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Key challenges

Much of Puget Sound appears to be vibrant, clean, and healthy, but our scientific studies show that this unique marine estuary has a variety of environmental issues and problems.

Changing water chemistry is making marine waters more acidic. As the Pacific Ocean and Puget Sound absorb more carbon dioxide from fossil fuel use and deforestation, the acidification of the water negatively affects marine organisms that need strong shells and skeletons such as shellfish, plankton, and fish.

Bacteria in Puget Sound can come from a number of sources but especially animal waste, human waste from faulty septic systems, waste discharges from boats, sewage overflows, wastewater treatment plants, and contaminated stormwater runoff. Too much bacteria pollution can close harvest of shellfish beds or make saltwater beaches unsafe for swimming.

Low levels of dissolved oxygen combined with high levels of nitrogen can stress and even suffocate marine life. While some natural influences can lower oxygen levels, many human-generated nitrogen sources contribute to the problem, including heavy fertilizer use, livestock manure, septic systems, and wastewater treatment plants. Too much nitrogen fuels excessive marine algae growth, which then die and decompose, consuming oxygen.

Toxic chemicals in Puget Sound enter, in large part, from the small, steady release of toxic chemicals in everyday products, such as the brakes on our vehicles, flame retardants in our furniture, softeners in plastic, and building and roofing materials. As we use and dispose of these products, the toxic chemicals they contain can enter rivers, lakes, and the sound. Toxics accumulate in fish and marine mammals.

Sound science

To better gauge the environmental health of Puget Sound and track changes, our scientists:

Working together on solutions

We work in close collaboration with a wide variety of other state and federal agencies, local and tribal governments, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and private sector partners.

How you can help

By working together to restore, protect, and preserve Puget Sound everyone can make a difference now and for future generations.

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Issues & problems - Washington State Department of Ecology

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Key challenges Much of Puget Sound appears to be vibrant, clean, and healthy, but our scientific studies show that this unique marine estuary has a variety of environmental issues and problems. Changing water chemistry is making marine waters more acidic.

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After decades of work, salmon continue to struggle in Puget Sound and across the state, with populations hovering near unsustainable levels.

As Washington's State of Salmon in Watersheds report notes, "No salmon species have been removed from the federal Endangered Species Act list in Washington and most of the species on the list are in crisis or not keeping pace with recovery goals."

Chinook have been particularly hard hit.

In Puget Sound, between 2004 and through 2019, there were declines in the number of spawners in 16 of the 22 Chinook populations. The state badly missed the 2020 goal to improve wild Chinook populations in each of the five biogeographic regions.

This slow pace of recovery is creating frustration, which leads some to look for silver bullet solutions that encourage politicians to override science-based salmon recovery.

For example, after some groups expressed concern about high stream temperatures - a significant problem - the Legislature added $50 million to fund efforts to cool those waters.

But legislators cut money for the Salmon Recovery Funding Board, which provides science-based grants where they are most needed. Restoring streams can be useful, but the dollars allocated specifically to riparian zones could have been put to better use by the board's addressing projects in all habitat areas.

Meanwhile, the Health Environment for All Act, a new law based on environmental justice, requires state government to replace scientific metrics with social and political priorities, again siphoning money away from locations where funding is needed to accelerate salmon recovery.

If salmon populations were recovering, these examples of politics overriding science would still be frustrating. When salmon are not recovering - or declining as many runs are in Puget Sound - they are indefensible.

Washington's salmon recovery has generally been guided by science and local salmon experts. Local plans have funded the most important habitat projects, monitored results and reassessed. Although underfunded, this was the right strategy. Frustration and politics are leading us away from this approach.

It is not too late to get back on track, but we must start now. Salmon recovery advocates and the Legislature need to refocus on three key points.

First, we need to increase the science available to guide recovery. A 2022 assessment from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration highlights the need for better scientific monitoring, stating, "the program is still not fully functional, neither for providing an assessment of watershed habitat restoration/recovery programs, nor for fully integrating the essentially discrete habitat, harvest and hatchery programs." Funding good science helps make habitat funding more effective.

Second, rather than making decisions in Olympia - either in the Legislature or at state agencies - more funding should be provided directly to local watersheds.

Directly funding local watersheds allows those on the ground to make use of local knowledge and experience. For tribes, this can be traditional knowledge. It could also be understanding that comes with experience.

Local control also creates accountability. When legislators or staff in Olympia make mistakes, accountability is rare. Local control creates incentives to choose effective projects. The natural resource director from one tribe explained that when he screwed up, tribal members were at his door. Direct accountability is important to ensuring recovery work is successful.

Finally, the reality is we need to increase funding for science-based grants like the Salmon Recovery Funding Board and the Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration Fund. Without it, we simply won't meet our goals. Some of that funding should come from money that has been diverted to political approaches.

Despite the rhetoric, salmon recovery has been consistently underfunded even as state budgets have rapidly expanded. That must change.

A commitment to salmon recovery is vital because salmon are an important species for the Northwest, and because increased populations will help southern resident orca, honor tribal treaty rights and provide economic benefits for the state. Achieving these goals will take time, but unless we increase our commitment by providing the resources and focusing them where the science guides us, we will continue to stagnate and the frustration that is distracting us will only grow worse.

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To save WA salmon, choose science, not silver bullets | Op-Ed

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Frustration and politics are leading us away from the effective recovery approach of relying on science and local salmon experts.

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Surge in electricity demand spells trouble for PNW, forecasts show

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The challenges facing the Northwest all are exacerbated by the region's new energy hog: data centers.

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TACOMA TIDEFLATS, Hylebos Waterway - Puget Sound Energy's 8-million-gallon concrete tank filled with liquefied natural gas looms over a slice of shoreline where madrones and other evergreens rise from the spongy muck and geese rest on the soft grasses.

This place was restored and is owned by the Puyallup Tribe to support life, a refuge for young salmon among the smokestacks, cargo ships and hum of machines that make up the Port of Tacoma today.

For years the tribe, environmental advocates and other local residents fought against the state's largest private utility building a fossil fuel "monstrosity" in a pollution-overburdened community, near sensitive ecosystems. They fought in court, state hearings boards, on the water and before state regulators. And they lost.

Now 2 years old, PSE's plant illustrates why using dirty fossil fuels to help clean up energy and transportation sectors can be a complicated and controversial task. Pipelines and other natural gas infrastructure, like PSE's facility, can leak harmful gases. They are difficult to operate without venting methane or other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Since the gas plant went into operation, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has issued more than a dozen violations of the facility's air permit. In one instance, waste gases were vented into the community while the flare stopped operating for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, it has yet to be determined who pays for such fossil fuel developments while state law has laid out an energy transition. Last year, the PSE filed a request for natural gas customers on land to pay for a portion of the construction of the shipping fuel terminal. State regulators are slated to make a decision on the request later this month.

PSE, an investor-owned utility, argued it needs the facility to help keep service consistent for natural gas customers during a cold snap. But for roughly the first 23 months, its primary role was providing transportation fuel, mainly to TOTE Maritime Alaska to haul groceries and other goods from Tacoma to Anchorage.

PSE and TOTE tout the alternative fuel as a bridge from the dirtiest - bunker fuels - to whatever comes next. And PSE has plans to expand its use of the plant for its commercial business, allowing more ships to use the fuel.

There are not many cleaner alternatives to existing maritime fuels, as current batteries are too heavy to be feasible for the world's massive supertankers, and other technology remains in its infancy. But funneling more investment into fossil fuels like liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is a mistake we can't afford to make, said Joseph Romm, a physicist and senior research fellow at the Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media at the University of Pennsylvania.

The use of the term "bridge fuels" dates to the 1980s, said Romm, who in the '90s served as assistant acting secretary of the Department of Energy. "This is a very, very, very long bridge. And the reality is, we don't have time."

"We're really long past the time for half measures," Romm continued. "And it's really not fair to keep making people suffer bad air quality and other such things, simply because they lack political power."

Puyallup sees the plant as just the latest threat to the health of its members, the broader community and these waters.

"Our reservation has enough pollutants in it," said Bill Sterud, chairman of the Puyallup Tribe. "We have enough Superfund sites. We have enough - which could be dangerous - fossil fuels. It just doesn't stop. So when is enough enough?"

From habitat to Superfund site

In Lushootseed, Puyallup people are known as puyaləpabš, meaning "people from the bend at the bottom of the river." It refers to the many dispersed villages that spanned outward from the mouth of the Puyallup River.

At one time, the Hylebos watershed boasted over 25 miles of streams and lakes. In the mid-1800s when the railroad came through Tacoma, the bay was filled and reshaped to support a highly developed expanse of industry, turning miles of the Puyallup River delta into a federal Superfund site, a designation reserved for the most polluted sites in the country.

PSE built the LNG facility on the border of Puyallup's 1873 survey boundary, across the waterway from the tribe's marina and its canoe-landing site.

The tideflats also host an oil refinery and industrial facilities, and much of the Puyallup Reservation carries the highest ranking on the state's environmental health disparities map, which considers exposure to pollution like diesel emissions, fine particle pollution and proximity to toxic waste sites.

Shellfish from these waters are not safe for human consumption. Biologists for Puyallup have found that baby salmon just hours old in the Puyallup River have microplastic in their bodies, ingested from the surrounding waters.

"At one time there was a lot of fish out there," said Chairman Sterud, who was first elected to tribal council just years after Judge George Boldt put an end to state violence against Indigenous fishermen in affirming tribes' treaty right to fish. "Now we struggle to make sure that we'll have a fishery."

Air quality violations

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson in 2021 joined environmental advocates in challenging PSE's LNG facility, arguing in an amicus brief that the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency failed to evaluate the climate effects of the project, like emissions from methane leakage and its reliance on speculative assumptions about replacing dirtier fuels.

When PSE's LNG plant came online in 2022, it was just a year after the Legislature passed the landmark Climate Commitment Act, putting a price on carbon emissions across the economy, and a few years after the Clean Energy Transformation Act charted a path toward carbon-free electricity generation by 2045.

Methane has a warming effect more than 80 times stronger than that of carbon dioxide over 20 years, Romm said.

Fracked methane from British Columbia flows into PSE's network of pipes. When it arrives at PSE's facility near the shore of Commencement Bay, volatile organic compounds and sulfur compounds are removed from the natural gas as part of the pretreatment process and routed to an open flame. Called a flare, this process is intended to break down the compounds into carbon dioxide and water. According to PSE, the flare is intended to convert virtually all of the sulfur compounds to sulfur dioxide.

Without flaring, the waste gases are released directly into the community.

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency released 19 notices that identified air permit violations at the facility on about 50 days. These notices are times the company has reported its own errors, and in some instances the result was waste gases, including greenhouse gases, being released unburnt into the atmosphere.

The gas entering the LNG facility is composed primarily of methane, but it also contains small amounts of ethane, propane, butane and other hydrocarbons collectively referred to as volatile organic compounds.

"They are venting gas into the community the [Puyallup] chairman lives in," said Lisa Anderson, environmental attorney for the Puyallup Tribe. "And the irony of it is the tribe argued with its expert in the air permit appeal that their flare was not going to get hot enough to destroy [the majority of] of the pollutants and that's why now they're direct venting."

Ranajit Sahu, a consulting engineer on environmental issues, was first retained by Puyallup in 2018 to review environmental impact statements, safety analyses and the technical adequacy of the air permit application.

In testimony to state regulators, Sahu wrote the air permit anticipates the flare at the facility will destroy over 99% of the toxic air pollutants in the waste gases, and the high level of destruction is necessary for the facility to remain in compliance.

The facility's emissions are about 100 times higher when waste gases are vented instead of being properly routed through the flare, Sahu testified.

Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has since assessed a $46,000 penalty for PSE's self-reported air permit deviations. PSE said the deviations were a result of setting up the facility's complex systems.

Ratepayers on the hook?

Last year, PSE proposed splitting the LNG project's capital costs between regulated utility customers and shipping companies, according to documents filed with the Utilities and Transportation Commission, a regulatory body that helps set rates for private utilities.

In October 2016, the UTC approved a settlement agreement that allowed PSE to create a subsidiary, Puget LNG, that would handle the sales of marine fuel. In 2022, the UTC allowed PSE to recover a portion of the facility costs from ratepayers to be approved at a later date. This new filing represents PSE's proposal to begin recovery of these costs.

The proposal includes charging ratepayers on land for $243 million and fuel customers $246 million. But the capital costs represent just a portion of PSE's request, which also proposes recovery of the regulated portion of its operations and maintenance expenses, as well as the portion of a new 4-mile pipeline allocated to regulated customers on land.

The UTC is slated to issue a decision on the request later this month.

At a fall hearing, some UTC staff expressed concern about the proposal, finding it unacceptable for ratepayers to fund operation of the LNG facility when it is not compliant with its air permit. They also identified a lack of environmental justice and equitable distribution of the burdens of its operations.

The public counsel unit of the Washington Attorney General's Office urged the commission to deny costs associated with the LNG project, considering it imprudent and not in the public interest. In a December brief, the office argued that PSE had never used the facility as a "peak shaving" resource, to support regulated utility customers in times of high demand.

During a January cold snap, it provided about 5% of PSE's total gas supply. According to PSE, without it, "our ability to serve gas to customers in the South Sound would have been in question."

"This is all we have"

The Puyallup Tribe and a coalition of community groups more recently appealed permits for a proposed expansion of the facility's fueling dock to the state Shoreline Hearings Board. The case had been scheduled for an April hearing, but rather than defend the project, PSE backed down.

Yet last month PSE filed an application with the state and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requesting the same project approval, including constructing a fueling hose that could allow vessels and so-called bunkering barges to load LNG to power their own ships and to transfer fuel to other ships, making them floating fuel suppliers.

PSE stated in previous planning documents that it plans (in 10 years) to eventually transition the facility to only serve maritime customers. PSE says the facility's use will be influenced by a number of factors including customer demand and legislation.

"This is our homeland," Sterud said. "This is our reservation; in the 1850s we worked towards securing our homeland. We don't have other places for a reservation. This is it."

"We have to do what we can to make sure that we can breathe, that we can drink water, that we can catch fish and we cannot live in fear of being blown up by rail cars full of gas and oil," Sterud said. "This is all we have for a homeland. We're gonna make sure that we defend it to the very end in a good way. And so it's a fight that is just going to continue on."

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Liquefied natural gas plant in Tacoma shows risks of using fossil fuels as a bridge

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Air permit violations at the liquefied natural gas plant in Tacoma illustrate why it is so difficult to use a dirty fuel to lower climate-warming emissions.

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Orca scientist Rob Williams always thought conservation was a knowledge problem, that once science showed why a species was declining, people would fix it.

But new research published Tuesday concludes otherwise. Even in the case of one of the world's most charismatic species, the endangered southern resident killer whales that frequent Puget Sound are facing an accelerating risk of extinction, a new population analysis shows.

Despite all we know about them and why they are declining, this beloved species is hurtling toward extinction in plain sight - a peril scientists that published the paper memorably call "Bright Extinction," oblivion happening right before our eyes.

"There is no scenario in which the population is stable," said Williams, co-founder and chief scientist at the research nonprofit Oceans Initiative, and lead author on the paper published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment. "We have a generation or two where the population is not fluctuating around zero, it is fluctuating around a decline, then it accelerates to a faster rate of decline to extinction. That is without all the threats that are worsening. That was a real eye-opener. This is what the status quo will do."

In their model, the scientists found the southern residents declining in population until falling off a cliff in about 50 years - two killer whale generations - with only about 20 of their family members left within a century. Accounting for increasing threats would make the picture even worse.

This, Williams has had to face, is not a problem of adequate information. Instead, it's a matter of inadequate action. "I assumed if only we had the right data, we would make the right decisions. But ... not only do we know their biology and the threats they face," he said of the southern residents, "we have known these things for a very long time."

Climate change accentuates the extinction risk.

Warming water in the ocean disrupts ocean food webs that feed Chinook salmon - the primary prey of these orcas. And warming rivers hurt salmon survival and reproduction. Other threats, including ocean shipping traffic and other noise that disrupts orca hunting, and habitat destruction also are intensifying. Alteration of the environment is making it, at this rate, a place in which these coevolved animals can no longer live.

Carl Safina, an author of many books on the intelligence of animals, including the southern residents, and ecologist and professor for nature and humanity at Stony Brook University in New York, sees in the doom of species extinction and looming loss of the southern residents a moral test for people.

"This is like a slow-motion collision; this is where we see the brick wall or the cliff, it's clear, the road is dry, it's 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning and we are going 8 miles an hour, and it's half a mile away, and then a quarter of a mile away and then we see it, and our smart sensors start beeping, and then we hit the accelerator and crash ... Why do we do that?"

Laws alone clearly are not enough: The Endangered Species Act, which turned 50 this year, calls for preservation of all species, no matter how humble. Yet here is one of the most intelligent animals in all the oceans, and its top predator, barely hanging on.

What's needed, Safina said, is a fundamental shift in how we all live here.

"Socially, we need an ethic that values the life on this planet and that sees us as stewards."

So dire is the state of the southern residents - there are only 74 left - that it may be time to consider more drastic interventions, including preventive vaccination of at least some of the most biologically valuable members, the papers' authors state. A plan also needs to be mustered to be ready for a catastrophic event, such as a disease outbreak requiring a veterinary response across the U.S.-Canada border.

To give the southern residents a better chance at hunting success, the paper recommends some profound changes. Voluntary slowdowns already in place for ships have been found to cut noise levels by nearly half, according to the paper, which in turn results in increased hunting activity by killer whales. Yet at the same time, multiple development projects are underway that will increase shipping traffic in the region, with completion of the second TransMountain tar sands oil pipeline terminating at the port of Vancouver and a major expansion of the shipping terminal at Roberts Bank, the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project, planned right at the Fraser River delta where orcas hunt.

It may be time to consider mandatory ocean noise budgets, caps or limits to allow killer whales to hunt scarce prey more effectively, the paper found.

A fresh look at fisheries management also is needed, according to the paper, to leave more fish in the sea for orcas. Moving fisheries in Alaska and British Columbia away from Chinook rearing grounds and migration routes in the sea to river mouth and estuarine locations would result in an immediate increase of Chinook critical to orcas of up to 25%, according to the paper.

Such a fishery could also help recover a Chinook population more like what orcas evolved with. By not harvesting immature fish in marine fisheries and allowing large females to pass through to spawning grounds, a size increase in the Chinook of up to 40% could occur over a 50-year period, according to the paper. That would provide more of the big Chinook orcas need and prefer. Freshwater habitat restoration could also continue to support wild Chinook abundance, instead of releasing more hatchery fish into the sea.

Hatchery fish compete with wild fish for food and spawning area. They also can weaken wild Chinook fitness by interbreeding or disease, noted study author Misty MacDuffee, salmon biologist with the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, a science nonprofit. She sees no pathway to orca recovery without fisheries reform and other changes to protect the orca's preferred food.

Another recent paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Ecosphere examined the relationship between the availability of prey and southern resident population ups and downs, to investigate how those relationships might have changed over time.

The work confirmed the essential link between the southern residents and their preferred food. "Prey still matters," said Eric Ward, an author on the paper and scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Northwest Fisheries Science Center. The paper also found that the northern resident orcas - whose population is increasing - could be affecting the southern residents' survival because of competition for the same food in shared waters.

Joe Gaydos, science director of the SeaDoc Society, a science research and education nonprofit and author on the Nature paper, said the population analysis was a wake-up call as to just how at risk the southern residents are, without a change in course. What he hopes now is that decision-makers and the public will use that information to ramp up efforts to save a species that defines much of the wonder of the region.

"We have done a lot of great stuff for southern residents, and we need to do more," Gaydos said. "It's like when people go to the doctor in their 60s and say, 'Should I eat better and stop smoking and drinking and exercise?' and the doctor says, 'Yes, and you need to do all of them, and you should have done it 20 years ago.' That is what this paper is saying.

"We don't have time. We are talking about making some big changes in the next couple of generations of killer whales, or we are out of time."

That does not make this new work documenting the southern residents' accelerating extinction risk a give-up-hope paper, Gaydos said, but the opposite.

"Now is the time to show the money, and to make the effort." For one thing, we owe it to these animals, Gaydos noted.

The southern residents are in such deep trouble in part because of the capture era, during which a third of the whales were taken for sale to aquariums and other entertainment venues.

"We just need to do what we need to do, make it happen, it is on us, we got them here. We are the reason they are endangered," Gaydos said of the southern residents. "First with the captures and later with the salmon and the contaminants we made; those are not naturally occurring, and those are our boats out there."

Tim Regan, former executive director of the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, who is not an author on the paper, says it's not over for the southern residents. "I personally am one that would say it is never too late," Regan said. Other species, from elephant seals to whooping cranes, have made remarkable comebacks, even from dire straits.

The southern residents are the top predator in these waters, and they are symbolic of the wonder of our natural surroundings and a commitment to other forms of life that we cherish, Regan said.

"They are such a beautiful reminder of the nature of other species. If we don't care about them, I don't know what we would care about.

"You can't be blamed for failing, but you can be blamed for not trying."

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Southern resident orcas hurtling toward extinction, new study finds

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A new population analysis reveals the fish-eating orcas that hunt in Puget Sound are facing an ever-increasing risk of extinction.

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Solar panels sit atop the newest building at King County's West Point Treatment Plant in Discovery Park. Inside, you won't find pipes funneling the region's sewage and stormwater; instead stand rows of newly installed high-voltage batteries intended to keep the pumps pumping during storms - and contaminated water out of Puget Sound.

These batteries are part of ongoing efforts to improve wastewater treatment here and prepare for storms, which are likely to become more frequent or more intense with human-induced climate change. The county plans to invest $10 billion in these projects over the next decade.

The plans got a huge boost Thursday when King County and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the first installment of a nearly $500 million loan package from the agency that will finance 14 wastewater infrastructure projects across the county. It's the largest financial commitment to the county's wastewater system from the EPA, and the initial installment is expected to save sewer utility ratepayers $19.8 million.

The facility, perched on a peninsula on Puget Sound in North Seattle, treats millions of gallons of wastewater each day. The loans will help replace raw sewage pumps and will provide seismic upgrades for the administration building, among other things.

"When you're standing at this facility and you're looking at the water, it is really crystal clear what it is you're working to protect," said Casey Sixkiller, regional administrator of the EPA, at a news conference Thursday at West Point.

Wastewater and stormwater are pumped into the treatment plant where screens remove large trash,sand, gravel and twigs. Cooking oils, grease, soaps and hair are removed from the wastewater before raw sewage and stormwater move to tanks where sludge bugs - sewage-eating microbes - reduce the volume of solids produced in the treatment process and kill harmful pathogens and bacteria. Then the water is disinfected and sent thousands of feet offshore into Puget Sound.

West Point, one of the largest wastewater treatment plants on the West Coast, receives sewage and stormwater flows from Seattle, Shoreline, north Lake Washington, North King County and parts of South Snohomish County.

"This one really handles some unique challenges because the combined system of flows into this plant can go from 90 million gallons per day level up to over 400 million gallons," said Kamuron Gurol, director of the King County Wastewater Treatment Division. "You get a rainstorm ... and that plant has to be able to accommodate and successfully treat flows that can literally quadruple in size and in an hour. The type of equipment that's necessary to handle that kind of flow variation needs to be as robust as we can."

The regional wastewater system was created by community leaders who envisioned a way to address water pollution in Lake Washington, Puget Sound and the Duwamish River, and to serve a growing population, said Christie True, recently retired director of the county Department of Natural Resources and Parks.

In the 1950s, wastewater flowed into Lake Washington, Puget Sound and many rivers and smaller lakes, without enough treatment; beaches were fouled with waste and black bacterial slime.

The West Point Treatment Plant and South Treatment Plant in Renton came online in the 1960s, and the results were dramatic, True said. But the system wasn't built all at once.

When construction began, about 30 billion gallons of combined sewage and stormwater would overflow into the Sound every year, True said. Today it's closer to 1 billion gallons.

More recent discharges have shown the vulnerability of the system in extreme weather.

Several system failures at West Point during heavy rainfall in 2017 caused significant flooding at the facility and resulted in an estimated 244 million gallons of untreated or partially treated sewage discharging into Puget Sound. Nearly 8 billion gallons of wastewater received limited primary treatment and disinfection over the next 77 days.

In 2019, True said, a three-quarters-of-a-second power interruption brought the equipment to a halt and caused a discharge of untreated sewage and stormwater into Puget Sound.

A 2019 audit found the risks at the plant would not be fully mitigated for years, and today, there's still work to be done.

The past five years have been the most productive for these improvements since the regional treatment system was built in the 1960s, according to the county. The Wastewater Treatment Division has already begun making seismic upgrades, replacing aging pumps and pipes, and building the 24,000-square-foot structure full of batteries at West Point that will provide operators with a more reliable power supply.

In 2021, King County closed on a $96.8 million loan to help design and construct the Ship Canal Water Quality Project, a tunnel that will store up to 30 million gallons of untreated sewage and polluted stormwater.

It's part of a $615 million-plus effort by Seattle and King County to keep untreated liquid from spilling into the Lake Washington Ship Canal, Lake Union and Salmon Bay when the antiquated drainage system in nearby neighborhoods is overwhelmed by heavy rains.

King County was the first to receive a loan from the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program, for the Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station, and the loan package announced Thursday marks the third round of awards the county has been selected in.

The $498.3 million loan package from the EPA is expected to help the county complete seismic upgrades at two regional wastewater treatment plants, improvements to the recycled water system and upgrades to miles of conveyance and sewer pipes.

The first installment, a $194 million loan package funded by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, is expected to save King County ratepayers millions and lower the county's annual debt payments through an extended repayment period.

The projects include:

Replacing West Point's raw sewage pumps installed in the 1960s with electric pumps;

Replacing an aging grit classifier at West Point - a machine that sifts out twigs, sand and gravel;

Adding capacity to treat wastewater flowing from East Lake Sammamish;

Repairing one of the largest conveyance pipes in the system in Bellevue;

Installing 4.5 miles of sewer pipe serving Redmond and Bellevue;

Seismic upgrades to protect the West Point plant in Magnolia and South Treatment Plant in Renton.

The loans will also help the county comply with a settlement agreement with the Suquamish Tribe that outlined an estimated $600 million in improvements to be made at the treatment plant over the next decade.

In 2020, the tribe filed an intent to sue the county, documenting nearly a dozen times in 2018 and 2019 when untreated or improperly treated sewage overflowed into the Sound from the West Point plant.

Without these investments, Suquamish Chairman Leonard Forsman said, the degrading water quality impacts shellfish, fish and the people who rely on them for subsistence and commercial harvest.

"It's a constant battle, in addition to climate change, we just try to push back as hard as we can to preserve what we've been gifted by the Creator and have a responsibility to preserve it for the next generations," Forsman said.

But these projects won't address new and emerging contaminant issues like nutrient pollution or PFAS.

The county is currently drawing up plans for a project to control overflows from five combined sewer outfalls where the Duwamish River meets Elliott Bay.

"Thanks to bold action by President Biden and by the EPA, we will achieve even more for people, for salmon, for the orca, and for all living things that call this remarkable corner of the continent home," King County Executive Dow Constantine said.
Seattle Times photographer Erika Schultz contributed reporting.

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King County gets $500M loan from EPA to update wastewater treatment in era of climate change

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The loan package and other funding will help King County prepare for more intense or more frequent storms.

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When the first stretch of warm spring weather visits us, the soul is suddenly called to clear house.

Fingers, and especially green thumbs, itch to get rid of the old, to usher in the new, all in the name of spring cleaning, both indoors and outdoors.

But as gardens are turned over from winter to spring, clearing, cutting and cleaning can take food and shelter away from one of the planet's most essential workers - pollinators.

One out of every three bites of food you eat depends on the work of pollinators, which help plants reproduce, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Pollinators are more than just bumblebees and butterflies. An assortment of other bee species, flies, wasps, beetles, bats, moths, birds and other insects all play an important role in pollinating crops like apples, potatoes, chocolate and coffee.

They "make the world go round," said entomologist and Woodland Park Zoo curator Erin Sullivan, "and we would definitely notice if they weren't there. They're really one of those foundational blocks of ecosystems."

So, before you go all Edward Scissorhands with the shrubbery this spring, here are some tips for how to garden with these crucial creatures in mind.

Wait! Get to know your garden

Before you head outside, armed to the teeth with tools, pause.

"Be a lazy gardener," Sullivan said.

Rather than jumping into your garden and doing all the pruning, deadheading and raking, first spend some time learning about the ecosystem that is your garden.

"Just because there's a bug in your backyard doesn't necessarily mean it's a pest," Sullivan said. "Find out what it is, why it's there and what it's doing."

If you do have a pest or weed, something is out of balance. Take a trip to your local nursery or your neighbor - who may share your garden's ecosystem from yard to yard - if you need a second source of knowledge to assess and evaluate your existing space.

Don't clear that clutter

While taking stock of your garden, your eyes may catch on what is traditionally thought to be unappetizing: the clutter of dead plants.

But for overwintering pollinators, leaf litter and dead branches are shelter and nesting sites.

Oftentimes, people only think about pollinators in the summer, when they're busy pollinating the planet. "But pollinators are around all year," nesting in the ground or in plants, Sullivan said.

Leaving some areas of your garden temporarily uncultivated, like the back half of a flower bed, ensures you're not throwing away a home.

Don't pull up those weeds, either

Early nectar sources are important for pollinators, so while you leave a little clutter, hold off on pulling up every weed, too.

Flowers that bloom the earliest in spring are typically weeds, Sullivan said, and they provide food for pollinators.

Dandelions, for example, are the most abundant first food for emerging pollinators, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Put the 'cides' down

Reduce or eliminate the use of herbicides, pesticides, insecticides and chemicals in your garden.

These tools are easily available, Sullivan said, "but people don't often read the instructions. They think if one squirt works, two squirts are better. That's not the case."

In fact, applying any chemical "should never be the first course of action," she said.

Instead, gardeners should analyze their garden to find out what's inside - and potentially taking it over - to create an action plan.

Use barriers, like netting, and trap plants - those preferred by pests - to protect your plants and unwanted animals. You can even spray water to "blast" pests off your plants, Sullivan said.

The first line of defense against pesky plants is good ol' manual weeding. Pull unwanted plants up yourself, plant species that will outcompete weeds, use mulches to cover problem areas and fertilize your soil naturally with compost and old leaves.

adding the zoo only resorts to chemicals when all other methods of getting rid of pesky plants or pests have been exhausted.

Professional gardeners and certified applicators who work in agriculture are at an advantage with chemicals, though, knowing which "cide" is the right one and when and where exactly to apply them.

"Unfortunately, a lot of homeowners don't have that training or expertise," said State Sen. Marko Liias, "and particularly in our urban areas where there isn't enough habitat for pollinators, layering chemicals is a double whammy."

Liias - who is a self-proclaimed pollinator champion - recently sponsored Senate Bill 5972 to restrict neonicotinoids, or a particularly harmful class of pesticides that kill indiscriminately, exterminating not only pests but also countless pollinators.

Neonicotinoids are absorbed into plants and can be found in their pollen and nectar, which is deadly for the pollinators that feed on them. These chemicals can even wash into drainage systems and end up in rivers, oceans and wetlands, impacting ecosystems beyond their intended targets.

The bill, signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee in March, will take these pesticides off Washington shelves and move them into the hands of only certified applicators, ending domestic outdoor use by 2025.

"If you want to use them, you'll need to call your local pest company and have them come do it for you," Liias, D-Edmonds, said.

Plant native plants

Your garden doesn't have to be "all native all the time," Sullivan said, but native plants go hand-in-hand with Washington's native pollinators (such as mason bees).

They evolved together, and as such, their ecosystems rely on each other.

As pollinators wake up for spring, they wake up hungry - and native plants are a great source of food. They're best adapted to local climate and soil conditions, providing better-quality nectar and pollen for pollinators compared to nonnative plants.

In Washington, native plants like willows and poplar trees are also larval hosts for many native butterflies.

said.

Extend the nectar season

Pollinators don't just need food during the springtime - they need food in the summer and fall, too.

Extend the nectar season of your garden by planting a variety of flowering plants, a minimum of three species per season.

Pick plants that will survive well and for a long time in your space, as well as some that bloom at different times throughout the growing season. This will provide a continuous source of food for pollinators, which is especially important in urban areas where habitat is scarce.

"Don't just plant a monoculture," Sullivan said. "The more diversity you have in your backyard, the more insect visitors you'll have. It keeps the whole ecosystem in balance."

Shift your mindset

Liias encourages gardeners to shift their mindset from striving for a "manicured golf course looking yard" to making things that are good for pollinators "beautiful in the eyes of our community."

"We need to shift the zeitgeist," he said, "and let's make it the goal to have natural, supportive and sustainable landscapes for everything that we live alongside."

Pollinators are critical creatures, although things that sting often fly a fine line between evoking fear or fascination.

Sullivan encourages gardeners to tune into their fascination because "there's an entire world out there in your backyards and local parks, even in your hanging baskets or container plants, waiting to be discovered."

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How to protect bees and butterflies when you garden this spring

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As gardens turn over from winter to spring, clearing and cutting can take food and shelter away from one of the planet's most essential workers: pollinators.

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Washington state will receive more than $156 million to launch programs to provide rooftop solar and other forms of solar energy to people with lower incomes and on the front lines of climate change.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced a total of $7 billion in grants Monday from the agency's Solar for All grant competition. The program is funded by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

In its grant application, the state Department of Commerce proposed to create several new programs, for single-family homeowners, community solar projects, multifamily affordable housing properties and tribal nations.

The state plans to further define eligibility requirements and launch its programs by summer 2025. The funds should be fully disbursed by 2029, according to the Commerce Department.

Under EPA rules, funding from the grant to the state is intended to serve low-income and disadvantaged communities. Disadvantaged communities are defined in the federal Climate and Economic Justice mapping tool; low-income is generally defined as households with incomes at or below the greater of 80% area median income and 200% of the federal poverty level, or properties providing affordable housing, according to the Commerce Department.

Standing in the sun-drenched courtyard of the Seattle Housing Authority's Hinoki building Monday, Gov. Jay Inslee told The Seattle Times the infusion of federal cash was "heaven sent."

Atop the 136-unit building were rows of solar panels, enough to power up about 10% to 15% of the building's common areas and reduce the building's operating costs. The community helped shape the design of the building, and one of the many values they identified was environmental stewardship, said Rod Brandon of the Seattle Housing Authority.

Washington residents who have received solar funding under previous state programs have shared stories of their electricity bills being reduced, and in some cases eliminated, Commerce Director Mike Fong said.

In addition to the installation of the panels, Fong said the money will help create jobs, workforce training programs like those at Northwest Indian College, and help Indigenous communities develop energy projects.

"We are punching above our weight class as a state in terms of securing federal funding," Fong said. "And we're going to do right by all Washingtonians."

In Washington, the federal dollars will complement an existing $100 million that lawmakers invested from the state's sale of carbon pollution allowances under the Climate Commitment Act.

The state money has been allocated to individual grant programs already, said Amy Wheeless, the federal funding and program alignment manager for the Commerce Department's energy division. Some awards may be announced in the next few months.

"We're attacking this problem on both ends," Inslee said of the state's landmark climate policy. "We're making investments helping people get new technologies like solar and heat pumps and insulation and electric school buses, but the Climate Commitment Act ... limits pollution directly. It has a direct cap on toxic pollution."

Both people and power systems could benefit from more distributed energy generation, said KC Golden, who serves on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.

With more electricity demand and potential disruptions in power supply from extreme weather events, it's good to have more sources of energy located closer to the people that they're serving, Golden said.

"It's gonna get more and more beneficial and helpful and important to center more of the action on the customer side of the meter," Golden said. "It gives customers more control over their energy usage and their bills, and we're facing a very accelerated time frame driven by the climate crisis to massively upgrade our electric power supply and our whole electric power infrastructure."

The council's 2021 Plan Resource Strategy called for the Northwest to build at least 3,500 megawatts of renewable resources by 2027, though it identified that jurisdictions pursuing ambitious decarbonization or electrification may need to build more. The region is already well on its way to achieving that goal, having built around 3,200 megawatts of new renewables since the plan.

The 60 selected grant applicants nationwide include 49 state-level awards totaling about $5.5 billion, six awards for tribal nations totaling over $500 million and five multistate awards totaling about $1 billion, according to the EPA. The grants are estimated to provide 900,000 households with access to distributed solar energy.

The grants are estimated to save U.S. households more than $350 million in electricity costs annually - about $400 per household - and cut more than 30 million metric tons of carbon pollution over the next 25 years.

There is a commitment from all the selected applicants to deliver at least a 20% utility bill savings to households served by the programs, according to EPA officials.

The Biden administration also announced Monday the launch of the American Climate Corps, an initiative modeled after Franklin D. Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps. People can apply for opportunities to work in clean energy, climate resilience and conservation - including several in Washington - at ClimateCorps.gov.

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More than $156 million for solar panels coming to WA communities

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The Environmental Protection Agency announced total of $7 billion in grants for solar energy programs across the U.S.

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Over the past couple of years, Washington lawmakers have wrestled with a daunting task.

The problem: The state's largest utility, Puget Sound Energy, sells natural gas to nearly 1 million customers and burns gas and coal to electrify cities. That contributes millions of metric tons of planet-warming gases to the atmosphere.

It makes PSE one of the largest producers of greenhouse gas pollution in the state, ranked among fuel suppliers like Marathon, BP and Philips 66. And it represents a huge threat to the state's ambitious climate goals.

Lawmakers' original proposed fix would have been unprecedented in the country and required PSE to stop offering new commercial and residential natural gas hookups. But the version of the legislation signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee last month didn't go nearly that far and illustrates the intense debate over turning off the flow of natural gas.

Dozens of states have gone the other direction, passing legislation prohibiting local gas bans or electrification mandates, and municipalities that have attempted to restrict new gas hookups have faced litigation.

Last month, Berkeley's ban on new gas connections was halted after the California Restaurant Association successfully opposed it in court. The Washington State Building Code Council has passed energy efficiency mandates intended to make it nearly impossible to install fossil-fueled appliances in new buildings - but not without legal challenges.

The state's new law involving PSE, passed with narrow voting margins and industry scrutiny, aspires to set a course for a future, decades away, in which natural gas is a thing of the past.

Washington Sen. Joe Nguyen, who sponsored the final version of the bill, said the law is "a plan for a plan" and allows PSE to start thinking about how to decarbonize when proposing rates to its regulator, the Washington Utilities And Transportation Commission.

It allows PSE to potentially raise rates earlier to pay for clean-energy projects, spreading the cost out over a longer period, among other adjustments.

Supporters say the law represents one of the first efforts nationwide of a utility agreeing to decarbonize and comply with emissions goals in exchange for regulatory changes.

"Nobody has ever done this before," Nguyen said. "There's been no company in the United States that has gone from basically a 100% natural gas company to one that is more decarbonized with renewable energy, so [PSE is] trying to do something that is nation-leading."

Nguyen and supporters say the law is a good first step, even if more legislation will be needed. However, the law also reflects concerns that an energy transition would disproportionately impact low-income ratepayers.

What does the new law do?

Seeing a tough road ahead to decarbonize, PSE requested help from lawmakers. A central issue has been about how to keep utility rates stable as the investor-owned utility expects to acquire a massive amount of renewable energy while methane gas use declines.

According to PSE, gas use dropped 7% for residential customers and 3% for commercial customers between 2022 and 2023 for several reasons, including air conditioning demand, energy efficiency programs and changing preferences. PSE has around 1.5 million customers in all, who buy either electricity, methane or both from the utility.

These changes come as PSE must comply with Washington's two landmark climate laws - the Clean Energy Transformation Act, which will require the utility to become greenhouse gas neutral in its electricity generation by 2030, and the Climate Commitment Act, which gradually ratchets down emissions 95% by 2050.

The utility will need to buy or build 6,700 megawatts of renewable electricity by 2030, more electricity than it ever has acquired in its 150-year history, PSE spokesperson Matt Steuerwalt said.

"In the past six years, energy law in Washington state has changed more than in the previous 100," PSE lobbyist Matt Miller said during a senate committee's public testimony in January. "This bill helps us comply with that. We have a steep hill to climb, but ... this bill provides us tools to do that."

Historically, gas and electricity customers have been kept in silos and rebates have incentivized them to stay on their energy source if equipment breaks, said Kelly Hall, the director of Climate Solutions in Washington, an advocacy group in support of the law.

But the new law removes rebates for residential customers who purchase gas appliances or equipment beginning in 2025.

The law also allows the utility and state regulators to consolidate their regulatory planning processes into one plan. Currently, PSE submits six separate plans to the commission, including on gas and electric resources, pipeline safety and compliance with clean electricity law, Steuerwalt said.

The law also allows PSE to potentially merge its gas and electric rate bases, though that change would likely be more than several years away, he said.

Under last year's version of the legislation, PSE pushed to own 60% of new solar and wind projects, citing the "the need to acquire a significant amount of resources in a limited amount of time." That led to anti-competitive concerns from trade associations representing independent power producers and renewable energy advocacy groups, halting the bill.

As a compromise this year, the law adds a new process that has been used in other states that would give PSE more assurance it can pay for large capital projects that take a long time to plan and build, like transmission lines, storage and wind and solar projects.

Traditionally, utilities go ahead with new capital projects and after they are built, ask the utility commission if they can be paid back with rate increases, said Lauren McCloy, the policy director of the Northwest Energy Coalition. This new process would allow PSE to bring in the commission and public earlier to review its projects and request a "certificate of necessity," which would give the utility assurance it could raise rates to pay for them later.

Rates associated with the project under this process would not go into effect for customers immediately, only after further review of whether the company handled the project and its costs responsibly, McCloy said.

Affordability concerns

Lawmakers who voted against the legislation raised concerns the state will force people off natural gas at their own expense and raise rates on people who are least able to afford it. During public testimony in January, lobbyists with industry groups representing hotels and grocery stores and a restaurant owner testified that using methane is essential to their operations and keeping costs affordable for consumers.

"The utilities have a guaranteed ability to make a profit, and the consumers don't have a choice in the marketplace ... We're talking tens of thousands of dollars for individuals in their homes to convert their systems," said Brent Ludeman, a lobbyist with the Building Industry Association of Washington, which opposed the bill.

Others said the current electricity grid is not ready for a full transition and using fossil fuels - especially methane, which burns cleaner than coal - as a backup is a smart choice.

"Natural gas is abundant and relatively cheap so if you remove that, you've got to replace that power source which will be electric and those electric generating facilities are more costly than the natural gas system," Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, said.

Some energy economists have argued electrification does not make homes more vulnerable to blackouts and gas infrastructure is just as vulnerable to extreme weather events - like during the winter storm that paralyzed Texas's grid in 2021.

McCloy said people opposed to the bill are conflating rising energy prices with the state's climate goals, and the legislation simply allows the utility to start planning its transition to renewables - as required by law - to minimize price shocks.

Supporters of the legislation have also emphasized natural gas would never have been turned off overnight for customers and electrifying a neighborhood would involve extensive community outreach paired with rebates and regulatory oversight.

While there are no rate increases explicitly tied to the new law, PSE has said it is working quickly to meet the state's requirement to be greenhouse gas neutral by 2030.

"I don't think we know how much it's going to cost to comply with CETA and CCA. CETA has us building a lot of new renewables in a short time. That's not going to be free," Steuerwalt said of Washington's climate laws.

PSE is currently proposing rate increases of about 17% and 20% over two years for residential electric and gas customers, respectively. Proposed rates are typically higher than what the commission and the utility ultimately agree upon.

Some environmental and advocacy groups have also criticized the law for being too generous to PSE. Sierra Club organizer Dylan Plummer said he is concerned the bill will lead to "significant" rate increases without requiring the utility to retire gas infrastructure - but ultimately believes the law to be a "net benefit."

"To be clear, there is a cost to decarbonizing," said Nguyen. "There is a cost to transitioning. There is a big cost of not doing anything either. It cost the state billions of dollars in climate mitigation by dealing with wildfires and health concerns. It costs us money with the current infrastructure."

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A future without natural gas? New law involving PSE aspires to set the course

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Lawmakers have wrestled with how to decarbonize the state's largest utility and gas provider without hurting ratepayers.

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HONG KONG (AP) - Hong Kong has long been a major producer and consumer of great food, and a great amount of plastic and Styrofoam to go with it.

That's going to change as new legislation aiming to stop the sale and distribution of Styrofoam products and single-use plastic cutlery went into effect on Monday.

Under the new law, single-use cutlery such as forks, spoons, straws and plates cannot be sold or distributed for both dine-in and takeaway customers. However, plastic food containers and cups can still be given out for takeaways.

The regulation of disposable plastic tableware and other plastic products in Hong Kong aims to reduce their use at the source to cut down on pollution, Hong Kong's Environmental Protection Department said in an emailed response to The Associated Press.

Restaurants were given a six-month grace period. A second phase of the ban, expected next year, will ban all single-use plastics including containers for both dine-in and takeaway.

Many restaurants have already begun implementing the new measure.

Kuen Fat Kitchen is a typical lunch stop for many people in Hong Kong. Even before the new law was introduced, it had already started to reduce the use of Styrofoam boxes.

Owner Kitty Chan said the changes will mean higher costs.

"For a single-use cutlery set, you might think it's just a small change, but switching the plastic spoon to a paper spoon doubles the cost for us. So, it's not so friendly to the business of the food and beverage industry," Chan added.

Customers at Kuen Fat Kitchen have mixed feelings. Some don't want to face extra hassle when going out to eat if they are asked to bring their own containers and utensils.

"When I'm at work, I only have an hour for lunch, and I need to eat efficiently. I don't think it's convenient for me to bring my own cutlery and do the washing up afterwards. It's not convenient and I don't think it's a good idea," said customer Darren Seng.

Others recognized the environmental impacts of their dining-out habits.

"I think it's better for the environment," said resident Thomson Choi.

Single-use plastic cutlery is the second-largest source of plastic waste after single-use plastic bags in Hong Kong, according to Greenpeace. Many businesses are changing to alternative plastics made of natural resources to comply with new rules, instead of improving their packaging, the organization added.

Greenpeace campaigner Leanne Tam hopes that the new law will discourage the throwaway culture and promote reusables, instead of "greener" disposables.

"Any kind of plastic ban policy should aim to influence the public to stay away from plastic. We should move on, and have a new approach," said Tam. "But we would like to remind the government that it should devote more resources to promote reusable instead of disposable. This is the way to solve the root of the problem."

According to the latest figures by Hong Kong's government in 2022, the city disposed 11,128 tons of solid waste per day, among which plastics contributed 2,369 tons.

Hong Kong is reliant on the city's three landfills to handle its waste, but they are expected to be filled up by around 2026, according to the government.

The city plans to implement municipal solid waste charging from Aug. 1, but the logistics have yet to be worked out. It would compel individual homes, restaurants, and all businesses to pay for trash they throw away.

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A ban on single-use plastics takes effect in Hong Kong in a bid to reduce pollution

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Hong Kong has outlawed Styrofoam products and single-use plastic cutlery as a way to reduce the amount of plastic waste in the city.

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Wildfire and smoke from the Tunnel 5 Fire are visible in this undated photo shared by Washington State Department of Natural Resources on July 2, 2023.
Courtesy of Washington State Department of Natural Resources

Autumn has knocked on our doors and crossed our thresholds. With its arrival comes wetter, colder, darker days - perhaps some pumpkin-flavored treats as well - and hopefully, fewer wildfires. Heavy recent rainfall has dropped the wildfire potential outlook down to normal for the Northwest, according to the National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook.

So, how did this summer fare compared to past fire seasons?

In Washington, a total of 165,365 acres burned, according to Angie Lane, who works for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in the wildland fire management division. The 10-year annual average for acres burned is 472,881.

"We're actually shaping up to be a statistically, really good year," Lane said.

Still, Washington marked its second-highest number of fire-starts this year at 1,884. That falls just behind 2015 when 2,013 ignitions were reported.

Related: The fights continue against 4 large wildfires in Oregon and Washington

The Northwest Interagency Coordinating Center (NWCC) reports 41 large fires burned in Washington this year, and 44 in Oregon. NWCC considers large fires to be 100 acres or more in timber, 300 acres or more in grass, or when a Type 1 or Type 2 Incident Management Team is assigned.

Of those large fires, NWCC reports that four in Washington were determined to be human-caused, and six in Oregon were. Here's the big difference: Oregon's large, human-caused fires burned 4,880 acres - Washington's burned 15,283, according to NWCC.

With a lot of ignitions, there was a lot of activity across Washington. While the southeast region had more acres burned than the northeast region, the northeast area saw the most fires.

"However, our west side was also very active this year, we did see a lot of fires for the west side than we normally have seen," Lane said,.

Fires burned in the south Puget Sound area, parts of Thurston County and into the west slope of the Cascades, Lane said.

Related: Wildfire leads to evacuations near Underwood, Washington, as structures burn

Over 400 homes damaged by Washington fires

In terms of the labor force, Lane said DNR was able to fill almost every position open for firefighting labor or move resources around to address needs. House Bill 1168 allowed the department to utilize heavy equipment operators to quickly establish fire lines, as well as advanced training hand crews to mop up and ensure fires were completely out.

Numbers aren't the only way to measure fire season. Some wildfires that burned this year had serious and devastating impacts.

"Even though our numbers might say, 'Oh, what a great fire season,' that doesn't give you the sense of what the impact was," Lane said. "We did have a catastrophic year."

The DNR is working to compare property loss to years past. According to a Sept. 21 news release from the department, over 400 homes were burned in Washington wildfires this year.

"Even that very first home that burns, that's definitely catastrophic to the person who's experiencing it," Lane said.

In this file photo from the White Salmon Fire Department, a crew works the Tunnel 5 Fire in Skamania County, Wash., on July 2, 2023.
Courtesy of the White Salmon Fire Department

Fires really kicked up this year across the Pacific Northwest in August when the Gray and Oregon Fires in Spokane County consumed a combined 20,902 acres.

Von Walden is a Washington State University professor who researches fire activity with the Laboratory for Atmospheric Research. While Walden said the fire season has been relatively quiet, "The fires that we have had have been close to urban areas, and they have therefore either destroyed structures and homes or they've put people on alert."

The Gray and Oregon Fires claimed the lives of two people.

Health impact of wildfire smoke

The Northwest also dealt with impacts from fires in Canada as smoke billowed over the border. This year, air resource advisers were deployed in the Pacific Northwest to provide air quality and smoke forecasts alongside fire incident information.

The biggest threat from wildfire smoke is the very small particulate matter carried within it. That's a threat for anyone, not just those who already have respiratory illness, Walden said.

"When you breathe that particulate matter from the smoke, it can get deep into your lungs," Walden said.

Related: These wildfires are growing in the Columbia River Gorge and across Oregon

What kind of material a fire burns influences the particulate matter and its impact on people.

"If you have a very large fire in a forest that's consuming trees, and really burning up those trees, it's going to generate a lot more smoke and particulate matter that could potentially impact an urban area," Walden said.

The Laboratory for Atmospheric Research tracks where fires are and what vegetation is burning and estimates how much smoke or particulate matter goes into the atmosphere.

"We really are seeing kind of a different type of summer, where we have perhaps an early summer, that's more of a traditional summer, but July, August, September are really turning into a fire season, where many people in this area can expect to experience smoke and the associated health effects," Walden said.

Even with a fair amount of precipitation recently, there is still a risk of wildfires.

"We are still in fire season mode," Lane said.

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pacific northwest | wildfires | washington | oregon

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Washington state endures 'catastrophic' 2023 wildfire season with high ignitions, property loss

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Washington recorded 1,884 wildfire ignitions this summer, marking the second-highest number in the state's history.

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After an abnormally hot and dry summer in Washington, some in the state may say it was good fortune there weren't more large wildfires or that the fire season wasn't that bad.

But fire officials don't see it that way. In fact, Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz said this year was one of Washington's "most challenging" fire seasons yet.

Almost three-fourths of fires Idaho state officials tracked in 2023 were human caused

The state had 1,880 wildfires, the second-highest number on record. Only 165,000 acres burned in those blazes, though, well below the yearly average of 470,000 acres. And about 95% of fires were kept under 10 acres.

While those overall statistics are somewhat positive, parts of the state did suffer catastrophic fires this year.

The two biggest, the Gray and Oregon fires in Spokane County, burned more homes than any other fire in state history, according to Gov. Jay Inslee's office. Together the fires destroyed 369 homes and damaged another 447. The two fires, which spread from Aug. 18 to Aug. 25, also killed two people.

There are also troubling signs that fires are becoming more common in western Washington.

'It wasn't luck': Dedicated state wildfire funding made a difference

Franz credited her department's wildfire fighting and forest management practices for keeping this year's fires contained. She also attributed the department's success to spending lawmakers approved in recent years.

Legislation passed in 2021 set aside $125 million every two years for wildfire response, forest restoration and community resilience - the most significant investment into the state's wildfire programs in recent years.

The bill allowed the Department of Natural Resources to hire more firefighters, expand their air fleet with more modern planes and purchase new ground equipment that can help fight fires, such as bulldozers and excavators.

It also gave the department funding to invest in local efforts to reduce wildfire risk, such as clearing vegetation, doing prescribed burns and retrofitting buildings and homes to better withstand wildfires. The money will also help speed up the department's 20-year Forest Health Strategic Plan, which treats the state's forests so they are less likely to burn.

"It wasn't luck that left us with blue skies most of the summer and early fall," Franz said Wednesday. "It was leadership."

Franz also pointed to partnerships with local fire departments and other state and federal agencies as reasons for such low acreage burning.

Central Mason Fire and EMS Chief Brandon Searles, who helped lead efforts to put out the McEwan fire in Shelton, said the partnerships with other local districts and the Department of Natural Resources are "invaluable."

The fast-moving McEwan fire did not result in any structural damage or injuries.

"We couldn't have fought this fire alone," Searles said.

Fires in western Washington are concerning sign for the future

For the first time in state history, more than half of fires on Department of Natural Resources lands this year were in western Washington, a concerning sign for the future. Historically, large fires on the wetter, cooler side of the state have been rare.

Franz pointed to climate change as one of the biggest drivers for more frequent west side fires.

She said Washington will have to adapt to the changing landscape by implementing a forest health strategy in western Washington, teaching residents about how to avoid accidentally starting fires and improving emergency communication in communities at risk for fires.

"It's a wake up call for every corner of Washington," Franz said. "We've been saying for a long time that every year the risk to homes and the risk to communities continues to grow."

Franz said the department will continue to improve its technology, including by installing artificial intelligence cameras across the state that can detect when fires start and notify responders.

She said she will also keep pushing the Legislature to fund additional equipment, firefighters, partnerships with local fire districts and a program that helps homeowners make their property more fire-safe.
The Washington State Standard, like the Idaho Capital Sun, is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Follow Washington State Standard on Facebook and Twitter.

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WA lands chief: State just had one of its 'most challenging' fire seasons ever * Idaho Capital Sun

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Washington land officials say this year's fire season, with 1,880 wildfires reported, was the second-highest number on record.

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SPOKANE, Wash. - At least two people were killed and dozens of homes have been destroyed during a series of ongoing wildfires in Eastern Washington that are causing air quality concerns across parts of the Pacific Northwest.

Erratic fire behavior caused both the Gray and Oregon Road fires to burn thousands of acres and forced entire towns to evacuate. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency for Spokane County due to the high-risk fire weather and to help coordinate multi-agency efforts to battle the fires.

Washington's Department of Natural Resources estimated the Gray Fire around the city of Medical Lake burned approximately 10,000 acres and was responsible for at least one death. The fast-moving fire also threatened areas around Four Lakes, Cheney, Lakeland Village, Eastern State Hospital, Martin Hall and Pine Lodge and forced the temporary closure of Interstate 90 to the west of Spokane.

On Monday, I-90 reopened in both directions and some areas in Lefevre were downgraded to level 1 evacuation status.
REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM HILARY MAY HELP CLEAR CHOKING WILDFIRE SMOKE IN PACIFIC NORTHWEST
According to the agency, at least 185 structures were either damaged or destroyed by the flames.

The Gray Fire is nearly 50% contained as of Wednesday.

Wildfire smoke is still lingering in parts of the Pacific Northwest, prompting air quality alerts across a few regions of Oregon and Eastern Washington.

An Air Quality Alert issued by multiple Eastern Washington agencies was to remain in effect until noon Wednesday afternoon for central and eastern Washington due to the smoke impacts, though air quality has improved since the weekend.

Multiple wildfires are burning in Northern California contributing to Unhealthy AQIs along the California and Oregon border. Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality also issued an Air Quality Advisory due to the smoke for the eastern Oregon towns of Bend, Redmond, Sunriver, Sisters, La Pine and Brothers that is in effect through Thursday evening.

Spokane County evacuations in place for Oregon Road Fire

Farther east, the Oregon Road Fire burned more than 11,000 acres and destroyed several homes in Washington's Spokane County, according to the state's DNR. Wind gusts in excess of 35 mph helped to push the fire into neighbors around the town of Elk on Friday evening.

At least one person was found dead in a burn zone near Elk, a state DNR spokesperson said Sunday evening. The fire has destroyed more than 80 structures and continues burning out of control.

A large area east and southeast of Elk remains under level 3 evacuation as the fire is still burning uncontrolled as of Wednesday.

The Spokane Valley Fire Department shared a video from the Engine 15 crew taken over the weekend showing the conditions of the fast-moving fire when the blaze jumped Blanchard Road over the weekend.

Due to the high wind speeds, a spokesperson said the use of aviation units was limited, but the state had mustered plenty of resources to combat the fires with ground crews.

Assessments are still ongoing to determine the number of homes and businesses lost to the flames.
CALIFORNIA FIRES: NEARLY 60 NEW BLAZES ATTRIBUTED TO LIGHTNING STRIKES, EVACUATIONS ISSUED
Multiple agencies also battled a more than 700-acre fire near Coulee City that forced evacuations of homes in Douglas County. There were no initial reports of damage from the flames, which occurred about halfway between Seattle and Spokane. According to the local sheriff's department, evacuation notifications were lifted on Friday evening; however, smoke from blazes around the state would likely continue to impact visibilities and air quality levels.

Firefighters continue to battle multiple other wildfires throughout Washington as low relative humidity and high winds caused conducive conditions for wildfires to quickly grow out of control.
WILDFIRE FORCES ENTIRE CAPITAL CITY OF CANADA'S NORTHWEST TERRITORIES TO EVACUATE
The Washington DNR closed the northern block of the Loomis Natural Resources Conservation Area in Okanogan County on Friday as the Crater Creek Fire in Canada approached the U.S-Canadian border. The 54,000-acre fire ignited by lightning was driven toward Loomis by strong winds, according to the DNR.

Neighbors to south, north also battling flames

Washington was not the only region facing several wildfires over the last few days. Both Canada and California reported extensive blazes.

In Canada, nearly 20,000 people were forced out of the capital of the Northwest Territories by raging infernos. In the Golden State, at least 60 fires were started by intense lightning.

According to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, nearly 85% of fires in Oregon and Washington so far this year were human-caused and preventable.

Despite the appearance of a busy time for first responders, the fire season in the U.S. got off to what officials said was a slow start compared to recent years. The combination of a wet winter and spring is widely credited for delaying the start of what usually is an active period for fires across the western U.S.

The opposite appears to be true across Canada, where fires have burned more than 30 million acres, making 2023 the worst year on record, according to data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Smoke has occasionally drifted into the northern U.S., triggering air quality alerts for more than 100 million residents at times.

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Deadly Washington state wildfires fueling air quality advisories in Pacific Northwest

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According to Washington's Department of Natural Resources, wildfires burning around Medical Lake and Elk are the most concerning, with thousands of acres burned.

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Recent news stories told of the Lummi Nation, west of Bellingham, describing a tiny, invasive crab - about 3 inches across the shell - as an "environmental disaster" and "one of the most destructive" aquatic creatures in the world.

The European green crab is on the list of the Top 10 Washington state invasive species, compiled by Justin Bush, executive coordinator at the Washington Invasive Species Council.

These are take-no-prisoners organisms, not native to the ecosystem and on the march. They've arrived by boat, uninvited passengers on cargo ships. They've been introduced by accident, and sometimes on purpose by sometimes-naïve types believing they're doing something good.

The Earth version of the "Alien" movies, they're ready to devastate everything from seafood to agriculture to our native trees. Our state and federal agencies have their own army of biologists to fight them off, sometimes successfully, sometimes reaching more of a detente.

The council already has compiled more than 700 invasive species for this state. From those, it chose 50 "priority species" that were particularly damaging. Bush says the Top 10 is admittedly a subjective list, but, still, "some of the most impactful."

European green crab

It's found a home in the sheltered 750-acre Sea Pond by Lummi Bay, from where the tribe fears it'll attack the Dungeness crabs, clams and juvenile salmon in those waters.

William Jones Jr., Lummi chairman, remembers when about nine months ago he was crab fishing in the bay and pulled up one of the green crabs in a Dungeness crab pot.

"They're small. They fell through the mesh," he says. "We weren't too alarmed at first."

Then the tribe's fish biologists explained what could happen.

"They start to multiply like crazy. They attack any species," says Jones. "Fishing, crabbing, our clam beds, it's been handed to us for several hundred generations. That's our future."

The tribe says Dungeness crab account for upward of 80% of the value of fish and shellfish it harvests. The baby Dungeness would be prime targets for the green crabs, a voracious, indiscriminate eating machine that scarfs down clams, oysters, even marine worms.

Nationally, according to a widely referenced 2005 pape r in Ecological Economics, with the renowned environmental scientist David Pimentel as lead author, some 50,000 species of plants and animals have invaded the United States. Annual cost: $175 billion in today's dollars.

The green crab, native to the ocean waters of Northern Africa up to Norway, ended up here in the ballast water from its origination port, stored in a ship's hull to provide stability.

Upon reaching a destination, the water is emptied at the new port. It's a free ride for all kinds of organisms.

In this state, the green crab has been detected not just by the Lummi, but in Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay.

This month, the number trapped at the Lummi Sea Pond reached 79,000. The invasion is definitely underway.

Northern pike

Bryan McMannis, of St. Maries, Idaho, an elementary school teacher, understands why the Northern pike is a thrill to catch. On April 9, 2004, at Spokane Lake, a reservoir on the river by the same name, he landed the state record for the fish: 34.06 pounds.

The fish now is mounted and displayed in his classroom. McMannis knows the Northern pike are not native to our waters and considered by Washington's Department of Fish and Wildlife as a "highly invasive predator."

But they give a fishing thrill.

"He took the line right out," remembers McMannis. "They fight real hard."

With their big mouths and up to 700 needle-point teeth angled inward to prevent prey from escaping, these are nasty looking fish. Barracudalike is one description.

State fish biologist Chuck Lee, of Spokane, has a photograph of what he found inside a 31-inch Northern pike. It was a 16-inch rainbow trout.

"It can eat a fish almost half of its body size," he says. "They just finagle it until they can eat it head first and swallow it whole."

The first Northern pike were observed in this state in 1970. One can imagine how that happened: some buddies who used to catch them in the Midwest, where they're native and have a fan base. OutdoorNews.com wrote: "They shake their head, they pull hard, they get even feistier at the side of the boat, and I've even had them jump high in the air."

They somehow managed to carry some alive and dump them into waters in Montana and Idaho.

From there, the Northern pike made their way into this state, says Lee, gobbling up our native fish, and ready to take over. A female can lay 200,000 eggs.

Lake Roosevelt, a reservoir created by the impoundment of the Columbia River, and the Box Canyon Reservoir in northeast Washington are a couple of places where they're found.

Now, says Lee, the state contains the pike by netting them and shooting electricity from generators on boats to stun them. The fish are cut up and sunk to the bottom, "to put nutrients back in." The Colville Confederated Tribes offer $10 for every Northern pike head turned in.

But they're here to stay, even if it's in smaller numbers. "The system is so big. Lots of water," says Lee.

Japanese knotweed

"It dominates a number of river banks. It blanks out everything that's native - shrubs, trees, willows, dogwoods," says Steve Burke, King County's noxious weed control manager.

It's certainly a showy plant, growing up to a reported 15 feet, bamboolike, with clusters of flowers that are white or pink.

It's so showy that it was brought from Asia to the United States in the late 1800s as an ornamental plant for East Coast estates. It didn't take long for it spread and take over. It's now found in 42 states.

In King County, cutting and pulling up the plants is time consuming, plus, its roots can extend 30 feet or more, and 6 feet deep. If you dig up the roots and a fragment is left in the ground, the knotweed will resprout.

Another method is to use a needle and inject an herbicide right into the cane of the knotweed.

"It's a lot of work," says Burke.

Zebra and quagga mussels

Sometimes, an invasive species is put on a watch list because of the unmitigated disaster that would result if they made a home here.

Zebra and quagga mussels are both freshwater species, native to Eastern Europe, with the zebra mussel growing up to 2 inches in length, and the quagga mussel slightly bigger. They are listed together as invasive because of their similarities. Not surprisingly, they arrived in this country in the ballast water of ships.

They were discovered in the Great Lakes in 1988 and have since spread to three dozen states.

"We're thankful that the Columbia River is the last major U.S. river with no zebra or quagga mussel population," says Allen Pleus, aquatic invasive species manager for the state.

The mussels can clog pipes and mechanical systems of industrial plants, utilities, locks, and dams. If they take hold in Washington, officials estimate it would cost more than $100 million each year to keep the state's power and water infrastructure running.

The mussels also create ecological havoc.

"They're extremely good filter eaters," says Pleus. That means they are superb at removing nutrients from the water column, effectively starving the native populations of lakes and rivers.

The state has checkpoints such as one on I-90 near the Idaho border. Those towing watercraft have to pull over. The tiny mollusks can stay alive for days outside the water, clinging to the underside of boats.

In 2020, more than 32,000 boats were inspected, with 32 found to be carrying the mussels.

Says the state's material warning about the mussels: "They are only a day's drive away."

Gypsy moth

This moth "is one of the most destructive forest pests ever introduced into the United States," warns the state's Department of Agriculture.

The agency says that through aerial spraying with Btk - naturally occurring bacteria that kills the Lymantria dispar moth - the bugs have not gained a foothold in the state. It tracks the moth population by using 20,000 cardboard traps that contain a synthetic version of a sex hormone emitted by females to attract males.

If you ever see one of these moths fluttering around, it's a male, says Patrick Tobin, an associate professor and insect ecologist at the University of Washington's School of Environmental and Forest Sciences.

"It's completely erratic. They're flying around trying to pick up the scent," he says.

The moths are great hitchhikers, says Tobin.

"When people move here from the East Coast, they bring outdoor furniture, kids' toys. They come with egg masses," he says.

The European variety of the moth is permanently found in 20 states and devours over 300 types of trees and shrubs. The Asian version is even worse, attacking over 600 types of trees and shrubs.

The moths do their damage while in their caterpillar stage. They can almost totally defoliate a tree; the USDA says left unchecked, they can defoliate 13 million acres of trees in one season, and by 2017 had defoliated 75 million acres.

The European version got to America in the 1860s because of a well-meaning but naïve artist and amateur entomologist named Étienne Léopold Trouvelot.

He brought the moth eggs from France to his home in Medford, Massachusetts, hoping to breed hardy silkworms to establish a silk industry in this country, according to a 1989 paper in the Bulletin of the Entomological Society of America.

Instead, some of the caterpillars escaped from a room in his house in which he was cultivating them.

The Asian version likely arrived on the West Coast by way of ships from eastern Russia that were infested with moth egg masses, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It was first detected in 1991 near the Port of Vancouver in British Columbia. The larvae hatched and were blown ashore.

(The Entomological Society of America acknowledges the creature's common name contains a slur. It likely referred to the larvae floating around for miles. The group is now polling its members for a new name. Until then, it urges using the moth's scientific name - Lymantria dispar or L. dispar - allowing it's a mouthful.)

African clawed frog

Yes, another voracious invader, this one from sub-Saharan Africa, came by way of pet stores, then by way of people who bought them, got tired of the frogs and dumped them.

They now have been found in Lacey, Bothell and Issaquah, often in stormwater ponds, says Max Lambert, aquatic research section manager for the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The invasive species council says the clawed frog competes with native species for food, and may introduce pathogens that'll hurt salmon and other natives.

"Small mollusk, crayfish, dragonfly, even small fish, whatever is in their face, they'll put in their mouth," says Lambert. "They can eat things bigger than their mouths. With their little claws they can shred things."

Lambert says the state has put fences around the ponds where the clawed frogs have been found, drained the ponds and sprayed table salt in the ponds to euthanize them. The frogs moved from the ponds to the sewers, then came back.

The frogs are a prohibited species in this state and can't be bought at pet stores. You can't buy them online for transport to this state, says Lambert. "But there are ways around that," he admits.

Asian giant hornet

Reaching 1 ½ to 2 inches long, it looks like a hornet on steroids - the world's largest species of its kind.

The first confirmed report in Washington was on Dec. 8, 2019, when a Blaine resident found one of these mammoths dead in his backyard.

The hornets became a media sensation, especially with descriptions of what they do to those innocent honeybees that just want to pollinate: They murder them.

"The hornets invade the hive, and the worker bees try to defend it, but they fail," says Tobin, the UW insect ecologist.

"Anybody in their way, the hornets rip their heads off. What they want are the developing larvae inside the honeycomb, which they then take back to their colony to feed their young."

It's not clear how the hornets got here, but one way, says Canada's National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health, is on cargo ships arriving in British Columbia.

Since 2020, 45 giant hornets have been confirmed, and four nests eradicated, vacuumed out by workers wearing protective suits.

Because the first hornets here were reported so quickly, it's easier to control their spread, says Tobin.

"There's always a little bit of luck," he says.

Flowering rush

You can see it in Silver Lake Park, 32 miles northeast of Bellingham. It's quite a pretty aquatic plant, with cuplike pink flowers.

"They get around by their good looks," says Laurel Baldwin, coordinator for the Whatcom County noxious weed program.

The pretty in pink plant is native to much of Europe and parts of Asia. It was brought here as an ornamental plant, but by 1897 it had escaped into the wilds and was first reported growing in mud flats near Montreal.

It's now been found along the Yakima River and west to the lakes and wetlands at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, according to the state's Noxious Weed Control Board.

Baldwin says that along with crowding out native plants, the flowering rush, with its massive foliage, clogs everything from irrigation canals to recreational boat motors.

At the 180-acre Silver Lake, she says, the county has tried using herbicides and even sending divers 20 to 22 feet down into the lake to pull up the variation of the plant that stays permanently under water.

"We're having limited success," she says. "It bounces right back."

Cordgrass (Spartina)

These are the bright-green aquatic grasses that you see growing in circular clumps in mud flats and marshes.

Chad Phillips, the state's spartina coordinator, is proud of the work his crews have done.

From a statewide high of over 9,000 solid acres infested in 2003, the program has reduced the cordgrass to 2 ½ acres in 2021, although that's spread along thousands of miles of shoreline in the Puget Sound, Willapa Bay, and Grays Harbor.

This grass outcompetes native plants, including rare and endangered plant species.

If the invasive version of the cordgrass hadn't been controlled, "It would have been devastating to the oyster industry, to crabbing on the coast, shorebirds," Phillips says.

One type of spartina came a century ago as packing material for oysters from the East Coast. Another type was intentionally introduced by well-meaning types in the hopes of stabilizing dike areas or to provide waterfowl habitat for hunters.

The plants are usually spot sprayed with the herbicide imazapyr.

There have been delays on using the chemical because of "the political climate and regulatory restrictions," said a 2017 Washington State University paper about Willapa Bay.

But, the researchers concluded, this "very effective aquatic herbicide" saved the bay for shorebirds.

Feral swine

Numbering over 6 million, they're now found pillaging the landscape in at least 35 states, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

They were first brought into the United States in the 1500s by early explorers and settlers as a source of food. Repeated introductions occurred thereafter, as well as breeding with escaped domestic pigs, according to the USDA.

Says Dr. Ric Torgerson, a veterinarian with the state, "They are the most destructive mammal on the planet. They can eat almost anything that's edible. They destroy crops. They carry multiple diseases."

Feral pigs have been called the "rototillers" of nature because with their long snout and tusks they rip and root for food.

Although a few feral swine have been sighted in southwest Washington, they are abundant in California, Oregon, and Idaho, says the invasive species council.

If you think you've seen one of these feral pigs, with their coarse, bristly hair, the male weighing 130 to 440 pounds, with its long snout flattened at the end, four sharp tusks that grow continuously, report it to invasivespecies.wa.gov.

Best not to try to get near it.

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The Top 10 invaders in Washington: Wild pigs, monster fish, killer flowers and more

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These flora and fauna take no prisoners as they continue their spread across the state and in some cases the country. Arriving by boat, lawn chair and ill-advised messing with nature, the invaders threaten our fragile local ecosystem.

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FOX13 News | Seattle & Western Washington | Formerly Q13 News

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Scientists are fighting a never-ending multi-billion dollar war across the country: an attempt to keep invasive species from spreading and wrecking economies.

In Washington alone, there are 200+ invasive species that have already taken root. The Washington Invasive Species Council tracks them, along with others that have not made it within the states' borders that could cause the state serious harm.

Invasive species can destroy crops, the environment and kill off native animals.

The term invasive species is simply a special way to say: a plant, animal or insect that is in the wrong location. The species themselves aren't bad - they simply are out of place, and in some cases, a species in a location without a natural predator can outperform or harm native species.

The recent European green crab invasion has proven to be a major concern. The invasive crabs have no natural predators in the Pacific Northwest - their arrival has sounded alarm bells within the science community. In 2022, Gov. Jay Inslee bumped the species profile when he issued an emergency order to increase tracking, and eradication efforts.

European green crabs are a threat to native shellfish and eelgrass. They can also damage habitat critical to salmon that are already facing an uphill battle, several species of which are critically endangered.

"In my world, the sky is always falling in one way or another," said Justin Bush, the executive director of the Washington Invasive Species Council. "We really don't have the full number of staffing we need to staff every invasive species. We need to work together across organizations to define priorities and make sure we're putting resources in the best places, for the best return."

The Northern giant hornet is another example of a priority species that Washington has focused on in recent years.

So far, Northern giant hornets have only been discovered in Whatcom County. Upon the arrival of the giant hornet, scientists made plans to trap and track the hornet.

A single Northern giant hornet can wipe out an entire honeybee colony. There is a concern that if the species were to establish itself in the Pacific Northwest it would eventually work its way throughout the United States. That would be detrimental to the U.S. agricultural industry - farms ship in honeybee colonies to pollinate crops.

Honeybees are already facing issues ranging from pesticide to disease. Another predator could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

"It's going to cause food prices to go up because farmers pay me to bring these to put on their lands," said Ted McFall, a beekeeper in Whatcom County whose honeybee colony was attacked previously. "They expect these bees to be there because if I don't bring them, apples are going to be a lot smaller, and blueberries will have a poor yield."

The European green crab and Northern giant hornet are just two species that Washington is actively working to keep at bay.

Quagga mussels - also known as zebra mussels - are a major threat to infrastructure. The freshwater mussels have spread to nearly every freshwater system in the country. A 2017 study estimated that the mussels could cost Washington state more than $100 million annually in damage if they established themselves in Washington's waterways.

Gypsy moths are regularly discovered in Washington communities - they are capable of damaging entire forests, nurseries and parks. The USDA estimates that the moth causes $30 million worth of damage a year.

The list continues, in fact, there are dozens of plants, animals and insects that the state is actively managing or monitoring.

The public plays a role too. As Bush explained to FOX 13, prevention of a species ever making it into an unwanted location is their best tool - steps to avoid the introduction of an invasive species can be easy too.

Some simple actions can make an oversized impact:

Cleaning hiking boots, bikes or gear you use in the outdoors before you go to a second-location

Avoid disposing aquarium pets, plants and water in waterways

Buy firewood where you'll burn it, don't move firewood from one location to another

Never move fish from one body of water to another

Use weed-free hay or mulch

Avoid planting invasive plants in your garden.

If you're interested in taking a more active approach - reporting invasive species, or things that look out of place you can even download the Washington Invasive mobile app.

You can learn more about programs in our state by visiting the Washington Invasive Species Council webpage.

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Invasive species pose serious threat to Washington state

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Scientists are fighting a never-ending multi-billion dollar war across the country: an attempt to keep invasive species from spreading and wrecking economies.

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Dirk Lammers, Associated Press file

Climate change-induced warming may be jeopardizing the survival of honey bee colonies in the Pacific Northwest, a new study has found.

Contributing to this threat is an increasingly long autumn season, which is extending the amount of fall flying weather but is wearing out worker bees for spring, according to the study, published Monday in Scientific Reports.

Worker bees seek out flowers whenever the weather is suitable, no matter how much honey is already in their hives, the authors explained. But flying also shortens the lives of bees, they noted.

"This is a case where a small amount of warming, even in the near future, will make a big impact on honey bees," lead author Kirti Rajagopalan, a Washington State University climate researcher, said in a statement.

"It's not like this is something that can be expected 80 years from now," Rajagopalan continued. "It is a more immediate impact that needs to be planned for."

To explore this phenomenon, the researchers conducted simulations that explored honey bee population dynamics and incorporated climate projections for 2020 and 2100.

They found that Pacific Northwest colonies would likely endure spring collapses in both the near- and long-term cases. This outcome applied both to scenarios in which climate change progressed according to today's trajectories and to those with reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Worker bees tend to forage for food whenever temperatures climb above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the authors noted. When the weather is colder, the bees huddle in the hive, eating honey and shivering to keep warm.

As spring begins, the adult worker bees begin flying again, which also means they start dying, the researchers explained. But if too many older worker bees have already died before their replacements are ready to fly, the entire colony can collapse, the authors warned.

Colonies that winter outside in colder areas in the far north of Washington State might be able persist despite the impacts of climate change, according to the study.

However, spring hive populations closer to the Oregon border could plunge below 9,000 adults by 2050 and below 5,000 by the end of the century, the researchers found. Colony collapse, they explained, can happen when there are fewer than 5,000 to 9,000 adult bees in a hive.

"Even if there is no nutritional stress, no pathogens, no pesticides - just the conditions in fall and winter are enough to compromise the age structure of a colony," said co-author Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, in a statement.

"When the hive comes out of winter, the bees are dying faster than they're being born," DeGrandi-Hoffman added.

But the scientists did also provide some room for hope, by exploring certain climate adaptation measures that could be undertaken to mitigate risk.

The scientists decided to simulate a relatively new technique called "cold storage," in which honey bee hive boxes are placed in cold indoor facilities. They found this method would enable bees to start clustering earlier and, in the process, save the lives of workers.

The models looked at the impacts of moving hive boxes from the Washington-Oregon border area into cold storage beginning in mid-October.

Hypothetical releases then occurred either April 1, when pollen starts becoming available in the Pacific Northwest, or Jan. 31, when more than a million hives are shuttled to California to pollinate almonds.

Although both cases generated larger populations than outdoor baseline conditions, the April 1 releases led to stronger growth, because brood-rearing tends to begin in late January, per the study.

"While autumn has historically been a time of preparation for winter hibernation and confinement, climate change is making it a crucible that defines the ranges and diversity of species across habitats," the authors stated.

"The success of the management schemes will have broad implications for the socio-economic viability of the beekeeping industry, the production of crops that rely on honey bee pollination, and food and nutritional security," they concluded.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Honey bee colonies at heightened risk of collapse in the Pacific Northwest: Study

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Climate change-induced warming may be jeopardizing the survival of honey bee colonies in the Pacific Northwest, a new study has found. Contributing to this threat is an increasingly long autumn season, which is extending the amount of fall flying weather but is wearing out worker bees for spring, according to the study, published Monday in Scientific...

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Climate Lab is a Seattle Times initiative that explores the effects of climate change in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The project is funded in part by The Bullitt Foundation, Jim and Birte Falconer, Mike and Becky Hughes, University of Washington and Walker Family Foundation, and its fiscal sponsor is the Seattle Foundation.

One of nature's most important keystone species is working itself to death.

Colonies of honeybees - crucial pollinators for a wide variety of plants and cash crops - are at risk of collapse because of climate change, a recent study by scientists at Washington State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture found.

Long and warmer fall months across the Pacific Northwest encourage bees to emerge from their colonies when they should be resting, said Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman, a research leader at the USDA's Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Arizona.

"When it's warm out, they fly and when they fly they're physiologically aging," said DeGrandi-Hoffman, who is also one of the study's authors. "It's very taxing to fly."

Come springtime, bees that should be emerging young and rested are instead elderly and infirm, she said. They're too old to care for younger bee generations, which in turn cannot care for the generations after them.

When the colonies sink below a certain threshold (around 5,000 bees), multiple things start to go wrong and the population spirals, said Brandon Hopkins, another author and manager of WSU's apiary program and laboratory. The bees will no longer be able to keep warm, nursing bees can't feed the developing brood and there won't be enough bees to forage for food.

"Everything falls apart," Hopkins said. "The whole system crashes."

All because of a few degrees' increase in temperature.

The study modeled many different climate scenarios for the decades ahead, said Kirti Rajagopalan, another author, and an assistant professor in WSU's Department of Biological Systems Engineering. How severe the warming trend continues for the Pacific Northwest depends on whether humans curtail greenhouse gas emissions and, if so, by how much.

Warmer fall and winter months don't happen every year, and the Earth will continue to see its natural variability, but climate change pushes each end of the spectrum to greater extremes than before.

Not only did global temperatures mark the hottest year on record in 2023 but regional temperatures consistently hit record highs as well.

By 2050 those warm swings for fall and winter months could push between 4 or 5 degrees above normal, Rajagopalan said.

"Two degrees might not make a big difference at the beach," Hopkins said. "But it can be the difference between bees flying and not flying."

The difference between a sustainable bee colony and collapse.

Some years between 40% and 60% of bee colonies collapse across the country, DeGrandi-Hoffman said. The consequences will become more and more apparent.

Not only can the study's findings apply to bees outside of the Pacific Northwest, but other pollinators are suffering as well, DeGrandi-Hoffman said.

"They're really the glue in our ecosystems," she said. "And you never notice the glue - until it stops working."

With bees specifically, that glue (pollination) produces about a third of our diets as humans, Hopkins said.

"Generally the most nutritious and delicious foods that we have," he said. "Fruits and vegetables and many of the nuts are produced by bees."

There's also a beef and dairy component, Hopkins added. Bees pollinate forage crops like alfalfa, which feed cows.

Don't forget the honey, either.

Eric Olson saw that widespread pollination firsthand. He also witnessed the collapses.

For 40 years Olson trucked his 18,000 honeybee colonies between California and Washington, moving among farms and orchards where their job was to pollinate everything from almonds to tree fruits, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, carrots, radishes, onions, canola and alfalfa.

For years, Olson said, "seven days a week at 2 a.m. I was somewhere in my big truck, hauling bees."

Bee populations declined toward the end of Olson's career, and over his last winter in business he lost nearly two thirds of his hives.

He endearingly refers to recently hatched honeybees as "little fuzzies," which are imperiled by unseasonably warm weather during times with low food availability.

"The little fuzzies were hatching when they normally did but because they were outside and it was warm enough to fly they would go out but there wasn't anything out there for them," Olson said.

"They used up their life," he said.

Olson sold his business in 2016 and the decline continued into a complete collapse, he said.

"Last year is the first year since 1980 that there was not Olson's honeybee pollination in the Yakima Valley," he said.

While bee populations are suffering across the country, they're not all collapsing at the same time or for the same reasons. One survey from the nonprofit Bee Informed showed that beekeepers saw their second-highest loss rates on record last year. At the same time other domesticated colonies in Texas have exploded in population in recent years, The Washington Post reported.

The problems a given hive faces depend on many factors, including the climate, its location and whether it's a domestic colony or not.

Aside from warming temperatures, Olson said bees also suffer from a lack of food and widespread viruses.

Fortunately, the experts agree, there are some solutions.

Beekeepers can rely on cold atmosphere storage to replace the chilly climes that usually trigger a dormant period in the hives, Olson said.

And some farmers are using massive black or white tarps to heat or cool the soils in which wild bees live, Hopkins said.

The Washington state Legislature this year passed a measure requiring projects that include landscaping to make at least 25% of the area a "pollinator habitat" using native plants. Gov. Jay Inslee signed that measure into law Thursday.

The thing that will prevent the greatest amount of warming, however, is for humans to cut greenhouse gas emissions and work to reverse the worst effects of climate change, Rajagopalan said.

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PNW honeybee colonies at risk of collapse, WSU study finds

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Bees and other pollinators are "really the glue in our ecosystems," said USDA scientist Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman.

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FOX13 News | Seattle & Western Washington | Formerly Q13 News

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A recent study from Washington State University (WSU) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture sheds light on the potential risks posed to honey bee populations by warmer autumns and winters, with significant implications for pollination services and agricultural productivity.

Published in Scientific Reports, the study delved into the impacts of climate change on honey bee colony dynamics, particularly focusing on the Pacific Northwest, but holds implications for hives across the U.S.

"This is a case where a small amount of warming, even in the near future, will make a big impact on honey bees," said lead author Kirti Rajagopalan, a WSU climate researcher. "It's not like this is something that can be expected 80 years from now. It is a more immediate impact that needs to be planned for."

Keep reading to learn more about the study and its key findings.

Rising concerns for honey bee survival

Honey bees and other pollinators play a crucial role in agriculture, responsible for pollinating approximately 75% of global crops, including fruits, nuts, and vegetables. However, these vital insects are facing multiple challenges, including changing land use, habitat loss, pest pressures, pesticide exposure and climate change. While previous studies have highlighted correlations between monthly meteorological variables and honey bee colony losses, this study looked deeper into the effects of warmer autumn and winter temperatures on colony population dynamics and age structure.

Key findings of the study

The study used the VARROAPOP population dynamics model driven by future climate projections to simulate honey bee populations under different scenarios. Results indicated that warmer autumns and winters are expected to extend honey bee flight times, leading to changes in the age structure of the overwintering colony. Specifically, late-season flights alter the colony's age distribution, skewing it towards older bees, which in turn increases the risk of colony failure in the spring. This "spring dwindling" phenomenon occurs when warmer spring temperatures stimulate flight activity, causing mortality, especially in older foraging bees.

Implications for beekeepers and agriculture

For beekeepers and the agricultural industry, these findings signal potential challenges ahead. The transition from summer to winter bees is critical for colony survival, and disruptions in this process due to extended flight times could have detrimental effects. The study also evaluated an emerging management strategy to mitigate these impacts: overwintering colonies in temperature-controlled indoor facilities. The use of cold storage facilities could help maintain stable temperatures, reducing the physiological stress on bees and potentially improving overwintering survival rates.

Bridging gaps for bee conservation

The researchers emphasize the need to bridge critical gaps in understanding how to optimize winter management strategies in different locations and conditions. This includes identifying the most effective ways to support honey bee populations in the face of a changing climate. By studying the effects of climate change on honey bee dynamics, WSU researchers aim to provide insights that can aid in the conservation of these essential pollinators.

As concerns for pollinator health continue to grow, studies like this one play a vital role in guiding conservation efforts and sustainable agricultural practices. Through a deeper understanding of the impacts of climate change on honey bee populations, researchers and beekeepers alike can work towards ensuring the resilience and survival of these important insects.

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PNW honey bees threatened by warmer autumns, winters: study

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A recent study from WSU and the U.S. Department of Agriculture sheds light on the potential risks posed to honey bee populations by warmer autumns and winters.

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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Orca scientist Rob Williams always thought that conservation was a knowledge problem, that once science showed why a species was declining, people would fix it.

But new research concludes otherwise. Even in the case of one of the world's most charismatic species, the endangered southern resident killer whales that frequent Puget Sound are facing an accelerating risk of extinction, a new population analysis shows.

Despite all we know about them and why they are declining, this beloved species is hurtling toward extinction in plain sight-a peril scientists that published the paper memorably call "Bright Extinction," oblivion happening right before our eyes.

"There is no scenario in which the population is stable," said Williams, co-founder and chief scientist at the research nonprofit Oceans Initiative, and lead author on the paper published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment. "We have a generation or two where the population is not fluctuating around zero, it is fluctuating around a decline, then it accelerates to a faster rate of decline to extinction. That is without all the threats that are worsening. That was a real eye-opener. This is what the status quo will do."

In their model, the scientists found the southern residents declining in population until falling off a cliff in about 50 years-two killer whale generations-with only about 20 of their family members left within a century. Accounting for increasing threats would make the picture even worse.

This, Williams has had to face, is not a problem of adequate information. Instead, it's a matter of inadequate action. "I assumed if only we had the right data we would make the right decisions. But ... not only do we know their biology and the threats they face," he said of the southern residents, "we have known these things for a very long time."

Climate change accentuates the extinction risk.

Warming water in the ocean disrupts ocean food webs that feed Chinook salmon-the primary prey of these orcas. And warming rivers hurt salmon survival and reproduction. Other threats, including ocean shipping traffic and other noise that disrupts orca hunting, and habitat destruction also are intensifying. Alteration of the environment is making it, at this rate, a place in which these co-evolved animals can no longer live.

Carl Safina, study author, ecologist and professor for nature and humanity at Stony Brook University in New York, sees in the doom of species extinction and looming loss of the southern residents a moral test for people.

"This is like a slow-motion collision; this is where we see the brick wall or the cliff, it's clear, the road is dry, it's 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning and we are going 8 miles an hour, and it's half a mile away, and then a quarter of a mile away and then we see it, and our smart sensors start beeping, and then we hit the accelerator and crash ... why do we do that?"

Laws alone clearly are not enough: The Endangered Species Act, which turned 50 this year, calls for preservation of all species, no matter how humble. Yet here is one of the most intelligent animals in all the oceans, and its top predator, barely hanging on.

What's needed, Safina said, is a fundamental shift in how we all live here.

"Socially, we need an ethic that values the life on this planet, and that sees us as stewards."

So dire is the state of the southern residents-there are only 74 left-that it may be time to consider more drastic interventions, including preventive vaccination of at least some of the most biologically valuable members, the papers' authors state. A plan also needs to be mustered to be ready for a catastrophic event, such as a disease outbreak requiring a veterinary response across the U.S.-Canada border.

To give the southern residents a better chance at hunting success, the paper recommends some profound changes. Voluntary slowdowns already in place for ships have been found to cut noise levels by nearly half, according to the paper, which in turn results in increased hunting activity by killer whales.

Yet at the same time, multiple development projects are underway that will increase shipping traffic in the region, with completion of the second TransMountain tar sands oil pipeline terminating at the port of Vancouver, and a major expansion of the shipping terminal at Roberts Bank, the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project, planned right at the Fraser River delta where orcas hunt.

It may be time to consider mandatory ocean noise budgets, caps or limits to allow killer whales to hunt scarce prey more effectively, the paper found.

A fresh look at fisheries management also is needed, according to the paper, to leave more fish in the sea for orcas. Moving fisheries in Alaska and British Columbia away from Chinook rearing grounds and migration routes in the sea to river mouth and estuarine locations would result in an immediate increase of Chinook critical to orcas of up to 25%, according to the paper.

Such a fishery could also help recover a Chinook population more like what orcas evolved with. By not harvesting immature fish in marine fisheries and allowing large females to pass through to spawning grounds, a size increase in the Chinook of up to 40% could occur over a 50-year period, according to the paper. That would provide more of the big Chinook orcas need and prefer. Freshwater habitat restoration could also continue to support wild Chinook abundance, instead of releasing more hatchery fish into the sea.

Hatchery fish compete with wild fish for food and spawning area. They also can weaken wild Chinook fitness by interbreeding or disease, noted study author Misty MacDuffee, salmon biologist with the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, a science nonprofit. She sees no pathway to orca recovery without fisheries reform and other changes to protect the orca's preferred food.

Another recent paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Ecosphere examined the relationship between the availability of prey and southern resident population ups and downs, to investigate how those relationships might have changed over time.

The work confirmed the essential link between the southern residents and their preferred food. "Prey still matters," said Eric Ward, an author on the paper and scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Northwest Fisheries Science Center. The paper also found that the northern resident orcas-whose population is increasing-could be affecting the southern residents' survival because of competition for the same food in shared waters.

Joe Gaydos, science director of the SeaDoc Society, a science research and education nonprofit and author on Nature paper, said the population analysis was a wake-up call as to just how at risk the southern residents are, without a change in course. What he hopes now is that decision-makers and the public will use that information to ramp up efforts to save a species that defines much of the wonder of the region.

"We have done a lot of great stuff for southern residents, and we need to do more," Gaydos said. "It's like when people go to the doctor in their 60s and say, "Should I eat better and stop smoking and drinking and exercise?" and the doctor says, "Yes, and you need to do all of them and you should have done it 20 years ago." That is what this paper is saying.

"We don't have time. We are talking about making some big changes in the next couple of generations of killer whales, or we are out of time."

That does not make this new work documenting the southern residents' accelerating extinction risk a give-up-hope paper, Gaydos said, but the opposite.

"Now is the time to show the money, and to make the effort." For one thing, we owe it to these animals, Gaydos noted.

The southern residents are in such deep trouble in part because of the capture era, during which a third of the whales were taken for sale to aquariums and other entertainment venues.

"We just need to do what we need to do, make it happen, it is on us, we got them here. We are the reason they are endangered," Gaydos said of the southern residents. "First with the captures, and later with the salmon, and the contaminants we made; those are not naturally occurring, and those are our boats out there."

Tim Regan, former executive director of the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, who is not an author on the paper, says it's not over for the southern residents. "I personally am one that would say it is never too late," Regan said. Other species, from elephant seals to whooping cranes, have made remarkable comebacks, even from dire straits.

The southern residents are the top predator in these waters, and they are symbolic of the wonder of our natural surroundings, and a commitment to other forms of life that we cherish, Regan said.

"They are such a beautiful reminder of the nature of other species. If we don't care about them, I don't know what we would care about.

"You can't be blamed for failing, but you can be blamed for not trying."

More information: Rob Williams et al, Warning sign of an accelerating decline in critically endangered killer whales (Orcinus orca), Communications Earth & Environment (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-024-01327-5

2024 The Seattle Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Extinction risk to southern resident orcas accelerating as researchers raise alarm

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Orca scientist Rob Williams always thought that conservation was a knowledge problem, that once science showed why a species was declining, people would fix it.

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People have taken many steps in recent decades to help the Pacific Northwest's endangered killer whales, which have long suffered from starvation, pollution and the legacy of having many of their number captured for display in marine parks.

An adult female Southern Resident killer whale (J16) swims with her calf (J50) in this September 2015 file photo. New research suggests that inbreeding may be a key reason that the Pacific Northwest's endangered population of killer whales has failed to recover despite decades of conservation efforts.
NOAA Fisheries / AP

They've breached dikes and removed dams to create wetland habitat for Chinook salmon, the orcas' most important food. They've limited commercial fishing to try to ensure prey for the whales. They've made boats slow down and keep farther away from the animals to reduce their stress and to quiet the waters so they can better hunt.

So far, those efforts have had limited success, and research published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution suggests why: The whales are so inbred that they are dying younger and their population is not recovering. Female killer whales take about 20 years to reach peak fertility, and the females may not be living long enough to ensure the growth of their population.

While that news sounds grim for the revered orcas - known as the "southern resident" killer whales - it also underscores the urgency of conservation efforts, said Kim Parsons, a geneticist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's NOAA Fisheries who co-authored the study. The population is not necessarily doomed, she said.

"It's not often inbreeding itself that will result in a shortened lifespan or kill an individual," Parsons said. "It's really that inbreeding makes these individuals more vulnerable to disease or environmental factors. We can support the population by supporting the environment and giving them the best chance possible."

The struggles of the charismatic population of orcas that frequent the waters between Washington state and the Canadian province of British Columbia have been well documented - including in 2018, when one grieving mother carried her stillborn calf for 17 days in an apparent effort to mourn or revive it.

The southern resident population comprises three clans of whales known as the J, K and L pods. They are socially distinct and even communicate differently from other orca populations, including the nearby northern residents, which are listed as threatened and which primarily range from Vancouver Island up to southeast Alaska.

An endangered southern resident female orca leaps from the water while breaching in Puget Sound, west of Seattle, in this Jan. 18, 2014 file photo.
Elaine Thompson / AP

While the southern residents' range overlaps with other populations of killer whales, they haven't regularly interbred in 30 generations, the researchers said.

In the 1960s and 1970s, dozens of Pacific Northwest whales were caught for display in marine theme parks. The whale-capture industry argued that there were many orcas in the sea, and that some could be sustainably caught.

At least 13 orcas died in the roundups, and 45 were delivered to theme parks around the world - reducing the southern resident population by about 40%. The brutality of the captures began to draw public outcry and a lawsuit to stop them in Washington state.

Today only 73 southern residents remain, according to the Center for Whale Research on Washington state's San Juan Island. That's just two more than in 1971. Of those captured, only one - 56-year-old Lolita, at the Miami Seaquarium - survives. The Seaquarium announced last year it would no longer feature Lolita in shows.

Prior studies have suggested that inbreeding was a problem, including a 2018 study that found just two males had fathered more than half the calves born to the southern residents since 1990.

For the new research, NOAA geneticist Marty Kardos, Parsons and other colleagues sequenced the genomes of 100 living and dead southern residents, including 90% of those alive now. Those whales had lower levels of genetic diversity and higher levels of inbreeding than other populations of killer whales in the North Pacific, they found.

The capture of the whales decades ago, as well as the geographic or social isolation of the animals, likely explains the inbreeding, the researchers said.

Meanwhile, conservation efforts have helped other North Pacific orca populations thrive. The northern resident killer whales have increased from about 122 animals in 1974 to more than 300 by 2018. Like the southern residents, they only eat fish, primarily salmon - unlike many other killer whales, which eat mammals such as seals.

The Alaska resident killer whale population is estimated to have doubled from 1984 to 2010. According to the researchers, the southern residents would likely be on a similar trajectory if not for their elevated levels of inbreeding.

Inbreeding has also afflicted other populations of isolated or endangered animals, such as mountain lions in California, gorillas in Africa and bottle nose dolphins off western Australia. In some cases, scientists may be able to improve the gene pool in one population by capturing and introducing animals from another.

That's not the case for orcas, which are massive and free-swimming. Further, the southern residents already have opportunities to interbreed - they just haven't done so, Parsons said.

"We really have to leave it to those whales to mate with whom they choose and support the population in other ways," Parsons said

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New research points to another big problem for endangered orcas in the Northwest: inbreeding

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New research suggests that inbreeding may be a key reason that the Pacific Northwest's endangered population of killer whales has failed to recover despite decades of conservation efforts.

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To protect orcas, boats in Puget Sound must stay 1,000 yards away

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SB 5371 expands the buffer zone for endangered southern resident killer whales, who depend on sonar to hunt and communicate in the Salish Sea.

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The Pacific Northwest is home to some of the world's most incredible wildlife and natural habitats. From the towering mountains of the Cascade Range to the waters of Puget Sound and the Salish Sea, the region is a unique backdrop to a bustling urban city. One of the most iconic creatures of the Pacific Northwest is the orca, also known as the killer whale. Orcas are apex predators that play a critical role in the region's marine ecosystems by keeping prey populations in check and dispersing nutrients throughout the ocean. Our Southern Resident orcas are facing a number of threats, including habitat loss, pollution, and a diminishing food source. The Port of Seattle, along with other regional and industry leaders are making strides when it comes to protecting the critically endangered species' habitat and future.

June marks Orca Awareness Month and June 8 is World Ocean Day. While orcas deserve attention every month of the year, it is a good time to highlight what industries are doing to protect our oceans, and how you can help from home.

Five actions industry leaders are taking:

1. Keeping a "Quiet Sound"

Underwater noise impacts orcas' ability to hunt, communicate, navigate, and avoid danger. That noise in Puget Sound can come from a variety of sources, including (but not limited to) recreational boats, commercial vessels, and ferries.

To address this issue, the Port of Seattle partnered with the Port of Tacoma, the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), resource agencies, tribes, and non-profit organizations to develop the Quiet Sound Program. In addition to reducing underwater noise, the program is improving "real-time" systems for reporting whale sightings so that pilots of large commercial vessels can be alerted.

2. Making more fish

Chinook salmon are an important food source for Southern Resident orcas. In fact, Chinook make up more than 80% of their diet! Salmon is a good source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential to the orcas. To help increase the Chinook population, the Port of Seattle is restoring marine, estuarine and freshwater habitat in the Green-Duwamish Watershed and Elliott Bay. These restored habitats are helping to make more fish for the orcas!

3. Keeping Puget Sound a "no discharge zone"

Since 2004, the Port has been part of an agreement with Cruise Line International Association North West & Canada (CLIA-NWC), and Washington Department of Ecology to help prevent wastewater discharges from large cruise ships into all Washington waters. This agreement bans wastewater discharges, requires sampling and monitoring, and provides for inspections that help ensure that waters are kept clean for orcas.

4. Studying bull kelp forests with Seattle Aquarium

Bull kelp provides food and shelter for marine life, helps improve water quality, and stores carbon. Healthy kelp forests are a critical component of the Puget Sound and Salish Sea food web. Unfortunately, our region has seen a sharp decline in kelp forests.

To better understand this decline and how to help restore bull kelp forests, the Port of Seattle and the Seattle Aquarium have partnered to use an underwater drone, also known as ROV Nereo, to take a closer look. Our researchers hope that more detailed study will help us better understand how to conserve, protect, and restore vital kelp forests at the Port of Seattle and across Puget Sound.

5. Building sustainable shorelines

The Port's Sustainable Shorelines Program (SSP) is replacing hard shoreline armor - such as vertical bulkheads and rip-rap - with "greener" alternatives that improve water quality, increase carbon storage, and provide habitat for fish and wildlife. The program is also increasing the production of terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates (bugs!), which are a critical prey resource for young Chinook salmon

Five things you can do to help killer whales:

1. Don't dump in the Sound

Puget Sound is a sensitive ecosystem; pollution is harmful to the Sound and the orcas. When you're close to the Sound, dispose of waste properly and don't dump oil, paint, trash, or other items and chemicals into storm drains or the water.

2. Manage stormwater

Rainwater flows from your home or business into Puget Sound. As it travels towards the storm drains, it picks up pollutants which are harmful to fish and wildlife, including orcas. To help prevent this, use lawn and home care products that are non-toxic, and keep your gutters, drains, and driveways free of debris. And consider installing a rain garden - they're a beautiful and functional way to protect salmon and orcas!

3. Respect boating regulations

Washington has several boating restrictions in place to protect Southern Resident orcas, including staying at least 300 yards away and slowing down to seven knots within half of a mile of orcas. If you see whale watch vessels that are stopped in a particular location, it's a tell-tale sign that they may be around - so slow down and be careful! Also, watch for the whale warning flag, which helps notify boaters when there's a whale nearby. The flag is white, red, and yellow, with a black image of a whale tail. Last, if you're a boater, make sure you keep your boat well-maintained to ensure that it operates quietly and stays free of leaks.

4. Safely dispose of hazardous chemicals

For the health of the orcas, wildlife habitats, and other living organisms - including us! - please don't dispose of hazardous chemicals in the toilet or sink. Take them to a hazardous waste disposal facility. Most jurisdictions will take them for free. This includes cleaning products, medications, batteries, oil, and more. Contact your local jurisdiction or waste management company for more information.

5. Support salmon recovery

Southern Resident orcas depend on salmon, but their population is in trouble due to habitat loss and pollution. You can support salmon recovery by volunteering to clean up and restore habitat at a stewardship event. Check out the Port's events and look for others in the area.

By taking these simple steps, and with the support of coordinated industry efforts, we can all protect the orcas, their precious habitat, and our beautiful region.

Photo credit: "Southern Resident killer whales" by NOAA Fisheries West Coast is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

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Here's What You Can Do to Protect the Orcas

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By Jon Sloan, Senior Manager, Environmental Programs, Port of Seattle

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Commercial net fishing harming salmon and other species

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Commercial net fishing harming salmon and other species

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A new analysis released by NOAA Fisheries confirms commercial marine net pens operating in Puget Sound are harming threatened and endangered salmon, steelhead, and other protected fish, as well as their critical habitats.
The comprehensive new analysis released in February, called a biological opinion, marks the first-time that federal agencies have ever conducted this type of rigorous formal consultation in the three decades that commercial net pens have operated in Washington waters. The findings represent an important and major shift from the federal agency's former expert opinion that commercial net pens operating in Puget Sound are unlikely to harm any species protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Under the Endangered Species Act, a biological opinion evaluates the extent of harm a proposed action will have on threatened or endangered species and whether such harm could jeopardize the continued existence of the species. Biological opinions also include conditions for monitoring and reducing harmful impacts to protected species.

In August 2017, one of Cooke Aquaculture's net pens operating in the Cypress Island Marine Reserve collapse releasing over 260,000 nonnative Atlantic salmon into Puget Sound. Research by Wild Fish Conservancy and colleagues later exposed that likely 100% of these fish were infected with an exotic virus imported by Cooke and amplified and spread in their Puget Sound net pens undetected by state regulators.

The Findings

In the new biological opinion, NOAA Fisheries concludes that while commercial net pen aquaculture is unlikely to cause jeopardy, or in other words, unlikely to be the single cause of extinction for any ESA-listed population, these operations are adversely affecting several of Puget Sound's threatened and endangered wild fish species and harming their critical habitats. The imperiled species NOAA found are likely to be harmed by the impacts of commercial net pens, include Chinook salmon, steelhead, Hood canal summer-run chum salmon, yelloweye rockfish, and bocaccio rockfish.

The analysis found this harm (that the Endangered Species Act refers to as 'take') is reasonably and likely to occur through a variety of mechanisms, including but not limited to:

degraded water quality from discharged fish waste and other pollutants

reducing foraging production forjuvenile and adult salmonids and other protected fish due to bio-deposits and contaminants

bycatch of ESA-listed fish during harvest of farmed fish

predation of ESA-listed fish by farmed fish in net pens

competition and predation of ESA-listed fish in marine and freshwater ecosystems when farmed fish escape

reduced reproductive success from interbreeding when farmed fish escape

bycatch of wild fish during attempts to recover escaped farmed fish

reduced fitness and survival from the transmission of pathogens to juvenile and adult salmonids from farmed fish

This acknowledgement of harm from the highest level of government is significant, particularly considering one of NOAA's objectives is to work with the industry to promote and expand aquaculture nationwide. Even through this conservative lens, the agency's analysis clearly acknowledges the various mechanisms in which Puget Sound's commercial net pens risk and harm Chinook, steelhead, and other threatened and endangered species and the habitats they depend on.

The net pen aquaculture industry, including Cooke Aquaculture, has emphatically celebrated this report to members of the press and on industry news sites in an attempt to downplay the findings that their operations are harming the very species the public, local governments, and Tribal Nations are working tirelessly to protect and restore.

"The fact that this industry is celebrating their operations won't cause the immediate extinction of our threatened and endangered species, but rather will only continue to contribute to their decline is an unacceptably low bar." Emma Helverson, Executive Director, Wild Fish Conservancy

Photo by Tavish Campbell, tavishcampbell.ca

How We Got Here

The new biological opinion investigating Puget Sound net pens is the direct result of a decade of legal challenges by Our Sound, Our Salmon organizer Wild Fish Conservancy against NOAA Fisheries and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to comply with the Endangered Species Act in their assessment of the impacts commercial net pens pose to protected species and their ecosystems. Prior to these legal actions, NOAA and the EPA firmly held that net pens were unlikely to harm any ESA-listed species and therefore comprehensive review of the potential effects through a biological opinion had never occurred.

Under the Endangered Species Act, federal agencies are required to go back and 'reinitiate consultation' and prepare a new biological opinion in certain cases, such as when new information that previously had not been considered reveals effects of the action that may affect listed species or their critical habitat.

Between 2008 and 2018, Wild Fish Conservancy argued in two separate lawsuits that NOAA and the EPA were required to reinitiate formal consultation and conduct the first comprehensive biological opinion due to the growing scientific record of the potential harm net pens pose, and in response to major pathogen outbreak and escape events that occurred in Puget Sound net pen facilities over that time.

In 2010, a federal Court ruled that NOAA and the EPA had failed to use the best available science when making their decision and ordered the agencies to go back and reconsider whether a biological opinion is prudent. After a brief consultation, NOAA and EPA reported back to the Court that they had determined once again that this formal consultation was unnecessary.

Shortly after this decision, a massive viral outbreak occurred in Atlantic salmon net pens off the coast of Bainbridge Island in 2012 that spread to all three facilities in Rich Passage, persisting for over a month during a time when juvenile wild salmon were out-migrating through Puget Sound and killing over 1 million pounds of farmed Atlantic salmon.

Wild Fish Conservancy again challenged the agencies' decision to avoid a biological opinion in 2015, a lawsuit that was ongoing when a net pen imploded in the Cypress Island Marine Reserve in August 2017. The collapse released over 260,000 nonnative farmed Atlantic salmon into Puget Sound, fish now known to be infected with an exotic virus imported by the industry and amplified in their net pens undetected by regulators.

Finally in 2018, on the eve of Court proceedings and after a federal Court rejected the agencies' efforts to dismiss the 2015 lawsuit, NOAA and EPA announced they had entered into formal consultation under the Endangered Species Act. The result of that formal consultation is the new biological opinion released in February 2022.

What's Next?

NOAA's acknowledgement of the harm commercial net pens pose is a major step forward, however significant concerns remain over how federal regulators intend to minimize that harm or 'take' they report is reasonable and likely to occur. The biological opinion includes a section on 'Reasonable and Prudent Measures', however this mitigation relies entirely on NOAA and the EPA reviewing monitoring data and reports the commercial net pen industry is already required to submit to Washington state agencies as part of their existing permits.

In short, the primary strategy for minimizing or eliminating harm to our most threatened or endangered fish populations depends directly on the commercial net pen industry self-monitoring and self-reporting their own violations. This is particularly concerning given Puget Sound's current and only commercial net pen operator Cooke Aquaculture has demonstrated a pattern and practice of violating state and federal law, both in Puget Sound and around the world. While leasing public waters in Washington, Cooke Aquaculture has violated the terms of their permits, leases, and was held accountable for $2.75 million in Clean Water Act violations (including failure to accurately report.)

It is imperative that federal and state agencies work together to address this failed regulatory approach that is unlikely to prevent catastrophic events before the occur and will only continue to put threatened and endangered wild salmon, steelhead, tribal treaty rights, and the public's interest at risk.

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New Federal Analysis Finds Puget Sound Commercial Net Pens Are Harming Salmon, Steelhead, And Other Protected Fish

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A new analysis released by NOAA Fisheries confirms commercial marine net pens operating in Puget Sound are harming threatened and endangered salmon, steelhead, and other protected fish, as well as their critical habitats.

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Report: Washington salmon are in hot water | Kent Reporter

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Ten of the 14 salmon species listed as endangered are in crisis.

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Feds want grizzly bears back in the North Cascades

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Federal agencies picked their preferred plan to return grizzly bears to the North Cascades. It would allow landowners to call for help if the bears threaten livestock.

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European honey bee extracts nectar from an Aster flower (Credit: John Severns/ Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)

In addition to providing us with delicious honey, the hardworking honey bees also pollinate about a third of food crops and almost 90 percent of wild grasses, like alfalfa, used to feed livestock. Hence, it is not surprising that their declining population, caused by climate change, habitat loss, and deadly microbial diseases, has researchers scrambling to find ways to protect the vulnerable insects, which are so crucial to our existence. Now, scientists from the University of Helsinki in Finland have found a way to help honey bees fight off infectious diseases with a sweet, edible vaccine!

Vaccinating non-humans is not a novel idea. Domesticated dogs and cats have been inoculated against rabies, Lyme disease, and even the flu for many years. However, using them to protect insects has never been considered possible. That's because vaccinations entail injecting a dead, or weakened, version of the virus into the body and allowing the immune system to create antibodies to fend off the disease. Since insects do not possess antibodies, they lack a "memory" for fighting infections and therefore do not benefit from traditional vaccinations.

Some of the foods that could be affected if honey bees disappear (Credit: Specialtyfood.com)

Dalial Freitak, a biologist at the University of Helsinki, came up with the idea of an edible insect vaccine in 2014, after observing that when a moth was fed certain bacteria, it was able to pass on immunity to its offspring. Meanwhile, her colleague, Heli Salmela, had noticed that vitellogenin, a bee protein, appeared to have a similar effect to invasive bacteria in bees.

"So they could actually convey something by eating. I just didn't know what the mechanism was. At the time, as I started my post-doc work in Helsinki, I met with Heli Salmela, who was working on honeybees and a protein called vitellogenin. I heard her talk, and I was like: OK, I could make a bet that it is your protein that takes my signal from one generation to another. We started to collaborate, got funding from the Academy of Finland, and that was actually the beginning of PrimeBEE," Freitak explains.

How the American foulbrood bacteria invade and decimate hives (Credit: Current Opinion in Insect Science/Sciencedirect.com)

The first PrimeBEE vaccine, which is still undergoing safety tests, aims to protect honeybees against American foulbrood, or AFB, an infectious disease which affects bee colonies worldwide. The harmful bacteria, introduced to the hive by nurse bees, feed on larvae and generate spores which spread and infect the entire hive. "It's a death sentence for a hive or colony to be diagnosed with the disease," says Toni Burnham, president of the D.C. Beekeepers Alliance in Washington.

The researchers, who unveiled their findings on October 18, 2018, say the vaccine teaches honeybees to identify harmful diseases, similar to how antibodies function in humans and animals. They explain, "When the queen bee eats something with pathogens in it, the pathogen signature molecules are bound by vitellogenin. Vitellogenin then carries these signature molecules into the queen's eggs, where they work as inducers for future immune responses." The researchers believe that once the first PrimeBEE vaccine is perfected, defense against other pathogens will be easy to create.

"We need to help honey bees, absolutely. Even improving their life a little would have a big effect on the global scale. Of course, the honey bees have many other problems as well: pesticides, habitat loss and so on, but diseases come hand in hand with these life-quality problems," Freitak says. "If we can help honey bees to be healthier and if we can save even a small part of the bee population with this invention, I think we have done our good deed and saved the world a little bit."

Resources: Smithsonianmag.com, NPR.org, mnn.com.

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Finnish Scientists Develop Edible Insect Vaccine To Save Bees

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In addition to providing us with delicious honey, the hardworking honey bees also pollinate about a third of food crops and almost 90 percent of wild grasses, like alfalfa, used to feed livestock.

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Virtually all of the world's seed plants need to be pollinated. This is just as true for cone-bearing plants, such as pine trees, as for the more colorful and familiar flowering plants. Pollen, looking like insignificant yellow dust, bears a plant's male sex cells and is a vital link in the reproductive cycle.

With adequate pollination, wildflowers:

Reproduce and produce enough seeds for dispersal and propagation.

Maintain genetic diversity within a population.

Develop adequate fruits to entice seed dispersers.

The Simple Truth: We Can't Live Without Them!

Pollination is not just fascinating natural history. It is an essential ecological survival function. Without pollinators, the human race and all of earth's terrestrial ecosystems would not survive. Of the 1,400 crop plants grown around the world, i.e., those that produce all of our food and plant-based industrial products, almost 80% require pollination by animals. Visits from bees and other pollinators also result in larger, more flavorful fruits and higher crop yields. In the United States alone, pollination of agricultural crops is valued at 10 billion dollars annually. Globally, pollination services are likely worth more than 3 trillion dollars.

More than half of the world's diet of fats and oils come from animal-pollinated plants (oil palm, canola, sunflowers, etc.).

More than 150 food crops in the U.S. depend on pollinators, including almost all fruit and grain crops.

The USDA estimated that crops dependent on pollination are worth more than $10 billion per year.

Environmental Benefits of Pollination

Clean Air (Carbon Cycling/Sequestration)

Flowering plants produce breathable oxygen by utilizing the carbon dioxide produced by plants and animals as they respire. Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have been rapidly increasing in the last century, however, due to increased burning of fossil fuels and destruction of vital forests, the "earth's lungs." Pollinators are key to reproduction of wild plants in our fragmented global landscape. Without them, existing populations of plants would decline, even if soil, air, nutrients, and other life-sustaining elements were available.

Water and Soils

Flowering plants help to purify water and prevent erosion through roots that holds the soil in place, and foliage that buffers the impact of rain as it falls to the earth. The water cycle depends on plants to return moisture to the atmosphere, and plants depend on pollinators to help them reproduce.

Reference: Flowering Plants, Pollinators, and the Health of the Planet (Marinelli, 2005): Plant. 2005. Janet Marinelli, Editor in Chief. First American Edition. Dorling Kindersley Limited (DK Publishing, Inc.). New York. 512 Pages.

Cultural Importance of Pollination

Native Peoples traditionally recognized the importance of pollinators:

Cultural symbolism

Food plants

Medicinal plants

Plant-based dyes

We explore only a few examples of culturally important pollinators or pollinated plants here. To learn more about culturally important plants and pollinators:

Cultural Symbolism

Butterflies

Raven's spokesperson - Haida (Pacific NW).

Messenger (in dreams) from Great Spirit - Blackfoot.

Earth's fertility - Hopi "Bulitikibi" harvest dance.

Flame, Teotihuacan (Palace of the Butterfly) - Ancient Mexicans (Olmecs, Toltecs, later Aztecs).

Ancestor - Sumatra, Naga (Madagascar), Pima (N. America).

Related to Morning Star - Arapaho, Mexecal.

Moths

'Tun tawu = "goes in and out of fire" - Cherokee (North America).

Symbol of knowledge, guardians of gold dust of eternity - Yaqui (Mexico).

Powder - insanity (moth-crazy, sexual excess, incest, aphrodisiac) - Navajo (North America).

Guardian of tobacco (caterpillar of Sphinx moth) - Navajo (North America).

"Our Future Flies on the Wings of Pollinators" This poster is made available by the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Botanical Gardens, and the NAPPC (North American Pollinator Protection Campaign). Artist: Paul Mirocha

Plant Pollination Strategies

Pollination occurs when birds, bees, bats, butterflies, moths, beetles, other animals, water, or the wind carries pollen from flower to flower or it is moved within flowers. The successful transfer of pollen in and between flowers of the same plant species leads to fertilization, successful seed development, and fruit production. Other factors such as drought, extreme temperature shifts, or diseases may prevent full fruit and seed production. For more information, also see The Birds and the Bees.

Morphological Adaptation

Flowering plants have co-evolved with their pollinator partners over millions of years producing a fascinating and interesting diversity of floral strategies and pollinator adaptations. The great variety in color, form, and scent we see in flowers is a direct result of the intimate association of flowers with pollinators. The various flower traits associated with different pollinators are known as pollination syndromes. Flowering plants have evolved two pollination methods: 1) pollination without the involvement of organisms ( abiotic), and 2) pollination mediated by animals ( biotic). About 80% of all plant pollination is by animals. The remaining 20% of abiotically pollinated species is 98% by wind and 2% by water.

Wind

Plants that use wind for cross-pollination generally have flowers that appear early in the spring, before or as the plant's leaves are emerging. This prevents the leaves from interfering with the dispersal of the pollen from the anthers and provides for the reception of the pollen on the stigmas of the flowers.

In species like oaks, birch, or cottonwood, male flowers are arranged in long pendant catkins or long upright inflorescences in which the flowers are small, green, and grouped together, and produce very large amounts of pollen. Pollen of wind-pollinated plants is lightweight, smooth, and small.

Plants that are wind pollinated generally occur as large populations so that the female flowers have a better chance of receiving pollen. For more information, see Wind and Water Pollination.

Water

The small percentages of plants that are pollinated by water are aquatic plants. These plants release their seeds directly into the water. For more information, see Wind and Water Pollination.

Animals

Flowering plants and their animal pollinators have co-evolved where the forces of natural selection on each has resulted in morphological adaptations that have increased their dependency on one another. Plants have evolved many intricate methods for attracting pollinators. These methods include visual cues, scent, food, mimicry, and entrapment.

Likewise, many pollinators have evolved specialized structures and behaviors to assist in plant pollination such as the fur on the face of the black and white ruffed lemur or a bat. Animal pollinated flowering plants produce pollen that is sticky and barbed to attach to the animal and thus be transferred to the next flower.

Flowering Time

Plants have evolved differing flowering times that occur throughout the growing season to decrease competition for pollinators and to provide pollinators with a constant supply of food. From the first hints of warmth in late winter through spring and summer, until last call in autumn, flowering plants are available to their pollinators providing pollen and nectar in exchange for the pollination service.

in autumn, flowering plants are available to their pollinators providing pollen and nectar in exchange for the pollination service.

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Why is Pollination Important? | US Forest Service

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Virtually all of the world's seed plants need to be pollinated. This is just as true for cone-bearing plants, such as pine trees, as for the more colorful and familiar flowering plants. Pollen, looking like insignificant yellow dust, bears a plant's male sex cells and is a vital link in the reproductive cycle.

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Bees are part of the biodiversity on which we all depend for our survival.

They provide high-quality food-honey, royal jelly and pollen - and other products such as beeswax, propolis and honey bee venom.

As the landmark 2019 report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) notes, "Sacred passages about bees in all the worlds' major religions highlight their significance to human societies over millennia."

Beekeeping also provides an important source of income for many rural livelihoods. According to IPBES, the western honey bee is the most widespread managed pollinator globally, and more than 80 million hives produce an estimated 1.6 million tonnes of honey annually.

And pollinators contribute directly to food security. According to bee experts at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, a third of the world's food production depends on bees.

When animals and insects pick up the pollen of flowers and spread it, they allow plants, including many food crops, to reproduce. Birds, rodents, monkeys and even people pollinate, but the most common pollinators are insects, and among them, bees.
Bees at risk from pesticides, air pollution
But sadly, bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, are increasingly under threat from human activities.

Bee populations have been declining globally over recent decades due to habitat loss, intensive farming practices, changes in weather patterns and the excessive use of agrochemicals such as pesticides. This in turn poses a threat to a variety of plants critical to human well-being and livelihoods.

Air pollution is also thought to be affecting bees. Preliminary research shows that air pollutants interact with scent molecules released by plants which bees need to locate food. The mixed signals interfere with the bees' ability to forage efficiently, making them slower and less effective at pollination.

While the vast majority of pollinator species are wild, including more than 20,000 species of bees, the mass breeding and large-scale transport of pollinators can pose risks for the transmission of pathogens and parasites. According to the IPBES report, better regulation of their trade can decrease the risk of unintended harm.
Taking urgent action
But there are positive signs.

In May 2018, the European Union upheld a partial ban on three insecticides known as neonicotinoids to mitigate the lethal threat they pose to bees and their trickle-down effect on pollination as a whole.

This August, when world leaders gather in Kunming, China, at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP 15), they are expected to finalize the post-2020 biodiversity framework, which calls for, amongst other things, the reduction of pesticides by at least two thirds by 2030.

"Increasing crop and regional farm diversity as well as targeted habitat conservation, management or restoration, is one way of combating climate change and promoting biodiversity," says UN Environment Programme (UNEP) biodiversity specialist Marieta Sakalian. "Governments need to take the lead."

It is precisely to encourage governments, organizations, civil society and concerned citizens to protect pollinators and their habitats that the UN has declared 20 May World Bee Day.

World Bee Day raises awareness of the essential role bees, and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy. The date coincides with the birthday of Anton Janša, who in the 18th century pioneered modern beekeeping techniques in his native Slovenia and praised the bees for their ability to work so hard while needing so little attention.

For further information please contact Marieta Sakalian, Senior Programme Management Officer and Coordinator for Healthy and Productive Ecosystems at UNEP.
This World Bee Day, join the conversation on Here are some actions you can take to help preserve bees and other pollinators: #WorldBeeDay, and do your part to #Savethebees

Plant nectar-bearing flowers such as marigolds or sunflowers for decorative purposes on balconies, terraces, and gardens

Buy honey and other hive products from your nearest local beekeeper

Raise awareness among children and adolescents on the importance of bees and express your support for beekeepers

Set up a pollinator farm on your balcony, terrace, or garden

Preserve old meadows, which feature a more diverse array of flowers, and sow nectar-bearing plants

Cut grass on meadows only after the nectar-bearing plants have finished blooming

Use pesticides that do not harm bees, and spray them in windless weather, either early in the morning or late at night, when bees withdraw from blossoms

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Why bees are essential to people and planet

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When animals and insects pick up the pollen of flowers and spread it, they allow plants, including many food crops, to reproduce. Birds, rodents, monkeys and even people pollinate, but the most common pollinators are insects, and among them, bees.

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Struggling beekeepers stabilize U.S. honeybee population after nearly half of colonies died last year

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Honeybees are crucial to the food supply, pollinating more than 100 of the crops we eat, including nuts, vegetables, berries, citrus and melons. Scientists said a combination of parasites, pesticides, starvation and climate change keep causing large die-offs.

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Daniel Raichel Director, Pollinators & Pesticides, Nature

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On World Bee Day, bees need our help as much as ever.

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A lack of bees in agricultural areas is limiting the supply of some food crops, a new US-based study has found, suggesting that declines in the pollinators may have serious ramifications for global food security.
'Murder hornets': race to protect North America's honeybees from giant invader
Species of wild bees, such as bumblebees, are suffering from a loss of flowering habitat, the use of toxic pesticides and, increasingly, the climate crisis. Managed honeybees, meanwhile, are tended to by beekeepers, but have still been assailed by disease, leading to concerns that the three-quarters of the world's food crops dependent upon pollinators could falter due to a lack of bees.

The new research appears to confirm some of these fears.

Of seven studied crops grown in 13 states across America, five showed evidence that a lack of bees is hampering the amount of food that can be grown, including apples, blueberries and cherries. A total of 131 crop fields were surveyed for bee activity and crop abundance by a coalition of scientists from the US, Canada and Sweden.

"The crops that got more bees got significantly more crop production," said Rachael Winfree, an ecologist and pollination expert at Rutgers University who was a senior author of the paper, published by the Royal Society. "I was surprised, I didn't expect they would be limited to this extent."

The researchers found that wild native bees contributed a surprisingly large portion of the pollination despite operating in intensively farmed areas largely denuded of the vegetation that supports them. Wild bees are often more effective pollinators than honeybees but research has shown several species are in sharp decline. The rusty patched bumblebee, for example, was the first bee to be placed on the US endangered species list in 2017 after suffering an 87% slump in the previous two decades.

Swaths of American agriculture is propped up by honeybees, frantically replicated and shifted around the country in hives in order to meet a growing need for crop pollination.

Almonds, one of the two crops not shown to be suffering from a lack of bees in the study, are mostly grown in California, where most of the beehives in the US are trucked to each year for a massive almond pollination event.

The US is at the forefront of divergent trends that are being replicated elsewhere in the world - as farming becomes more intensive to churn out greater volumes to feed a growing global population, tactics such as flattening wildflower meadows, spraying large amounts of insecticide and planting monocultural fields of single crops are damaging the bee populations crucial for crop pollination.

Honeybee colonies are weaker than they used to be and wild bees are declining, probably by a lot

Rachael Winfree

According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, the amount of crop production dependent upon insect and other pollinators has increased 300% over the past 50 years. Pollination shortfalls could cause certain fruit and vegetables to become rarer and more expensive, triggering nutritional deficits in diets. Staple foods such as rice, wheat and corn won't be affected, however, as they are pollinated via the wind.

"Honeybee colonies are weaker than they used to be and wild bees are declining, probably by a lot," said Winfree. "The agriculture is getting more intensive and there are fewer bees, so at some point the pollination will become limited. Even if honeybees were healthy, it's risky to rely so much on a single bee species. It's predictable that parasites will target the one species we have in these monocultural crop fields."

The paper recommends that farmers gain a better understanding of the optimal amount of pollination needed to boost crop yields, as well as review whether the level of pesticide and fertilizer put on to fields is appropriate.

"The trends we are seeing now are setting us up for food security problems," Winfree said. "We aren't yet in a complete crisis now but the trends aren't going in the right direction. Our study shows this isn't a problem for 10 or 20 years from now - it's happening right now."
Topics

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Loss of bees causes shortage of key food crops, study finds

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A lack of bees in agricultural areas is limiting the supply of some food crops, a new US-based study has found, suggesting that declines in the pollinators may have serious ramifications for global food security.

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