2/16 Kingfisher, freeze, BC pipe, illegal pesticides, BC LNG, toxic transport, 'coons, drugged mussels, SMP

Belted Kingfisher [Pat Hare/All About Birds]

Belted Kingfisher
Belted Kingfishers spend much of their time perched alone along the edges of streams, lakes, and estuaries, searching for small fish. They also fly quickly up and down rivers and shorelines giving loud rattling calls. They hunt either by plunging directly from a perch, or by hovering over the water, bill downward, before diving after a fish they’ve spotted…. They nest in burrows that they dig into soft earthen banks, usually adjacent to or directly over water. Kingfishers spend winters in areas where the water doesn’t freeze so that they have continual access to their aquatic foods. (All About Birds)

Extreme Cold, Snow, Wind To Hit Puget Sound This Weekend
The entire region will get a winter blast starting Friday, including the coldest temperatures of this winter so far. Nel McNamara reports. (Patch) Vancouver Weather: Rain/wet snow for Metro Vancouver, snow alert for Whistler  Tiffany Crawford reports. (Vancouver Sun)

NEB clears Trans Mountain to begin pipeline tunnel work at Burnaby Mountain 
he National Energy Board says work can begin on construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline's tunnel entrance at Burnaby Mountain — as long as the company has permits from three levels of government. The NEB issued three decisions Thursday afternoon that allow workers on the Kinder Morgan project to do clearing and grading on the oil and gas giant's Westridge Marine Terminal property. In an emailed statement, Trans Mountain said it was pleased with the decision, which will allow it to begin construction before migratory birds return to the area in the spring. (CBC) See also: B.C. residents still split on Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion: poll  Tiffany Crawford reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Amazon, EPA reach $1.2 million settlement over online sales of illegal pesticides 
Seattle-based Amazon has agreed to pay more than $1.2 million in administrative penalties as part of an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the agency says will protect consumers from hazards of illegal and misbranded pesticides sold by the online retail giant. In an announcement made Thursday, the EPA said the agreement settles allegations that over the past five years Amazon committed nearly 4,000 violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act by allowing third-parties to sell and distribute imported pesticide products from Amazon warehouses even though the pesticides were not licensed for sale in the United States. Christine Clarridge and Lynda Mapes report. (Seattle times)

Premier John Horgan says he wants to keep LNG door open
NDP Premier John Horgan insists he supports "every corner" of the province despite criticism from some northern municipalities he is not championing the oil and gas industry of northern British Columbia. Horgan's comments came as the trade dispute with Alberta over the Kinder Morgan pipeline project entered its second week, and the day after a throne speech that made no mention of liquefied natural gas. LNG was a central feature of the platform of the previous B.C. Liberal government. Andrew Kurjata reports. (CBC)

Toxic metals from plastic left on the beach are leaching into the ocean's ecosystems: B.C. study
Simon Fraser University researchers say something as innocuous as a kid's toy left on a beach can play host to toxic metals that end up leaching into the ocean's ecosystems. Professor Leah Bendell and Bertrand Munier said their study shows even tiny plastic particles less than five millimetres in size can ferry traces of metals like zinc, copper and cadmium into the food chain. (CBC)

Meet The Friendliest Raccoons In The Northwest, Who Are Actually A Serious Problem
If you visit Tacoma's Point Defiance Park most any afternoon, you'll see raccoons lounging about the trails by day, often next to signs warning visitors to not feed them. If you drive slowly enough through the park's roads, they might rush out of the misty old-growth forest to greet you, tiny paws outstretched for food. If you're on a bike, they might scurry after you for a stretch. They've even learned to wait on the driver's side of the one-way road through the park, because they know every car has a driver and some drivers have snacks. Will James reports. (KNKX)

Mussels on drugs found near Victoria sewage outfalls
Drug tests on sea life near the sewage outflow pipes around Victoria are giving new meaning to the old expression "happy as a clam." Monitoring by the Capital Regional District has found high concentrations of antidepressants, as well as other pharmaceuticals and personal care products in shellfish near the sewage outfalls around Victoria. Chris Lowe, who supervises environmental monitoring programs for the CRD, said the region has been collecting wastewater samples since 2003 to monitor pharmaceuticals. Testing expanded to sediment and mussel tissue samples as the ability to detect and analyze those compounds improved in recent years. Deborah Wilson reports. (CBC)

SMP foes consider next step after state Supreme Court declines case
Opponents of Jefferson County’s Shoreline Master Program vowed Thursday to take their case to the U.S. Supreme Court after the state Supreme Court declined to hear their case earlier this month. Jefferson County Commissioner David Sullivan said the state Supreme Court’s Feb. 6 decision not to hear the case shows the state’s highest court doesn’t see any value in reviewing a state Court of Appeals decision affirming the constitutionality of the county’s shoreline master program (SMP)…. The opposition to the SMP is largely because of its buffer zones, areas in which development is not permitted so as to protect waterways. Jesse Major reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Guemes Channel Trail project raises concerns
The Guemes Channel Trail project has broad community support, but a proposal to build a paved section through the wetland buffer of a protected area has some residents concerned and has raised questions with the City Council. Some residents believe the Anacortes Parks & Recreation Department’s proposed route, which includes a paved section through the Ship Harbor Interpretative Preserve buffer, would harm critical wetland habitat. (Skagit Publishing)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  232 AM PST Fri Feb 16 2018  
GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE  SATURDAY NIGHT  
TODAY  SW wind 10 to 20 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 5 ft at 13 seconds. Rain  in the morning then rain likely in the afternoon.
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SW to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 6 ft at 15 seconds. A chance of  rain in the evening then rain after midnight.
SAT  SW wind to 10 kt becoming W 25 to 35 kt in the afternoon.  Combined seas 6 to 7 ft with a dominant period of 14 seconds  building to 10 to 12 ft with a dominant period of 10 seconds in  the afternoon. Rain.
SAT NIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt becoming NW 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less after  midnight. W swell 14 ft at 11 seconds.
SUN  NE wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 13 ft at 12 seconds.

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