7/3 BC shrew, oil pipe support, beach closure, West Bay cleanup, white pelicans, Fidalgo pollution

Pacific water shrew (CBC)

Pacific water shrew disappearing from Lower Mainland
A recovery strategy is being drawn up for the critically-imperiled Pacific water shrew, a small, elusive creature whose chief habitat is areas of the Lower Mainland near small streams or rivers commonly known as riparian zones. The proposed federal strategy to save the shrew was released last month, and outlines the need for population counts and habitat measurements through the next three years in order to try and halt further population loss over the next 10 years. (CBC)

June ends with some peculiar weather statistics for Seattle
Scott Sistek reports. (KOMO)

Northern Gateway pipeline support slipping slightly, poll suggests
Support for Enbridge’s $7.9-billion Northern Gateway pipeline has dropped to 38 per cent in B.C. but remains much higher in Alberta, according to a new Insights West poll. The Vancouver-based pollster began tracking support for the mega-project in January 2013, when a survey found 35 per cent of British Columbians supported the project and 61 per cent were opposed. Support increased to 42 per cent in November 2013, but has dropped by four per cent in the latest online survey of 647 British Columbians from June 17 to 21. The Alberta poll surveyed 617 Albertans. In B.C., 49 per cent of residents are opposed to the project, which received approval from the federal government on June 17. Gordon Hoekstra reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Whatcom County beaches closed to recreational shellfish harvest
The state Department of Health has closed all beaches in Whatcom County to recreational shellfish harvesting because tests showed unsafe levels of the biotoxin that causes diarrhetic shellfish poisoning. The closure was announced Wednesday, July 2. The ban is for molluscan shellfish, including clams, mussels, oysters and scallops. Mussels usually contain the highest concentration of toxin, health officials said. Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Department of Ecology plans partial cleanup for polluted property on West Bay
The Department of Ecology expects to begin a partial cleanup this summer at the Reliable Steel site on Olympia’s West Bay. Located at 1218 West Bay Drive, the abandoned property is contaminated with chemicals and metals that are polluting groundwater, according to the department. The proposed cleanup is scheduled to begin in September and last about one month, said site manager Steve Teel. Crews will remove contaminated soil and metal debris, along with a leaking underground storage tank that was used for heating oil. Andy Hobbs reports. (Olympian)

Pelicans’ suburban Delta draws shutterbugs
“Get your camera ready,” avid birder Richard Swanston urges from the Brunswick Point dike in South Delta. “They might fly right overhead.” A flock of more than 40 adult white pelicans — an uncommon species in Metro Vancouver, especially in such large numbers ­— rises up from the calm, shallow waters off Roberts Bank and rides the morning thermals in a classic V-formation. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Samish working to understand pollution going into bay
Anacortes City Council members were briefed recently on the high rates of nutrient and fecal coliform in water coming out of the city’s storm drains and emptying into Fidalgo Bay. Sampling tests at Fidalgo Island outfalls have been conducted by the Samish Indian Nation’s Department of Natural Resources since 2005. The water quality monitoring program ramped up in 2010 when the results began being shared with the city, said Erin Licata, Samish DNR field technician. Joan Pringle reports. (Anacortes American)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 PM PDT WED JUL 2 2014
THU
W WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING NW 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS. PATCHY DRIZZLE IN THE MORNING.
THU NIGHT
NW WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING W TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS.

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