Tulalip News

Seas may rise 10 yards during centuries ahead

John Upton, Grist

Sea-level rise is currently measured in millimeters per year, but longer-term effects of global warming are going to force our descendants to measure sea-level rise in meters or yards.

Each Celsius degree of global warming is expected to raise sea levels during the centuries ahead by 2.3 meters, or 2.5 yards, according to a study published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The world is currently trying (and failing) to reach an agreement that would limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. Business-as-usual practices could yet raise temperatures by 4 (or even more) degrees Celsius.

Multiply 2.5 yards by 4 and you are left with the specter of tides that lap 10 yards higher in the future than today. That’s 30 feet, the height of a three-story building. For comparison, the seas rose less than a foot last century.

Here is a chart from the new study that illustrates long-term sea-level rise projections under four warming scenarios:

Now, it’s important to note that the new study looks at sea-level rise over the next 2,000 years. The study doesn’t make predictions for how rapidly the seas will rise during that time frame; it just lays out what is possible in the long term. From the study:

On a 2000-year time scale, the sea-level contribution will be largely independent of the exact warming path during the first century. At the same time, 2000 years is a relevant time scale, for example, for society’s cultural heritage.

The difference between this study and others, some of which have foretold less dramatic rises in water levels, is the extent to which it considers ice-sheet melting.

Compared with the amount of water locked up in the world’s glaciers, which are melting rapidly, Earth’s two ice sheets hold incredibly vast reservoirs. The Antarctic ice sheet alone could inundate the world with 60 yards of water if it melted entirely. And then there’s the Greenland ice sheet, which suffered an unprecedented melt last summer.

The ice sheets are not yet melting as dramatically as the glaciers, insulated as they are by their tremendous bulk. In fact, the melting glaciers and the melting ice sheets are contributing roughly equally to today’s rising seas, despite the differences in their overall bulk.

But a hastening decline of the ice sheets is inevitable as accumulating greenhouse gases take their toll.

The authors of the new study, led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, analyzed sea levels and temperatures from millennia past, combining those findings with climate models to get a glimpse of the shifting coastlines of the future. From the study:

[C]limate records suggest a sea-level sensitivity of as much as several meters per degree of warming during previous intervals of Earth history when global temperatures were similar to or warmer than present. While sea-level rise over the last century has been dominated by ocean warming and loss of glaciers, the sensitivity suggested from records of past sea level indicates important contributions from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.

The study’s lead author, Potsdam researcher Anders Levermann, said the results reveal the inevitability of rising water levels as heat accumulates on Earth.

“Continuous sea-level rise is something we cannot avoid unless global temperatures go down again,” he said in a statement. “Thus we can be absolutely certain that we need to adapt. Sea-level rise might be slow on time scales on which we elect governments, but it is inevitable and therefore highly relevant for almost everything we build along our coastlines, for many generations to come.”

Good news for penguins: World’s largest marine reserve could be established around Antarctica

John Upton, Grist

Antarctica’s penguins could benefit from proposals to create huge international marine preserves in their ‘hood.

Plans to protect more than 1.5 million square miles of ocean around Antarctica are getting serious consideration this week — and that could be a big benefit for whales, seals, birds, fish, krill, and other wildlife in the region.

The idea is akin to creating a vast national park, except that it would be an international park. And it would be larger than most nations. And it would be entirely soggy.

From USA Today:

On July 16, the members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) — 24 nations and the European Union — will vote on two proposals for marine reserves, each one bigger in size than the state of Alaska. A U.S.-New Zealand one would set aside roughly 876,000 square miles in and around the frozen Ross Sea, a home for penguin nurseries and source of nutrients throughout the Pacific Ocean. A second European and Australian one would set aside a more than 700,000-square-mile string of protected marine reserves around Eastern Antarctica.

NPR has more, including a comparison to another big U.S. state:

“The total size of the marine protected area we are proposing is roughly 3 1/2 times the size of Texas,” says Ambassador Mike Moore, the former prime minister of New Zealand, who was talking up the joint U.S.-New Zealand proposal in Washington this spring. “So to misquote the vice president of the United States, ‘this is a big deal.’” …

But because these two areas are in international waters, creating marine preserves will require consensus from all of the nations in the pact known as CCAMLR …

When the group met to discuss the issue last fall, it couldn’t reach agreement. Russia, China and Ukraine were concerned about losing fishing rights in these seas. But they agreed to [a] meeting in Germany to try again.

That meeting is happening today and tomorrow in Bremerhaven, Germany.

The New York Times weighed in with an editorial over the weekend, urging the commission members to support the conservation proposals:

The biggest obstacle is Russia, which has expressed resistance to these reserves. It is joined by Ukraine, China, Japan and South Korea. Their hope is to manage fishing in the Antarctic much as it is managed elsewhere, with limits and restrictions. But the state of fisheries around the globe makes it clear that the most effective antidote to declining fish populations is the creation of totally protected marine reserves.

The Obama administration has expressed strong support for the idea of such protections in Antarctica, and many delegates to the Bremerhaven meeting are hopeful that sooner or later the Russians and other opponents can be brought on board. But when it comes to protecting ecosystems, sooner or later often means later, which often means too late. The time to protect the Antarctic Ocean is now.

Here’s hoping that these five reluctant countries, all of which are located in the Northern Hemisphere, don’t continue to pour cold water over proposals that could help stabilize the world’s fish stocks — and protect one of the world’s last big wild areas.

Meth nearly kills 10-month-old boy

Eric Stevick, The Herald

EVERETT — Exposure to methamphetamine nearly cost a 10-month-old Marysville boy his life.

The toddler overdosed on the drug in December and was taken to a Seattle hospital, according to a Marysville Police Department report.

Doctors had to insert tubes down the child’s airway after he stopped breathing on his own,

Police on Friday arrested a man who lived at the home in the 6400 block of 105th Street NE where the baby became deathly ill. The suspect, 26, was arrested for investigation of endangerment with a controlled substance and was booked into the Snohomish County Jail.

The suspect allegedly told a detective, “This is my fault. I almost killed (the boy.)”

The baby first was taken to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. A nurse there told a Marysville officer that the boy had been admitted to the emergency room for an amphetamine overdose. She said his health was quickly deteriorating.

Police said the man had custody of the boy and shared a room with him at the time. The nature of his connection to the child was not clear in redacted police documents.

A search warrant of the suspect’s bedroom turned up the baby’s crib as well as a marijuana pipe beneath the man’s pillow. A meth pipe was found wrapped in a black bandana in a sunglass case in the bottom drawer of a night stand.

The suspect allegedly acknowledged using meth in a garage that was about 12 feet from the living area where the baby was crawling Dec. 27.

Police believe a meth pipe was loaded with meth within six feet of the bedroom where the baby was sleeping.

The suspect allegedly knew that the baby “was in the stage of crawling around the house, picking up things on the floor and putting the items in his mouth,” police wrote.

The man reportedly was well aware of the risks of doing drugs around young children.

An acquaintance told police that the man had a rule of not picking up or touching the baby when he was high.

Old Fashioned Summertime (& Spring) Festival

klahayadays.com

Kla Ha Ya Days, July 17-21, Snohomish WA

For 100 years, families have gathered in the historic district of Snohomish for the annual Kla Ha Ya Days. The native word Kla Ha Ya means welcome and we welcome you to experience old fashioned summertime fun and enjoy our town.

Click here for the full schedule of the July events. (tentative schedule)

Since 1913 volunteers have made Kla Ha Ya Days possible. If you’re interested in keeping the tradition alive for another 100 years, check out our volunteers’ page. Volunteers are the back bone that make the festival fun!

Marysville Tulalip Chamber announces new Board

Kirk Boxleitner, The Marysville Globe

TULALIP — The Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce’s new Board of Directors represents a rare influx of new blood, according to Chamber President and CEO Caldie Rogers.

Although Rogers estimated that the Board already averages a turnover of about one-third of its members each year, she deemed this year’s number of new Board members unprecedented in the Chamber’s history.

“We deliberately seek out folks from small businesses, corporations, nonprofits and the Tribes to represent all segments of our community,” Rogers said. “This year’s Board boasts an especially amazing spectrum.”

Rogers touted the value of a recent team-building retreat at the Cedar Springs Campground in Naches, Wash., in getting the Board members familiar and comfortable with one another.

“We wanted a camaraderie that would allow them to discuss the pros and cons of issues without fear, so that when we do adopt a position, we’re unified behind it,” Rogers said. “That’s why we’ve never lost in our lobbying efforts.”

As the new Board plots the Chamber’s course for the future, Rogers called attention to Lance Curry of Edward Jones & Co., who will be heading up the Chamber’s emissaries program as part of its public relations efforts, and The Marysville Globe Publisher Paul Brown, who will chair the Chamber’s next “Buy Local” campaign.

“Educating the community on our local businesses has been proven effective,” Rogers said. “It’s one reason why we haven’t had to raise our dues for so many years.”

Rogers, Curry and Brown are joined on this year’s Board by Chair John Bell of Willis Hall, Vice Chair Teri Gobin of the Tulalip Tribes TERO, Past Chair David Chin of Go Small Biz, Chair Elect Will Ibershof of Waste Management, and Treasurer Robyn Warren of Langabeer, McKernan, Burnett & Co.

“Rebecca and Paul Pukis [of Mosaic Insurance Alliance] are waiting in the wings to chair our military affairs committee,” said Rogers, who named Perry McConnell of Hansen, McConnell and Pellegrini as the Chamber’s legal counsel. “We’re still waiting on a government affairs chair.”

Other Board members include Al Aldrich, Dom Amor, Dr. Becky Berg, Joy Brown, Doug Buell, U.S. Navy Cmdr. Jeff Caulk, Gloria Hirashima, Jessica Joseph, Pastor Greg Kanehan, Ken Kettler, John McKeon, Becky Mulhollen, Dennis Niva, Patrick Sisneros, Jack Schumacher, Rob Toyer and Chris Winters.

Yakama Nation celebrate sockeye return to Cle Elum Lake for the first time in 100 years

By Thomas Boyd, The Oregonian

Yakama Nation biologists have released thousands of sockeye salmon into a Central Washington lake over the past four summers. The work, according to The Associated Press, is to restore fish runs that were decimated with the damming of area rivers and streams. Each fall, the just-released fish swam up the Cle Elum River to spawn and die. Their babies, meanwhile, spent a year in the lake before swimming to the ocean to grow into adulthood. Now, four years after the first release in 2009, those adult fish are returning to their birthplace to spawn, and tribal members are celebrating what they hope is the resurrection of a revered species to its native habitat. “You are part of a sacred ceremony to celebrate the return of an important ingredient to our body, our hearts, our life,” Yakama elder Russell Jim told the crowd gathered on the shore of Cle Elum Lake.

LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON - Jun. 13, 2013 - Tribal Council Member Gerald Lewis conduct a blessing ceremony before releasing sockeye salmon into the lake, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian — LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON – Jun. 13, 2013 – Tribal Council Member Gerald Lewis conduct a blessing ceremony before releasing sockeye salmon into the lake, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON - Jun. 13, 2013 - Tribal elder Russell Jim, left, and Tribal Council Member Gerald Lewis conduct a blessing ceremony before releasing sockeye salmon into the lake, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian — LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON – Jun. 13, 2013 – Tribal elder Russell Jim, left, and Tribal Council Member Gerald Lewis conduct a blessing ceremony before releasing sockeye salmon into the lake, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON - Jun. 13, 2013 - Tribal elder Russell Jim is helped in to the bed of the truck to release sockeye salmon into the lake, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian — LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON – Jun. 13, 2013 – Tribal elder Russell Jim is helped in to the bed of the truck to release sockeye salmon into the lake, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON - Jun. 13, 2013 - Tribal elder Russell Jim smiles after releasing pulling the lever that released sockeye salmon into the lake during a ceremony Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian — LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON – Jun. 13, 2013 – Tribal elder Russell Jim smiles after releasing pulling the lever that released sockeye salmon into the lake during a ceremony Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON - Jun. 13, 2013 - Sockeye salmon were released into the lake in a ceremony Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian — LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON – Jun. 13, 2013 – Sockeye salmon were released into the lake in a ceremony Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON - Jun. 13, 2013 - “We need all the help we can get to restore our environment. Everything has life,” tribal member Virginia Beavert told the crowd attending the ceremony. “We need to take care of it.” Sockeye salmon were released into the lake in a ceremony Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian — LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON – Jun. 13, 2013 – “We need all the help we can get to restore our environment. Everything has life,” tribal member Virginia Beavert told the crowd attending the ceremony. “We need to take care of it.” Sockeye salmon were released into the lake in a ceremony Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON - Jun. 13, 2013 - Tribal dancers Vivian Delarosa, Nia Peters and Katrina Blackwolf, left to right, sign the Lord's prayer before the meal after sockeye salmon were released into the lake, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian — LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON – Jun. 13, 2013 – Tribal dancers Vivian Delarosa, Nia Peters and Katrina Blackwolf, left to right, sign the Lord’s prayer before the meal after sockeye salmon were released into the lake, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON - Jun. 13, 2013 - Media and bystanders watch as sockeye salmon were released into the lake, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian — LAKE CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON – Jun. 13, 2013 – Media and bystanders watch as sockeye salmon were released into the lake, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, to mark the first return of sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum in 100 years. Sockeye salmon were reintroduced to the lake in 2009 by the Yakama Nation and the fish released today are the first of those salmon to return to the lake. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

Journalists for Human Rights launches training program in northern Ontario

John Ahni Schertow, Intercontinental Cry

At long last, Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) has launched its training program in northern Ontario aiming to increase the presence of Indigenous voices in Canadian media.

“Our hope is to train stringers who can report from their northern Ontario communities where currently mainstream media doesn’t have local correspondents,” said Rachel Pulfer, executive director of JHR. “They will be able to add the context that a reporter who is just flying in for a couple of days won’t have … ultimately it’s about giving ownership on their stories to the communities that live there.”

As reported by the Canadian Journalism Project, JHR will send two trainers to a total of six remote communities over the course of nine months to train anyone interested in relaying local news to a wider Canadian audience. Fort Severn, Weagomow, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Attawapiskat, Moose Cree and Constance Lake have agreed to take part in the project.

Ultimately, JHR is hoping to see a 20 per cent increase in the number of news stories in mainstream media, such as CBC, Shaw Thunder Bay and Magic FM; who agreed to take content — as long as it meets their standards — from the stringers.

A field coordinator in Thunder Bay will also train local journalists in mainstream media on how to approach indigenous communities on the protocol before and while on reserve.

Climate change threatens forest survival on drier, lower sites

Source: Columbian Basin Bulletin

Predicted increases in temperature and drought in the coming century may make it more difficult for conifers such as ponderosa pine to regenerate after major forest fires on dry, low-elevation sites, in some cases leading to conversion of forests to grass or shrub lands, a report suggests.

Researchers from Oregon State University concluded that moisture stress is a key limitation for conifer regeneration following stand-replacing wildfire, which will likely increase with climate change. This will make post-fire recovery on dry sites slow and uncertain. If forests are desired in these locations, more aggressive attempts at reforestation may be needed, they said.

The study, published in Forest Ecology and Management, was done in a portion of the Metolius River watershed in the eastern Cascade Range of Oregon, which prior to a 2002 fire was mostly ponderosa pine with some Douglas-fir and other tree species. The research area was not salvage-logged or replanted following the severe, stand-replacing fire.

“A decade after this fire, there was almost no tree regeneration at lower, drier sites,” said Erich Dodson, a researcher with the OSU Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society. “There was some regeneration at higher sites with more moisture. But at the low elevations, it will be a long time before a forest comes back, if it ever does.”

Similar situations may be found in many areas of the American West in coming decades, the researchers say, and recruitment of new forests may be delayed or prevented – even in climate conditions that might have been able to maintain an existing forest. While mature trees can use their roots to tap water deeper in the soil, competition with dense understory vegetation can make it difficult for seedlings to survive.

Openings in ponderosa pine forests created by wildfire have persisted for more than a century on harsh, south-facing slopes in Colorado, the researchers noted in their report. And fire severity is already increasing in many forests due to climate change – what is now thought of as a drought in some locations may be considered average by the end of the next century.

If trees do fail to regenerate, it could further reduce ecosystem carbon storage and amplify the greenhouse effect, the study said.

Restoration treatment including thinning and prescribed burning may help reduce fire severity and increase tree survival after wildfire, as well as provide a seed source for future trees, Dodson said. These dry sites with less resilience to stand-replacing fire should be priorities for treatment, if maintaining a forest is a management objective, the study concluded.

Higher-elevation, mixed conifer forests in less moisture-limited sites may be able to recover from stand-replacing wildfire without treatment, the researchers said.

The Surprising Cause of Most ‘Spider Bites’

By Douglas Main, Staff Writer LiveScience.com

Date: 05 July 2013 Time: 09:01 AM ET

If the thought of spiders makes your skin crawl, you might find it reassuring that the chances of being bitten by a spider are smaller than you imagine, recent research shows.

Most so-called “spider bites” are not actually spider bites, according to researchers and several recent studies. Instead, “spider bites” are more likely to be bites or stings from other arthropods such as fleas, skin reactions to chemicals or infections, said Chris Buddle, an arachnologist at McGill University in Montreal.

“I’ve been handling spiders for almost 20 years, and I’ve never been bitten,” Buddle told LiveScience. “You really have to work to get bitten by a spider, because they don’t want to bite you.”

For one thing, spiders tend to avoid people, and have no reason to bite humans because they aren’t bloodsuckers and don’t feed on humans, Buddle said. “They are far more afraid of us than we are of them,” he said. “They’re not offensive.”

Not very scary

When spider bites do happen, they tend to occur because the eight-legged beasts are surprised — for example when a person reaches into a glove, shoe or nook that they are occupying at the moment, Buddle said.

Even then, however, the majority of spiders are not toxic to humans. Spiders prey on small invertebrates such as insects, so their venom is not geared toward large animals such as humans.

Many spiders aren’t even capable of piercing human flesh. Buddle said he has observed spiders “moving their fangs back and forth against his skin,” all to no avail. [Creepy, Crawly & Incredible: Photos of Spiders]

Only about a dozen of the approximately 40,000 spider species worldwide can cause serious harm to the average healthy adult human. In North America, there are only two groups of spiders that are medically important: the widow group (which includes black widows) and the recluse group (brown recluses). These spiders do bite people, and if they live in your area, you should know what they look like, Buddle said. But still, records show bites from these spiders are very infrequent.

The bite of widow spiders like the black widow is one of the only well-recognized spider bites in North America, with obvious, unmistakable symptoms, said Rick Vetter, a retired arachnologist at the University of California at Riverside. Signs can include intense pain and muscle contractions, which occur because the bite interferes with nerves in muscles.

Nowadays, deaths from the bite are rare thanks to widow spider antivenom. Before this was developed, however, treatments for black widow bites included whiskey, cocaine and nitroglycerine, according to a review Vetter published this month in the journal Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America.

Misidentified ‘bites’

Often, black widow and brown recluse spiders are misidentified, and reported in regions where they are extremely unlikely to actually live, Vetter said. For example, In South Carolina, 940 physicians responding to a survey reported a total of 478 brown recluse spider bites in the state — but only one brown recluse bite has ever been definitively confirmed in the state. Recluses are mainly found in the central and southern United States, according to Vetter’s study.

“I’ve had 100 recluse spiders running up my arm, and I’ve never been bitten by one,” Vetter told LiveScience.

The vast majority of “spider bites” are caused by something else, research shows. One study Vetter cited found that of 182 Southern California patients seeking treatment for spider bites, only 3.8 percent had actual spider bites, while 85.7 percent had infections.

And a national study found that nearly 30 percent of people with skin lesions who said they had a spider bite actually had methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. Other things that can cause symptoms that mimic spider bites include biting fleas or bedbugs, allergies, poison oak and poison ivy, besides various viral and bacterial infections, Vetter said.

In recent years, doctors have become better at identifying true spider bites, Vetter writes.

But spiders are still widely regarded as dangerous to humans, which is generally not the case, Buddle said.

Spiders are good at killing “nuisance insects,” which may be more likely to bite humans than spiders, Buddle added. “In the vast majority of cases, spiders are our friends.”

Email Douglas Main or follow him on Twitter or Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook orGoogle+. Article originally on LiveScience.com

Quinault Nation Harvests Razor Clams for Canoe Journey

Quinault Pride Seafood employees collect and weigh razor clams from tribal members during a commercial razor clam dig near Ocean CityD. Preston — Quinault Pride Seafood employees collect and weigh razor clams from tribal members during a commercial razor clam dig near Ocean City
D. Preston

By D. Preston

As featured in the NWIFC News

One of the iconic foods of the Quinault Indian Nation will be available to share with the thousands of people who will gather in Taholah for the 2013 Canoe Journey from Aug. 1 to Aug. 6.Tribal members collected razor clams in several ceremonial digs. The clams were frozen so they can be served during the week-long Canoe Journey celebration.

“I can’t imagine hosting the Canoe Journey without razor clams,” said Lisa Sampson Eastman, who has been digging clams since she was 11 years old. “My sister Sabrina and I learned to dig clams from our dad, Charles Sampson.”

Historically, Quinault tribal members used pliable yew sticks to tease the evasive mollusk from its hole in the sand. Today, tribal members use clam shovels to efficiently harvest for ceremonial, subsistence and commercial uses. As co-manager of the resource, the nation also shares surveying duties with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, protecting razor clams for the future. Surveys of the clam populations are under way now, following the harvest season.

Quinault Pride Seafood purchases the clams from tribal members, providing income for many who are not yet working in seasonal jobs that begin in early summer. The clams are sold for public consumption and bait for fishermen.