9/29 Blueberry, sea weed contaminants, salmon recovery funding, freak heat wave, candidate antisemitism

Oval-leaved Blueberry [Native Plants PNW]

Oval-leaved Blueberry Vaccinium ovalifolium
There are about 450 species of Vaccinium worldwide, about 40 in North America with about 15 in the Pacific Northwest.  The genus Vaccinium includes Blueberries, Huckleberries, Cranberries, Lingonberries, Whortleberries, Bilberries and Cowberries. This species is found from southern Alaska to Oregon in the west, including the Idaho Panhandle and Montana. In the eastern United States it is found only in Upper Michigan. It is found in all the Canadian provinces and territories, excluding Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Nunavut Territory.  It is also found stretching across much of the Pacific Rim from the Aleutians to Japan and parts of the eastern mainland of Asia. Natives ate the tart, flavorful berries fresh, dried, or mixed with oil or oolichan grease.  The berries also make excellent jelly or wine. (Native Plants PNW)

Study raises concerns about contaminants in edible seaweeds
A new study https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0269269 just published by researchers at Western Washington University (WWU) reports concentrations of up to 162 chemical contaminants in three species of edible seaweeds gathered in the Salish Sea. (The Fish Site)

State Board awards nearly $76 Million in grants to fund salmon recovery projects
On Sept. 26, the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board announced the award of nearly $76 million in grants across the state to help ensure the survival of salmon in Washington. The grants that were funded went to 138 projects in 30 of the state’s 39 counties. The grants will pay for work to restore salmon habitat, including repairing degraded habitat in rivers, removing barriers blocking salmon migration and conserving pristine habitat. Cameron Sheppard reports. (Auburn Reporter)

Pacific Northwest heat wave was a freak, 10,000-year event, study finds
A new study finds the Pacific Northwest’s extreme heat wave last summer was a freak event that should only happen once in 10,000 years and it was even hotter because of climate change. Monica Samayoa reports. (OPB)

WA GOP candidate acknowledges social media post is antisemitic
A GOP candidate for the Washington Legislature has acknowledged that a post he put on social media in 2020 is antisemitic. Dan Johnson, of Laurel, who is running to represent part of Northwest Washington in the House, posted a meme on Facebook that showed a yellow Star of David with the words, “A new badge has been created which will allow you to go back to work, to travel in your state, to fly, catch a train or bus and to buy and sell,” The Bellingham Herald reported. (Associated Press)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  247 AM PDT Thu Sep 29 2022   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 5 ft at 9 seconds. TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming NW to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 3 ft at 9 seconds.

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