Environment

Did you feel it?

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A 3.1 earthquake occurred at 9:00 p.m. Tuesday night 9 miles NNW (331°) from Friday Harbor. More information can be found on the USGS web page for this incident.

Coal train derails in Pasco, 31 cars spill coal

Environment

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A 125-car coal train with four locomotives carrying coal from Wyoming to Delta, British Columbia derailed in eastern Washington according to the Idaho Press Tribune. Thirty-one cars spilled, one was put back on track, the rest will be salvaged. The full story can be read Idaho Press Tribune.

The New York Times has an article about the increased risk of train derailments due to coal dust on rail lines.

These stories are relevant to the San Juan Islands because of plans for the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point, the largest coal export facility in North America. If constructed, each year 450 ships will travel through the straits enroute to Asia. More information is available on http://www.coaltrainfacts.org/key-facts.

Ecology WCC crews collect 70 pickup loads of coastal marine debris

Environment

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210-tsunamic-pallet

OLYMPIA – Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) crews were sent out last week to clean up increased amounts of marine debris along 57 miles of coastal beaches in southwest Washington. They collected enough material to fill the beds of 70 pickup trucks.

Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 2012 introduced

Environment

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(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Congressman Norm Dicks (D, WA-06) introduced the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 2012, which would create 126,000 acres of new wilderness in Olympic National Forest, in the Senate and House of Representatives Wednesday, June 20, 2012.

The legislation would protect several key forest areas and rivers while preserving local jobs and access to outdoor recreation opportunities.

Ecology submits 2010 Marine Water Quality Assessment to EPA

Environment

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The state The Department of Ecology (Ecology) submitted the 2010 Marine Water Quality Assessment and Candidate 303(d) List to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) via a letter dated Dec. 28, 2011. EPA subsequently requested additional information before it could complete the formal review and approval of the 2010 Assessment.

View county shorelines in 70s, 90s, 2001 and 2006

Environment

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Wonder what shoreline property looked like in the 1970s? Check out the shoreline photos on the Department of Ecology's Coastal Atlas web pages and view photos of the same property in the 1970s, 1990s, 2001 and 2006.

Funding for Land and Water Conservation Fund dropped from bill

Environment

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A provision, passed in the U.S. Senate, to provide funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was dropped from the final Surface Transportation reauthorization bill.

LWCF does not use taxpayer dollars. Instead, it uses funds generated by the depletion of one public resource – oil and gas royalties from the Outer Continental Shelf – to protect the nation's public lands. Although the fund is authorized to receive up to $900 million per year, Congress has routinely diverted LWCF funds for other uses.

Larsen Introduces Bill to Protect Green Mountain Lookout in Glacier Peak Wilderness

Environment

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WASHINGTON—U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, introduced legislation to save the Green Mountain Forest Fire Lookout in the Glacier Peak Wilderness.

Expanded derelict vessel program catches them before they sink

Environment

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This winter, one island owner of three stored derelict boats sink in Friday Harbor in less than two months. Debris, fuel and chemicals went into the water and the cleanup cost the public more than $21,000.

World Ocean Day June 8: Support of Law of the Sea Treaty encouraged

Environment

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Saturday, June 8 is the 4th official World Ocean Day, UNESCO (The United Nations body for ocean science, ocean observatories, ocean data and information exchange, and ocean services), officially designated June 8 as the day in 2009.

An action many would like to see is ratification by the United States of the Law of the Sea treaty. 162 countries have signed and/or ratified LOST including China, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The Europeon Union has signed the treaty.

Seadoc Society got Mojo going

Environment

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mojo PRESS RELEASE: If you’re Joe “MacGyver” Gaydos, a traffic cone makes a perfect anesthesia mask for doping down a 255 pound rehabilitated Stellar Sea Lion.

Last week, Gaydos, director and chief scientist of the SeaDoc Society, provided anesthesia and vet care as Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and the Department of Fish and Wildlife prepared to release Mojo, a young Steller sea lion pup found last February, stranded and emaciated on a beach on Washington’s outer coast.

Environment

Did you feel it?

Coal train derails in Pasco, 31 cars spill coal

Ecology WCC crews collect 70 pickup loads of coastal marine debris

Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 2012 introduced

Ecology submits 2010 Marine Water Quality Assessment to EPA

View county shorelines in 70s, 90s, 2001 and 2006

Funding for Land and Water Conservation Fund dropped from bill

Larsen Introduces Bill to Protect Green Mountain Lookout in Glacier Peak Wilderness

Expanded derelict vessel program catches them before they sink

World Ocean Day June 8: Support of Law of the Sea Treaty encouraged

Seadoc Society got Mojo going

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