Watching Our Water Ways

Killer whales from J and K pods were spotted by quite a number of North Kitsap residents this morning, according to reports by Orca Network.

The first report of the day came from a ferry captain, who reported the whales heading north from Edmonds about 9:45 a.m.

About 11:30 a.m., a Kingston resident reported several groups of whales off Kingston and passing close to the ferry. Shortly after noon, another Kingston resident told of orcas foraging off Apple Tree Point and generally heading north.

By early afternoon, the orcas were spotted by residents off Eglon, then off Point No Point. Some folks noticed a boat traveling with them.

The boat was a NOAA research vessel driven by Brad Hanson with Scott Veirs and Marla Holt on board, according to the Orca Network report. The researchers reported that the whales traveled north toward Whidbey Island until about 2:45, when they turned southeast toward Possession Bar. As darkness fell, the whales were headed up into Possession Sound.

The researchers reported that they were able to get several fecal samples and fish scales, which will be used to determine what kind of fish the animals are eating at this time of year.

“Who knows where they will show up tomorrow?” wonder Susan Berta and Howard Garrett, who operate Orca Network.

Yesterday, the whales followed a similar pattern during the day, starting near Kingston, though they moved around the tip of the Kitsap Peninsula, where they were seen off Foulweather Bluff before heading toward Marrowstone Island.

Here’s Susan’s and Howard’s detailed report from yesterday:

After receiving a call that orcas were heading north into Admiralty Inlet, we set out for the west side of Whidbey to try to find the whales from land. We found them at 12:55 pm from Double Bluff, SW Whidbey. We were able to see spouts south of Pt. No Point, N. Kitsap Peninsula, heading north…

By 1 pm they were off the Pt. No Point Lighthouse. We traveled to N. Mutiny Bay for a better viewpoint, and watched them from 1:30 pm, heading north past Skunk Bay/Hansville, the leaders reaching Foulweather Bluff at around 2:10 pm.

We went up to Bush Pt, at 2:40 the whales were south of S. Marrowstone Island, heading north, as a Navy sub and escorts passed by going south. By 3:40 pm they were off Ft. Flagler, continuing north. We went to Lagoon Pt, finding the whales at 3:53 pm directly off Lagoon Pt, and a bit closer to the Whidbey side, with a few direction changes and foraging. They were off the Ft. Flagler Lighthouse by 4:08 pm, spread out across the channel. We left at 4:20 pm as they continued north.

Orcas from K pod and sometimes J pod seem to be staying around this area between Whidbey and North Kitsap for several days now. My guess is that the orcas must be finding an adequate number of chum salmon to eat. Like Susan and Howie, I wonder where they will show up tomorrow.

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This week, I thought we’d take a look at some water-related time-lapse photography. While this type of video is not really humorous, I find this stuff fascinating. Folks at People for Puget Sound got me started on the idea when they pointed out an amazing underwater video by the BBC. We’ll get to the BBC video later, but I wanted to start off by watching the flow of a stream in the video below.

The time-lapse project is by Kevin Bell of New Hampshire. The shots were taken at the Nashua River in his state and at the Willard Brook State Forest in Massachusetts. The still shots were from the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. The music is by Explosions In The Sky, from Texas.

When I visited the Chesapeake Bay region a few years ago to seek out similarities and differences to Puget Sound, I learned about the importance of oysters to the bay’s ecosystem. This time-lapse video by Chesapeake Bay Foundation shows how quickly algae can be taken up by native oysters in a controlled experiment.

This summer, Kitsap’s own Dale Ireland shot a cool video of Hood Canal, showing tidal changes, cloud movement and smoke coming out of the Dosewallips Valley during a forest fire. It also happened to be the hottest day on record for the area.

Finally, here’s the BBC video. A warning for the squeamish: The video includes the decomposition of a dead seal.

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On the wall of her home, Diane Fox of Bremerton displays this photo of the Bremerton waterfront in 1942, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the previous Dec. 7. Family friend George Wraith took the shot, which shows searchlights from the Navy shipyard scanning Bremerton’s skies for signs of enemy aircraft.

In memory of Pearl Harbor, Kitsap Sun reporters Ed Friedrich and Derek Sheppard, intern Tara Garcia-Mathewson and other staffers produced an impressive package of stories, pictures and videos — including interviews with 12 local survivors of the attack and an interactive map showing where their ships were located.

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UPDATE, Monday, Dec. 7, 2:30 p.m.

Our gray whale is still hanging around. I just came from the Manette Bridge, where I saw the animal mid-channel off the end of the Turner Joy.
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A gray whale has been observed in Bremerton’s Port Washington Narrows the last two days, and Joanne Jenks of Manette thinks it is the same whale she has seen about this time almost every year.

“This whale is having a love affair with the Turner Joy,” she tells me.

As I write this, folks at the Boatshed restaurant say they have been watching the whale much of the morning.

If past visits are any indication, the animal will stay in the area for at least a week. The Boatshed or shoreline on the Manette side, or off the end of the Turner Joy on the downtown side, would seem like good places to watch when the whale is milling around its favorite location.

The Manette Bridge is another good observation point, though you won’t be able to hear the whale blow if there is traffic on the bridge.

I’ve tried to find out if whale researchers have photos that could tell us if this whale is the same one that has been here before. It requires spotting some unusual markings on the animal, and a picture of the fluke (tail) can be helpful. So far, they’ve been unable to find photos from past years that are good enough for ID.

Here’s the story I prepared for today’s Kitsap Sun:

Read the rest of this entry »

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I’ve always wondered why our natural resource agencies have such widely varying regional boundaries. If anyone knows the history of these various regions, please let me know.

Gov. Chris Gregoire yesterday announced a reorganization of the state’s natural resource agencies. While consolidation of entire agencies was taken off the table, plans are moving forward to consolidate the regions and possibly regional offices of multiple agencies. See my story in today’s Kitsap Sun.

We’ll talk more about the new Natural Resources Cabinet and other elements of the reorganization in the future. For now, take a look at the regional boundaries for our three major resource agencies:

Department of Ecology: Kitsap County is in the Northwest Region, along with King, Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom, Island and San Juan counties. The regional office is located in Bellevue.

Department of Fish and Wildlife: Kitsap County is in Region 6, along with Pierce, Thurston, Mason, Jefferson, Clallam, Grays Harbor and Pacific counties. The regional headquarters is in Montesano, on the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Department of Natural Resources: Kitsap County is in the South Puget Sound Region, along with King, Pierce and Mason counties and portions of Snohomish and Lewis counties. The headquarters is in Enumclaw, northwest of Mount Rainier.

It won’t be as easy as one might think to fight tradition and create a new uniform set of regions for all three agencies. But times have changed, and these particular regions may not work as well as when they were originally set up. I’m fairly certain that agency heads will start with agreed principles for setting the boundaries, considering population, travel time, ecological functions and other things.

Should they be divided along county lines, as most are now, or maybe along watersheds or so-called “eco-regions”?

I like the idea of creating regional headquarters in the same place for all agencies, so that various staffs could work in concert. Because of the cost of construction, the agencies might not be housed in the same buildings at first, but putting regional staffers in the same town or city would be a good start.

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It’s a pretty good bet that the Washington State Supreme Court will take another shot at deciding when a city or county Critical Areas Ordinance applies to shorelines.

Two conflicting state Court of Appeals decisions have each talked about the uncertainty brought about by the high court’s failure to muster a majority to spell out what happens when a county has updated its shoreline buffers and other regulations through a Critical Areas Ordinance.

The court seems to have determined that local shoreline regulations should be approved through the Shorelines Management Act, not the Growth Management Act. The real question now is whether approved Critical Areas Ordinances can be used until the shoreline updates are complete.

A letter from the Washington State Attorney General’s Office lends support to the idea that some counties may keep using their Critical Areas Ordinance for shorelines, at least temporarily. See my story in Saturday’s Kitsap Sun.

I wrote about this issue when state Rep. Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard and Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda, wrote letters questioning the “guidance” given to counties by the Washington state departments of Ecology and Commerce. See Kitsap Sun story from Nov. 2.

So far, the Supreme Court has not announced whether it will accept an appeal of the Kitsap County case for review. But it’s hard to imagine, given all the different opinions flying around, that the court wouldn’t want to direct the traffic.

You may wish to read the letters:

Letter from Attorney General Rob McKenna (PDF 3.1 mb)

Joint Letter from Ecology Director Ted Sturdevant and Commerce Director Rogers Weed (PDF 118 kb)

Original letter from Angel and Kretz (PDF 172 mb)

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Coffee. I’d hate to think what my morning would be like without it. So here’s a sampling of quotes, jokes, cartoons and special merchandise.

The video at right is actually an interactive game of sorts, in which someone uses a mouse to click on all the coffee selections for you. If you would like to play yourself, go to “Bean Me” on Garfield.com.

Coffee quotes

David Letterman: “If it wasn’t for coffee, I’d have no discernible personality at all.”

T. S. Elliot: “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.”

Abraham Lincoln: “If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. But if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.”

Nancy Astor: “If I were your wife, I would put poison in your coffee.”
Sir Winston Churchill: “And if I were your husband, I would drink it.”

—– Thanks to Surfer Sam for quotes

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This is a quick note to remind readers that I maintain four linkable lists that focus on news, research findings, government actions and upcoming events, all related to water. You can access these lists by clicking on your choice under “Water, Water Everywhere” above (next to my picture).

I try to choose only items of general interest, although I take into account that readers of this blog don’t shy away from technical issues. Lately, some of the research findings have been especially interesting, and you may want to browse the research list. Just so you know, I take these items from a variety of sources — including Science Daily, which does an excellent job of keeping up with a wide variety of research.

By the way, I’m thinking about using a Twitter account that would post regular entries from “Watching Our Water Ways” along with additions to “Water, Water Everywhere.” In other words, it would be another way for readers to reach this blog, but it might not add new information, at least at the outset. Would anyone be interested in following WaterWatching if I fire up the Twitter account?

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I recall a day in February of 2003 when Al Adams, Neil Werner and several others involved in the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group called me to Belfair to unveil their vision for a Pacific Northwest Salmon Center.

They had been thinking about it for years, but it was time to bring their dream out into the open and try to raise $18 million to build a 40,000-square-foot building, including an exhibit hall, classrooms, computer lab, research facilities, museum and a small theater. Check out my first story on the salmon center and initial fund-raising efforts.

Raising that amount of money has proven difficult, but the salmon center was able to acquire enough funds to secure its own property adjacent to the Theler wetlands in Belfair. Buildings at the old Jack Johnson farm have been or are being remodeled to accommodate the basic idea for the center, and managers have plans for expansion as time goes on. See my story in last Sunday’s Kitsap Sun.

Future expansion may be limited by provisions added to Mason County’s zoning code, which affect educational facilities located on agriculturally zoned land. But Salmon Center organizers say they will cross that bridge when it is time to grow.

For now, many people feel a sense of accomplishment at realizing their dream, scaled back at least for now. More than a few people believe that things have turned out for the best. After all, building the salmon center on a farm, with its ties to history and the community, may be a better fit for Belfair and this critical wetlands where Hood Canal begins.

An open house has been scheduled for Dec. 9 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the center, which is located at the end of Roessel Road in Belfair.

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UPDATE, DEC. 3

Sir Muir Russell, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Glasgow from 2003 to 2009, was appointed by the University of East Anglia to head up a review of allegations against the Climate Research Unit.

The review will look at the stolen e-mails for evidence of data manipulation or suppression, review CRU’s overall data-handling policies, and investigate compliance with disclosure laws. Review is designed to determine whether activities were at odds with acceptable scientific practices.

The university has asked that the review be completed by spring, 2010.
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UPDATE, DEC. 1

Phil Jones has stepped aside as director of the Climatic Research Unit pending completion of an independent review of allegations involving e-mail hacked from the server of the University of East Anglia in England. Details of the investigation will be announced within days. See news release from East Anglia.
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Prospects appear to be fading for any meaningful international agreements for addressing climate change, as originally planned for a conference in Copenhagen next month.

Meanwhile, climatologists and those familiar with recent studies continue to warn us that, if anything, early climate models were too conservative in their predictions of climate change. The longer we wait to take action, the harder it will be to slow the rate of warming. Plants and animals (including humans) will have a harder time adapting to new conditions. Some populations, possibly entire species, may have no place to go as they attempt to adapt or face extinction.

I tend to take such warnings seriously, although I am not oblivious to the many skeptics on this topic. In fact, in my search for understanding, I’ve read more than my share of blogs written by folks who either don’t believe the planet is warming or else don’t believe man has anything to do with it.

This morning, I participated in a national telephone conference with three climate experts: Richard Somerville, coordinating lead author of the last report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Eric Steig, professor of earth and space sciences at the University of Washington; and Michael Mann, professor of meteorology at Penn State University.

They answered a variety of questions — ranging from new climate data to the implications of more than 1,500 “stolen” e-mails that have revealed the hidden, personal side of a few climatologists.
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