12/14 Hairy Manzanita, baby sea stars, AI for whales, Toandos Peninsula, Columbia R Treaty, Growlers

Hairy Manzanita [Native Plants PNW]

 
Hairy Manzanita Arctostaphylos columbiana
Hairy Manzanita is found from Vancouver Island in British Columbia to the coast of Northern California, mostly on the west side of the Cascade Mountains. It is found in dry, open, sunny places and rocky hillsides, often in disturbed areas.   It is a bushy shrub that may be erect or spreading.(Dana Kelley Bressette/Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest)

14 baby sea stars are tiny bundles of hope for their critically endangered species 
After months of trial and error to find what it takes to keep a voracious, pizza-sized predator alive, biologists have succeeded at raising 14 baby sunflower stars: little bundles of hope in a dark time for their species. Researchers at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories on San Juan Island have been trying to raise the spectacular, 20-armed species of sea star indoors for the past year and a half. John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

Researchers aim to use artificial intelligence to save endangered whales in B.C.
Researchers are aiming to "teach'' a computer to recognize the sounds of resident killer whales in order to develop a warning system for preventing ships from fatally striking endangered orcas off British Columbia's coast. Steven Bergner, a computing science research associate at Simon Fraser University's Big Data Hub, said he is collecting and managing a database of sounds picked up 24 hours a day by a network of hydrophones in the Salish Sea. Marine biologists will identify the sounds of different species of whales, including humpbacks and transients, and differentiate the acoustics from other noise such as waves and boats, he said. Machine learning or artificial intelligence would help detect the presence of orcas through patterns in the data. Camille Bains reports. (Canadian Press)

Coalition aims to expand protected area
A coalition of conservation groups, shellfish farmers, tribes and area residents is asking the state Department of Natural Resources to cancel plans for three timber sales to protect a rare rhododendron forest. The 936-acre forest on the Toandos Peninsula and along Dabob Bay is the largest in the world, according to Peter Bahls, executive director of the Northwest Watershed Institute, a Jefferson County-based group that has been coordinating Dabob Bay conservation efforts for nearly 20 years. “It’s only fitting that, in Jefferson County, which has been celebrating the Rhododendron Festival since 1936, we are now potential guardians of the most significant native rhododendron forest of its type remaining in the world,” Bahls said. Leah Leach reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Calls to terminate Columbia River Treaty spark concern after 2 years of negotiations
A cross-border treaty that has regulated the flow of the Columbia River for over 50 years could be in jeopardy as a group of American politicians calls on the president to invoke his executive authority and terminate the treaty. The Columbia River Treaty was ratified by the United States and Canada in 1964 and resulted in the construction of four huge hydro-electric dams — three in Canada and one in the U.S. — to reduce the risk of flooding and generate billions of dollars worth of electricity.  According to the Canadian government, the treaty is considered a model of international cooperation on hydropower development. Bob Keating and Tom Popyk report. (CBC)

Growlers blamed for noise pollution
They’ve been close neighbors sharing the same sky. But Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and a team of research scientists on the North Olympic Peninsula report starkly different findings on aircraft noise and its effects on life. A new University of Washington study, published in the journal Northwest Science, looks at — and listens to — NASWI’s Growlers, the Boeing electronic warfare jets taking off from Whidbey and flying over western Olympic National Park, long recognized as one of the world’s quietest places. Diane Urbani de la Paz reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  231 AM PST Mon Dec 14 2020   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON   
TODAY  Light wind becoming S to 10 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 16 ft at 15 seconds subsiding to  14 ft at 15 seconds in the afternoon. A chance of showers in the  morning then a slight chance of showers in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  SE wind 5 to 15 kt rising to 15 to 25 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft after  midnight. W swell 11 ft at 13 seconds. A chance of rain in the  evening then rain after midnight.

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