Watching Our Water Ways

Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research has announced that the newest killer whale calf, designated J-46, should be known as “Star,” because the young animal has garnered so much attention.

This newborn calf could become a poster child in the effort to save the Southern Residents from extinction.

Ken’s naming announcement came as a surprise to me, because he rarely uses names for our local orcas. Like most killer whale researchers, Ken and other staffers at the Center for Whale Research generally call the whales by the alpha-numeric system set up by researchers many years ago.
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The photo below, titled “Quiet Waters” by Michele Lewis of Kingston, won the People’s Choice Award at a recent photo contest sponsored by Stillwaters Environmental Center near Kingston. The photo, taken at a pond along Hansville Road, was chosen to adorn the cover of the first Stillwaters Calendar, a fund-raiser for the nonprofit organization. To view and order the calendar, visit the MagCloud Web site.

The calendar also features the photos of other winners of the photo contest: Brandy Dickinson of Port Orchard in the beginner category; Kathy Henry of Kingston and Teresa Heather of Poulsbo, both winners in the amateur category; Bonnie Block of Kingston in the talented amateur category; and Paula Suter of Poulsbo in the professional category.

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I often play a guessing game that involves rainfall and streamflows: Are we getting the right amount of rain to help our salmon, or are the rains causing streamflows to be too high or too low?

A coho salmon tries to leap into a culvert against the rushing water in a stream above Wildcat Lake Kitsap Sun photo by Meegan M. Reid

It is easy to come up with an answer when we’ve had hardly any rain. The streams are running low; salmon are ready to swim upstream; and fish in the stream are obviously struggling through shallow water. We’ve seen this kind of condition in early fall during many recent years.

When can we say we’ve had enough rain? Well, certainly when a wide variety of streams and rivers are flooding over their banks. But because of the complexity of natural systems, there may never be a “just right” level for salmon.

I was up above Wildcat Lake in Central Kitsap yesterday, discussing the conditions with Jon Oleyar, a biologist for the Suquamish Tribe. Thanks to recent rains, coho salmon are well distributed throughout the Chico Creek watershed, which includes Wildcat Lake.
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NASA reported last week that data from its Oct. 9 moon mission demonstrates the presence of water on the surface of the moon. See LCROSS pages and/or LCROSS video.

NASA photo

I realized immediately that this discovery of water was both good news and bad news. On the good side, we’ll have something to drink when we take our vacations on the moon. The request “shaken, not stirred” will have real utility. On the bad side, we won’t be allowed to use any of this water until legal water rights are worked out. Based on our experience in Washington state, that will never happen.

Soon after NASA’s announcement, speculation about the political and business implications of moon water began to hit the news services.
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It seems like $4.6 million is a lot of money for removing abandoned fishing nets from the waters of Puget Sound. But I bet most people would agree that it would be great to get rid of 90 percent of the nets still submerged and killing marine life.

Twila Dawn Captain Steve Sigo (right) and First Mate Aaron Leschi (left) help diver Jake Johnston suit up for his dive at Apple Tree Cove near Kingston on Thursday, when the crew brought up an abandoned fishing net.
Kitsap Sun photo by Meegan M. Reid

Kitsap Sun reporter Tara Garcia Mathewson was on a boat Thursday, watching divers bring up a net in Apple Tree Cove near Kingston. See the story she wrote for today’s Kitsap Sun as well as a video.

Ray Frederick of Kitsap Poggie Club first informed me about “ghost nets” more than a decade ago. At the time, officials were just becoming aware about how much damage the nets can do. But, when it came to money, it wasn’t a high priority. State officials were reluctant to allow volunteers to do much, in part because they worried about people’s safety, or so they said. There also seemed to be a concern about using robotic equipment to yank up the nets, because it could harm sea life and undersea habitat where the nets were wrapped around rocks.

Now, with federal stimulus dollars, professional divers are on the job with a goal of removing 3,000 nets before the end of next year. If I’ve done the math correctly, we’re talking about a little more than $1,500 for each net.

For perspective on the history, see stories I wrote for the Kitsap Sun in May of 2000 and in June of 2002.

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I updated the story about the new newborn killer whale calf for Friday’s Kitsap Sun with some last minute information from conservation biologist Fred Felleman, who spent a good part of Thursday afternoon with J and K pods.

A newborn killer whale calf, designated J-46, was photographed Thursday afternoon while swimming with its mother, J-28, south of Whidbey Island and west of Hansville
Photo courtesy of Fred Felleman

Here’s the new information from the story:

“It was a spectacular encounter,” Felleman said. “They were spread out on both sides of the (Possession) Bank, running north and south.”

“I got a cute shot of the calf riding behind mom’s dorsal fin,” Felleman said, noting that the calf’s grandmother, J-17 or Princess Angeline, stayed between the calf and the boat the whole time. “It was a magical day.”

“Surfing? Really?” I asked Fred. I could picture in my mind the big wave from the freighter, but I couldn’t quite imagine what the whales were doing. Fred said he would send me pictures to share with readers of Water Ways.

Here are three of the pictures he sent, beginning with one of the ship:

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I received word tonight from Orca Network that a new calf has been born in J Pod. I’ve written the following story for tomorrow’s Kitsap Sun:

New orca calf born in J Pod.
Photo by Jeanne Hyde

A newborn killer whale calf has been reported in J Pod, one of the three pods that frequent the Salish Sea, which includes Puget Sound.

This birth brings the population of J Pod to 27 and the total for all three pods to 87.
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This appears to be J-28’s first baby. See Center for Whale Research.

For some first-hand accounts of the exciting discovery, check blogs by Jeanne Hyde and Monika Wieland.

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The “common cold” is not what it used to be — or maybe I’m not what I used to be. Does anybody think our viruses today are more hostile?

In any case, a bout with some kind of respiratory bug has knocked me back about five days. I would call it the flu, except that I didn’t have much of a fever.

So now I find myself with a backlog of news stories that I had planned to discuss with you all. Since time doesn’t stop, there will be more stories tomorrow and the day after that.

So I’ll mention some of the interesting stories from the past week and offer you a chance to comment on any of these things. If something provokes your interest or concern, I’ll be happy to moderate or join the conversation.

Fuel spill at PSNS (Thursday)

Last Thursday, 500 gallons of jet fuel spilled from the USS Abraham Lincoln. Fortunately, the ship had been preboomed, so the spill was contained and did not spread out across the harbor.

I covered the first news story on this spill, and I still have some questions, but I haven’t been back to work long enough to get them answered. For example, I have always been told that you shouldn’t preboom highly volatile liquids, such as gasoline and kerosene, for fear they could catch fire. Has something changed about this idea? (I know one boom was already in place, which is now a standard Navy precaution. But they added another.)

Salmon migration (Sunday)

Sunday’s Kitsap Sun featured my annual story encouraging people to go out and watch chum salmon migrating upstream. As usual, the package included a map of local streams (interactive map for online viewers) and tips for watching the fish without disturbing them.

Wherever you live, you may be interested to know how the runs are shaping up, which I covered in a general way. Chum are doing quite well, but not like the records of the recent past. Pinks were amazing. Coho are coming in large, but their abundance varies by location.

Ueland gravel operation (Monday)

Reporter Derek Sheppard filled in well for me on a story I have been following for a couple of years. I’m talking about the public hearing to decide whether a gravel mine, rock quarry and possible concrete batch plant should be built west of Kitsap Lake. There are a lot of issues involved, including traffic on Northlake Way and water quality and quantity going into Chico Creek. The hearing was continued to Dec. 10, so there will be more discussion.

Gravel zoning in Jefferson County (Tuesday)

The Washington State Court of Appeals agreed that the Jefferson County commissioners acted properly in zoning 690 acres in East Jefferson as a “mineral resources land overlay.” Here’s a question: I had understood that the zoning was a prerequisite to the proposed pit-to-pier project, whether or not the zoning stood by itself. But the appeals court ruling states, “(the) future project is not dependent on the proposed action.” If someone would clarify for me, that would be great.

Brown pelican removed from endangered list (today)

I’m not sure how many people check the “Water, Water Everywhere” list at the top of this blog for stories, research and government actions, but I link to a lot of stuff there that I don’t have time to address in detail. Such was the case today with the nationwide de-listing of the brown pelican. Go to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service news release as well as an L.A. Times story.

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I’d like to share with you some captivating music that I first discovered on You Tube. Click over to the video now, then read on if you’d like to hear more about this impressive musician.

After being enthralled by this and other videos, I e-mailed the musician, Robert Tiso, who lives in Italy. It turns out that he has studied the “glass harp” as seriously as any classical musician trying to reach perfection.

Robert was born in 1968 in London and has moved between England and Italy in pursuit of his music. At age 15, he got his start playing classical guitar and later studied under Paolo Marzocchi, learning about composition — including harmony, counterpoint and orchestral arrangement.

“The idea to start playing the glass harp came in year 2000 after attending a performance held by glass harp virtuoso Petr Spatina in Prague,” Robert wrote in an e-mail. “From him, I got not only inspiration and enthusiasm but also understood the potential possibilities of this instrument — although its origins are antique and well documented.”

Robert dedicated two solid years to researching and experimenting with the instrument. In 2002, he created his first professional glass harp and continued to master his skills.

“Many attempts are necessary, because nobody teaches this form of art,” he said.

For the past seven years, the musician has been called on to play in many venues — theaters, auditoriums, musical and art festivals, television and radio programs, rock and pop bands, wine festivals, private parties and more.

On Tuesday of last week, he played for the UNICEF water conference in Switzerland. UNICEF is working to build clean water systems in third-world countries.

People seem to love the musical glasses, since they add a touch of watery class to many situations, he says.

Film producer Michael Lawrence included one of Robert’s videos in his new “Bach Project,” which will be released in January. Listen to the cut on You Tube.

Robert has collaborated with Paolo Marzocchi on many projects, including the soundtrack for the movie “The Shadow Within” and the opera “Lucia di Lammermoor.”

In March, he is scheduled to perform at the opening ceremony of the Phaeno water exhibition in Wolfsburg, Germany.

For other videos, check out Robert’s Web site on You Tube. One may also purchase his CD, “Crystal Symphony,” on the site CDBaby.

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Washington departments of Ecology and Agriculture are reissuing a warning that first came out in March of 2008 regarding metal canisters washing up on ocean beaches.

Canisters found on ocean beaches may contain dangerous aluminum phosphide.
Department of Ecology photo

The canisters are the type that often contain aluminum phosphide, a chemical that turns into poisonous phospine gas when exposed to moisture. This gas is commonly used to kill insects and other pests on cargo ships.

The problem comes about if someone finds one of these canisters with the lid still on. If the person then opens the canister, he or she may breathe the residual phosphine gas.

I’m not sure anyone can predict potential exposures, because it would depend on the amount of aluminum phosphide or phosphine in the canister. But I found the following info in medical management guidelines issued by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry:

“Phosphine is a respiratory tract irritant that attacks primarily the cardiovascular and respiratory systems causing peripheral vascular collapse, cardiac arrest and failure, and pulmonary edema.”

In other words, this stuff is nothing to mess around with. Lots of folks walk the ocean beaches in winter. If you find a canister like this, keep the lid on and alert authorities.

“We asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop a model that would give us a better idea where these canisters might be coming from,” said Dale Jensen, Ecology’s spills program manager in a news release. “The results strongly indicate the likely source is the cargo ships exporting bulk grain to Pacific Rim nations. These ships are loading grain at terminals on the Columbia River as well as Grays Harbor, Puget Sound and British Columbia.”

Cliff Weed, manager of pesticide compliance for the Washington State Department of Agriculture, added, “Our goal is to raise awareness that these canisters must be properly handled and disposed of – whether the vessel is outbound from a Washington port or a foreign ship inbound with cargo. This will help ensure the canisters stay out of our waters, off our beaches and protect the public.

For information, check Ecology’s Web page on the aluminum phosphide.

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