Scientists have yet to determine the cause of death as of Monday afternoon, but the dead calf represents another blow to the critically endangered whale species, which has dwindled to fewer than 360 individuals in recent years.
Edgartown and Oak Bluffs fire rescue teams responded to an out-of-control boat off State Beach Friday after the operator, a shellfisherman, suffered a medical emergency.
A representative of the state Department of Conservation made an investigation on the Island on Friday, in company with Rep. Joseph A. Sylvia, in order to prepare a report on the matter of state purchase of the beach between Oak Bluffs and Edgartown. The sentiment of those who were approached was strongly in favor of the project, which is for purchase of the beach with stipulations that no buildings shall be placed upon it. There seemed no doubt that the preliminary report would be favorable.
Some Island beaches are getting plenty of attention.
Over a hundred volunteers gathered on the Oak Bluffs side of the Joseph Sylvia State Beach on Saturday morning to plant beach grass, part of an ongoing effort to stabilize one of the most popular beaches on the Island.
Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to come back to South Beach and to Chappaquiddick for a large-scale cleanup of leftover World War I and World War II ordnance. Their work will begin April 1, according to Chris Kennedy of The Trustees of Reservations.
Although it was completed and opened to motorists just last week, the new Big Bridge spanning Oak Bluffs and Edgartown at Joseph Sylvia State Beach has already caused concern among county officials, who worry the back railing of the wooden platform is too close to Beach Road, leaving pedestrians and sunbathers at risk of injury by oncoming traffic this summer.
Dredging is nearly complete at the Joseph Sylvia State Beach. For much of the fall, the Edgartown dredge has been pumping sand out of Sengekontacket, deepening a channel on the Oak Bluffs side, with the spoils trucked to Cow Bay for beach nourishment.
Norman Rankow, chairman of the dredge committee, said last week that the work in the area is winding down. The dredge will be removed from the pond probably by mid-January.
Beachgoers whisking their dogs onto Joseph Sylvia State Beach for a quick spin hoping no one notices may want to think twice this summer — the Dukes County commissioners are calling for a volunteer-based patrol program to help enforce the no-dogs policy.
