Salish Sea

Southern Resident killer whales are beset by the threats of diminished prey, chemical pollution, loss of habitat, and underwater noise. Can DNA research help toward their recovery?

Salish Sea waters are acidifying faster than ever before, but researchers in Washington are leading the world in addressing the looming disaster.

Sea star wasting syndrome still threatens area sea stars, but community scientists and researchers are helping to shed light on the mysterious illness.

The emaciated body of a dead gray whale washed up on a Salish Sea beach raises questions about food supply and species survival.

Salish Sea festival brings baroque music played on period instruments out of the past for local audiences.

Fossil fuel and terminal expansion projects up and down the Salish Sea are estimated to boost annual shipping vessel traffic by at least 25% in the near future, and the projected increase has raised concerns about increased risk to the environment.

Disagreement between those who hold to a long-established practice on Guemes Island of public access to walking across privately owned tidelands and a property owner’s opposition to what he sees as trespassing has evolved into a lawsuit.

The new book Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home begins in crisis, as author Lynda Mapes tells the gut-wrenching story of Tahlequah (J35), the mother orca who in 2018 carried her dead baby around for 17 days. Mapes will speak Sept. 18 at the Lopez Island Library.

Lopez Island readers of the article “Rescue tug stationed in islands is best bet to avoid oil spills in San Juan-Gulf waters, study says” responded to the article’s posting in Lopez Rocks.

With increased vessel traffic around the San Juan Islands, some worry that the risk of oil spills may be rising as well. A new study makes the case that an emergency response tug stationed in the islands would be money well-spent.

An apparent focus on reducing the ongoing costs of recovery of Puget Sound rather than recovery efforts themselves worries some who are concerned about the health of the ecosystem.

The northern harrier is a regular presence along the outer fields, sloughs and dikes bordering the Salish Sea.

A lesser-known yet major Canadian infrastructure project could bring major changes to shipping traffic in waters shared by British Columbia and Washington. If constructed, Roberts Bank Terminal 2, would enable Canada to move another 2.4 million shipping containers per year through its southernmost terminal about 1 mile from the Washington state border.