telltale of their passing. The river pushes fast downstream,
alive with blues and green, and clear enough to see its cobbled bottom. The
sediment that choked it gray is long gone, stacked now on the banks, layered on
the bottom, and rinsed out to sea.
To read more >>
Where did the beach go? El Niño eroded Washington at
record levels (Tacoma News Tribune)
Beaches along Washington’s coast eroded at a record pace
during the 2015-16 El Niño season. That’s the conclusion of a study released
Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. U.S. Geological Survey scientists
and their colleagues say the most recent El Niño climate event was one of the
most powerful in the past 145 years.
To read more >>
Push continues to save 1,600 acres on Blanchard Mountain
from logging (Bellingham Herald)
A state trust land exchange could be used to protect all
of a 1,600-acre piece of Blanchard Mountain in Skagit County from being logged.
That’s what state Reps. Jeff Morris, D-Mount Vernon, and Kris Lytton,
D-Anacortes, said during a telephone town hall recently as they updated callers
on the issue, which has generated great interest because the mountain draws
hikers, mountain bikers, hang-gliders and horseback riders. Popular recreation
areas within those 1,600 acres include Oyster Dome, a beloved trail with
breathtaking views at the top that take in Samish Bay, the San Juan Islands,
Skagit Valley and Georgia Strait.
To read more >>
Training opportunities coming up for Beach Watcher
program (Peninsula Daily News)
Craig Wollam and Rick Albright walked the beach at low
tide, using flashlights to point out bright-orange sea cucumbers, Christmas
anemones and other critters. They were among the volunteers at Olympic Beach on
a recent night to illuminate sea life for anyone curious enough to show up...
The two retirees could scarcely have arrived from more differing career paths.
Yet here they were, with a single purpose to promote understanding and
stewardship for Puget Sound.
To read more >>
Plant-A-Thon sets record as volunteers place 6,500 trees,
shrubs (Peninsula Daily News)
Volunteers planted a record 6,500 trees and shrubs in one
day during the 11th Northwest Watershed Institute Plant-A-Thon at the Tarboo
Wildlife Preserve. The 140 volunteers from five East Jefferson County schools
worked to restore salmon and wildlife habitat by planting 2,500 native trees
and installing 4,000 live stakes of willow and other native shrubs along Tarboo
Creek on Feb. 4, said Jude Rubin, director of stewardship and public
involvement for the Northwest Watershed Institute (NWI).
To read more >>
Indian Island Navy base cutting air pollution (Kitsap
Sun)
The Indian Island naval base is easing up on air
pollution. The small base near Port Hadlock — known officially as Naval
Magazine Indian Island — is replacing big diesel generators with a new system
linked to the local power grid. The generators are used to power visiting
submarines and other vessels. The nearly $5 million project will be finished in
June. Drawing power from the Jefferson County Public Utility District will cost
more, but noise and air pollution will be reduced.
To read more >>
Oil spill fund shrinks as tanker traffic grows (Kitsap
Sun)
State oil spill responders have a shrinking budget to
deal with a growing problem. A newly approved British Columbia pipeline project
is expected to greatly increase oil tanker and barge traffic in the Strait of
Juan de Fuca and the north edge of Puget Sound. Yet the state Department of
Ecology oil spill response program is facing a $4 million shortfall over the
next two years. Bills in the Legislature aim to fill the funding gap with a tax
increase on oil shipments and an expansion of the tax to include oil
transported through pipelines.
To read more >>
Salish Sea Citizens Stand on Capitol Hill in Olympia
(Orcas Issues)
On Monday, February 13, 200 people from the San Juan
Islands and greater Salish Sea region attended a rally at the Washington State
Capitol in Olympia to show support for the Oil Transportation Safety Bills
(House Bill 1611/Senate Bill 5462)…. Rally attendees carried 86 life-size
posters of orca fins — one for each living member of J, K and L pods, including
Lolita in captivity and the 7 lost in 2016. An oil spill is one of the biggest
threats to the endangered Southern Resident orcas.
To read more >>
Banned chemicals persist in deep ocean (BBC News)
Chemicals banned in the 1970s have been found in the
deepest reaches of the Pacific Ocean, a new study shows. Scientists were
surprised by the relatively high concentrations of pollutants like PCBs and
PBDEs in deep sea ecosystems. Used widely during much of the 20th Century,
these chemicals were later found to be toxic and to build up in the
environment. The results are published in the journal Nature Ecology and
Evolution.
To read more >>
Two-for-one executive order on regulations headed for
showdown (Kitsap Sun | Watching Our Water Ways blog)
The Environmental Protection Agency is moving forward to
protect people’s health from toxic chemicals, despite an executive order from
President Trump that requires two existing regulations to be repealed for every
new regulation approved. On Tuesday, the EPA will hold a public hearing to help
develop rules for controlling the use of 10 chemicals evaluated under the
revised Toxic Substances Control Act.
To read more >>
Forage fish beach protections might need a boost (Kitsap
Sun)
Shoreline protections for a small but critical fish
species are not nearly big enough, according to a recent assessment by state
wildlife managers. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is proposing to
quadruple the beach occupancy standard for surf smelt, a forage fish species
that serves as a key food source for salmon and other marine animals. The beach
occupancy standard is used to identify stretches of shoreline that need to be
protected during the construction of bulkheads, piers, docks and other
shoreline structures.
To read more >>
Set free: Fish slushies revive sickened Tacoma gulls
(Tacoma News Tribune)
Whatever paralyzed and sickened sea gulls at the Port of
Tacoma in January wasn’t necessarily fatal. Sixteen of the sea gulls survived
the malady — the cause of which still remains a mystery — and were released
Tuesday afternoon near the Puyallup River in Tacoma.
To read more >>
Mariner's guide to B.C. whales urges ship captains to
slow down (CBC News)
The number one piece of advice for ship captains looking
to reduce the risk of whale collisions? Slow down. That's according to a new
industry handbook, the Mariner's Guide to Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises of
Western Canada, which aims to reduce the impact of B.C.'s shipping industry on
marine wildlife.
To read more >>
Disappearing Seagrass Protects Against Pathogens, Even
Climate Change, Scientists Find (New York Times)
Every continent save Antarctica is ringed by vast
stretches of seagrass, underwater prairies that together cover an area roughly
equal to California. Seagrass meadows, among the most endangered ecosystems on
Earth, play an outsize role in the health of the oceans. They shelter important
fish species, filter pollutants from seawater, and lock up huge amounts of
atmosphere-warming carbon. The plants also fight disease, it turns out. A team
of scientists reported on Thursday that seagrasses can purge pathogens from the
ocean that threaten humans and coral reefs alike.
To read more >>
Port to plant eelgrass gardens off Tsawwassen ferry
terminal (Vancouver Sun)
The Port of Vancouver is proposing to plant vast gardens
of eelgrass on the ocean floor this year to benefit marine life ranging from
fish to crabs near the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. The project would create a
total of four hectares of eelgrass habitat on the southeast side of the
terminal at two ocean-bottom sites that were formerly dredged. Documents posted
on the province’s Environmental Assessment Office website show that a perimeter
berm would be created with riprap rock extending up to three metres above the
existing seafloor to protect the eelgrass.
To read more >>
Skagit County at center of restoration effort for marine
snail (Skagit Valley Herald)
Among the shellfish in the state’s marine waters is the
pinto abalone, a species once found on dinner plates. The pinto abalone is the
only marine snail native to the Salish Sea, according to the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration. After decades of population decline due to
overharvesting, it is getting some help from a group working to restore the
species. That restoration effort is largely being done in Skagit County.
To read more >>
Washington state can spend $1.9 million now, or $100
million later on these invaders (Bellingham Herald | Guest Opinion)
As a state legislator for nearly two decades, I spent a
significant amount of time working on complex water issues. It was rare that
there was ever a single solution that could solve two problems at once. Today,
however, there is a bill in front of the state Legislature that could provide
both economic development and environmental benefits. Aquatic invasive species
are threatening our waterways and have the potential to cost Washington state
taxpayers their access to clean water and millions of dollars in lost revenue
by causing irreparable harm to our lakes, rivers and the Salish Sea.
To read more >>
Clean Samish Initiative partners discuss progress (Skagit
Valley Herald)
Clean Samish Initiative partners discussed Tuesday the
progress that’s been made on improving water quality in the Samish watershed.
Still, officials said more work remains. They also said they are hopeful that
Samish Bay can be upgraded to allow for shellfish harvesting this year.
To read more >>
Crippled treatment plant continues to dump raw sewage
into Puget Sound (Seattle Times)
King County is dumping raw wastewater including sewage
into Puget Sound at the rate of 50 million gallons a day as its damaged West
Point Treatment Plant limps at half capacity during heavy rain. The untreated
effluent, about 90 percent stormwater and 10 percent raw sewage, is being
dumped from an emergency outfall pipe a few hundred feet offshore in water
about 50 feet deep at West Point, said Doug Williams, King County spokesman.
The emergency bypass will continue as long as the plant off Discovery Park in
Magnolia can’t manage heavy flows resulting from rain that is more than three
times that of a typical February. Rain is expected through the week.
To read more >>
See also:
Officials say damage to sewage plant in Discovery Park is catastrophic (Seattle Times)
Power outage leads to 330,000 gallons of storm water, wastewater being pumped into Puget Sound (KOMO News)
Floodwater caused extensive damage to West Point sewage plant (KIRO 7 News)
Seattle sewage plant could take weeks to fix (King 5 News)
Another storm forces more wastewater into Puget Sound (Q13 Fox)
Second Seattle sewage spill heading to Kitsap (Kitsap Sun)
Where does Seattle coffee go after it's poured
down the drain? (KIRO)
Seattle is world-renowned for its coffee-craving,
latte-loving culture, but the caffeine millions consume doesn't disappear with
the morning's last sip of java. Some ends up being consumed by fish -- and
other marine life. Research shows that's where the caffeine takes on a
"second life," flowing in the waters of Puget Sound.
To read more >>
Jefferson County seeks funds for Port Hadlock wastewater
system (Peninsula Daily News)
Jefferson County is struggling to find funds for the Port
Hadlock wastewater system as officials aim to keep the system affordable for
residents of the Irondale and Port Hadlock urban growth area. The waste water
system is expected to cost $45.2 million, according to Monte Reinders, director
of the county Public Works Department.
To read more >>
Petition seeks to revoke Department of Ecology’s
clean-water authority (Kitsap Sun | Watching Our Water Ways blog)
Citing pollution problems in Puget Sound, an
environmental group is asking the Environmental Protection Agency to revoke
Washington state’s authority to enforce the federal Clean Water Act. Northwest
Environmental Advocates, based in Portland, says a review of 103 discharge
permits issued by the Washington Department of Ecology shows a failure to
control nitrogen pollution. Excess nitrogen reduces oxygen levels in the water
and triggers algae blooms, resulting in serious problems in Puget Sound, according
to a petition submitted to the EPA.
To read more >>
With thousands seeking to build rural homes, will
Legislature cut off water for fish? (Investigate West)
Zach Nutting throws a stick. His two big black dogs
streak after it into the trees on the five-acre lot he purchased in August.
Nutting expected to be building a five-bedroom house here by now. He needs it –
a place to accommodate his family, which with a baby due soon is about to
outgrow his current two-bedroom house a few miles down the road. But for now,
all he can do is bring the dogs out here…. It’s all because Nutting can’t get
permission to drill a water well.
To read more >>
Audio: What’s the deal with well water in Washington?
(Washington State Wire)
Drilling a “permit-exempt” well in Washington became a
lot more complicated last October after a state Supreme Court ruled that under
the Growth Management Act, it’s the county and not the state department of
ecology, that determines whether there’s enough water to issue a permit.
To read more >>
Save Tacoma Water files initiative petition to remove
section from city code that they say allows for special contracts with large
water users (Tacoma News Tribune)
A water protection group filed an initiative petition
Tuesday seeking to delete from the city code a section that they worry allows
Tacoma Public Utilities to give special contracts and rates to large water
users. Save Tacoma Water said their initiative would end water utility special
service contracts. “Those customers using large amounts of fresh water daily
from the city of Tacoma will have water rates equal to all other large water
users,” the initiative states.
To read more >>
A Blob in the Ocean Means More Ozone in the Air (OPB/EarthFix)
Remember the warm weather we had in 2014 and 2015?
University of Washington professor Dan Jaffe says that was caused by a
meteorological phenomenon known as “The Blob.” “The Blob was a region of really
unusual warm water that was sitting off the coast of Washington and Oregon,” he
explains. That blob had a surprising effect: it increased air pollution across
the West. To read more >>
Scientists have just detected a major change to the
Earth’s oceans linked to a warming climate (Washington Post)
A large research synthesis, published in one of the
world’s most influential scientific journals, has detected a decline in the
amount of dissolved oxygen in oceans around the world — a long-predicted result
of climate change that could have severe consequences for marine organisms if
it continues. The paper, published Wednesday in the journal Nature by
oceanographer Sunke Schmidtko and two colleagues from the GEOMAR Helmholtz
Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany, found a decline of more than 2
percent in ocean oxygen content worldwide between 1960 and 2010.
To read more >>
Congress Protects Coasts From Climate Change With Mud
(Climate Central)
As California reels from record-breaking erosion
following punishing waves last winter, the federal government is turning to mud
and sand from dredging projects to slow land losses and ease flooding
nationwide as seas rise and storms intensify. ... The loss of shoreline-building
sediment is coinciding with an increase in the rate at which seas are rising,
making it harder for marshes and other coastal ecosystems to stay above water.
To read more >>
King County's dams safe? Officials plan to launch
review (Seattle Times)
The unfolding crisis at California’s Oroville Dam is
prompting local officials to take a closer look at dams in King County. King
County Councilmember Reagan Dunn is calling for a detailed analysis of existing
evacuation plans, as well as a review of the risks of dam failure caused by
heavy storms and earthquakes…. According to King County’s Regional Hazard
Mitigation Plan, there are 122 dams in the county that hold at least 10
acre-feet of water. The four with the potential to cause countywide emergencies
if they fail are: Howard Hanson Dam on the Green River; Tolt River Dam, above
Carnation; Masonry Dam on the Cedar River; and Mud Mountain Dam on the White
River.
To read more >>
Utility district says Culmback Dam and spillway are safe
(Everett Herald)
The water level at Spada Lake Reservoir has risen 21 feet
in the past month due to heavy rains.... The lake’s elevation, 1,431 feet, is
now 19 feet below the level of the Culmback Dam’s spillway. The dam is safe and
unlikely to experience a disaster similar to what’s been happening in northern
California, according to the Snohomish County Public Utility District.... The
PUD’s Culmback Dam is an earth-filled dam with a clay core that sits in a
narrow canyon of the Sultan River, about 17.5 miles upstream of the city of Sultan
and the Skykomish River. The PUD has put in place several safeguards to help
prevent a catastrophe.
To read more >>
Dam Experts Say Maintenance, Oversight Stretched
Nationwide (NW News Network)
Northwest residents are surrounded by thousands of dams,
some in disrepair. And now the emergency at California’s Oroville Dam has
sharpened interest in dam safety. In King County, Washington, this week,
officials are reevaluating their downstream evacuation plans. Washington state
watches more than 1,000 big, non-federal dams. Of those, just 427 dams with
significant populations downstream, are inspected every five years.
To read more >>
Mukilteo ferry terminal construction coming soon (King 5
News)
Changes are on the way for the Mukilteo ferry terminal.
The ferry route sees more than four million riders a year. It is the ferry
system's busiest route for vehicle traffic. Ridership is only expected to
increase, and the terminal has not had significant improvements since the early
1980s. The plan is to build a new ferry terminal one-third of a mile east of
the existing terminal.
To read more >>
A classroom as big as all outdoors (Kitsap Sun)
At Orcas Island Forest School, preschool students dig in
the dirt with sticks, climb trees and make their own see-saws out of fallen
logs. Classes are conducted entirely outdoors, rain or shine.The school is one
of about 40 nature-based preschools in the state, and the movement is growing,
according to educators who recently testified before the state Senate Early
Learning and K-12 Education Committee.
To read more >>
BC: Fishermen to fight feds over expected ban near Hecate
Strait reefs Rick Eagland reports.
(Vancouver Sun)
Canada’s largest commercial fishermen’s organization says it
will fight the federal government over its expected decision to ban fishing
near fragile glass-sponge reefs in B.C.’s Hecate Strait.... McIsaac said the new marine-protected area rules will put fishermen
out of work or send them elsewhere, while driving up seafood prices for
consumers.
To read more >>
Fishermen will get first glimpse of 2017 salmon returns
at Feb. 28 meeting (The Olympian)
Anglers will get a preview of this year’s fisheries when
preliminary salmon returns are released at a public meeting Feb. 28 in Olympia.
The initial forecasts, compiled by state and tribal biologists, will be used to
negotiate the 2017 salmon fishing seasons for recreational, commercial and
tribal fishermen.... Recreational anglers will be carefully watching the
negotiations after last year’s talks failed to result in agreement in time for
fisheries to begin on schedule.
To read more >>
Olympic Discovery Trail section in Port Angeles being
redesigned (Peninsula Daily News)
A nearly 2-mile portion of the Olympic Discovery Trail
that links central Port Angeles with the heavily residential west side is being
redesigned so that pedestrians, bicyclists and residents with disabilities can
more easily wend their way along the route. The Port Angeles City Council last
week unanimously approved a $229,000 contract with Zenovic & Associates of
Port Angeles that begins the process of renovating Port Angeles’ final piece of
urban trail along the ODT’s eventual 126-mile route from Port Townsend to La
Push.
To read more >>
Oil-backed climate skeptic could get key EPA job in
Pacific Northwest (The Oregonian)
The man interested in the job of protecting the
Northwest's air and water under President Donald Trump makes quick work of some
bedrock tenets of the modern-day environmental movement. The scientific
consensus on human-caused climate change? "There definitely could be an
impact from humans on climate," said Washington state Sen. Doug Ericksen.
"Is it as big as people say? We'll find out." The environmental
campaign to keep oil in the ground? "Not a realistic thing to talk
about." The work of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency? It raises
"the cost of operations so high that too many businesses are closing and
too few new businesses are opening up."
To read more >>
State Rep. Richard DeBolt Honored With Capitol Land Trust
Award (The Chronicle)
State Rep. Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis, has received an
award from the Capitol Land Trust for his collaborative legislation to help
restore the land and waters near the Pacific Coast. DeBolt received the honor along with fellow
Rep. Steven Tharinger, D-Sequim, for efforts to pass an $11.2 million
Washington Coast Restoration Initiative during the last legislative biennium, a
press release said.... The Washington Coast Restoration Initiative helps
restore forests, water quality and wildlife habitat while ensuring sustainable
natural resource jobs in the future, the release said.
To read more >>
How is the Puget Sound ecosystem doing?
The 2015 State of the Sound reports on the current state of the ecosystem and the status of regional recovery actions. Learn more at www.psp.wa.gov/sos.
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