7/6 Thimbleberry, Makah whale hunt, hydrogen power, dam removal, old fish bones, kelp crisis

Thimbleberry [Native Food Nursery]

Thimbleberry Rubus parviflorus Nutt.
The common name describes its appearance, as it does resemble a thimble from the top, where the thimble has little indentations to push down upon the needle. Imagine a raspberry but smaller, with smaller but more numerous fruitlets. These berries are tart and may be eaten raw, or cooked and made into jam or jelly and other food items such as pemmican or fruit leather. It is red when ripe. Look for thimbleberries in the mountains, in places that are shady, moist, and cool. (USDA)

NOAA Fisheries issues new recommendations for Makah whale hunt, the long-awaited decision will come within a year
A long-awaited decision on the Makah tribe’s application to conduct a whale hunt will come within a year, according to federal regulators who issued a supplemental environmental impact statement on July 1. The supplemental EIS includes a new preferred alternative that the agency is recommending for approval. It outlines new seasons for the tribe’s hunt of Pacific gray whales. In a winter to spring season, starting each December, the tribe would be allowed to take up to three whales. For summer hunts, which would start in July and run through October, they could take one whale, with an overall annual limit of three per year. That’s two fewer than the tribe requested. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Cutting-edge hydrogen power project planned for Port Moody
Port Moody, B.C., will be home to an innovative low-emission hydrogen power plant, according to the three companies behind a pilot project slated to start construction late next year. The test project would be the first such plant in B.C., and possibly Canada, to produce what's known as "turquoise hydrogen," an almost zero-emission method for capturing and converting methane from burning natural gas. Similar projects exist in Germany and France. David P. Ball reports. (CBC)

WA’s deadline for no more fossil fuel impossible if Snake River dams breached, study says 
The four lower Snake River dams are essential to meeting the Northwest’s climate goals to decarbonize the electric grid by 2045, says a new analysis commissioned by Northwest RiverPartners. The analysis finds that breaching the four dams from Ice Harbor near the Tri-Cities upriver to Lower Granite Dam near Lewiston, Idaho, would require $15 billion to replace energy, but that greenhouse gas emissions still likely would increase. Annette Cary reports. (McClatchy)

First Nations' ancient fish bones may help us adapt to climate change
The study of 5,000-year-old fish bones on the West Coast is revealing how Indigenous people adapted to warming oceans — information that could shape present day adaptations and fisheries management as the climate crisis advances, University of Victoria researchers say. Rochelle Baker reports. (National Observer/Times-Colonist)

A race to stop a kelp crisis, with impacts far beyond local waters
It’s an emergency unfolding out of sight, beneath the waves of Puget Sound. Underwater forests that support shellfish, fish, crabs and everything up the food chain are disappearing, and scientists don’t have clear answers why. Matthew Smith reports. (Q13) And: Could Human Pee Be the Key to Saving Seagrass?  Treating wastewater creates struvite—a nutrient-rich crystal that might just be the key to bolstering struggling seagrass beds. Jesse Kathan reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  230 AM PDT Wed Jul 6 2022   
TODAY  Light wind becoming W to 10 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 10 seconds. A chance of  showers. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 3 ft at 10 seconds. A chance of  showers in the evening then a slight chance of showers after  midnight.

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