10/31 Jack'o'lantern, GasLink, AI salmon monitoring, regulating AI, wolf kill rules, North Cr protection, backcountry roads, WSF ferry loss

Pumpkinpedia

Jack'o'lantern
A jack-o'-lantern is a carved lantern, most commonly made from a pumpkin, or formerly a root vegetable such as a rutabaga or turnip. Jack-o'-lanterns are associated with the Halloween holiday. Its name comes from the phenomenon of strange lights flickering over peat bogs, called jack-o'-lanterns. (Wikipedia)

Despite opposition and environmental violations, major B.C. pipeline project nearly complete
TC Energy says the 670-km Coastal GasLink pipeline has been fully installed from Dawson Creek to Kitimat. (CBC)

First Nations harness power of AI to monitor wild salmon stocks in B.C.
AI technology developed in partnership with conservation groups, Simon Fraser University, and First Nations on B.C.'s North and Central coasts is being used to sort through that footage to differentiate between species. The results of a pilot study, recently published in Frontiers in Marine Science, show that the computer vision deep learning model — which is being called 'Salmon Vision' — was about 90 per cent accurate when it came to detecting coho and 80 per cent accurate for sockeye after reviewing more than 500,000 video frames. (CBC)

Executive Order on A.I. Tries to Balance Technology’s Potential and Peril
Regulate A.I. too slowly and you might miss out on the chance to prevent potential hazards and dangerous misuses of the technology. React too quickly and you risk writing bad or harmful rules, stifling innovation or ending up in a position like the European Union’s. It first released its A.I. Act in 2021, just before a wave of new generative A.I. tools arrived, rendering much of the act obsolete. Kevin Roose reports. (NY Times)

Conservationists fail in push to tighten WA wolf killing rules
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission rejected a petition to update rules around when the state authorizes lethal action against wolves that attack livestock. Laurel Demkovich reports. (Washington State Standard)

$596,000 will help this Pierce County city finish preserving 50 acres of salmon habitat
The Pierce County Council recently approved funding for the fourth and final phase of the North Creek Salmon Heritage Site. The final 11.41 acres marks an incredible achievement for Gig Harbor by ensuring that more than 50 acres of connected land along North Creek is protected in perpetuity. Carly Vester reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Loved to death: the unpopular prospect of closing backcountry roads to save wildlife
Abandoned forest service roads provide great access to the outdoors but they leave species like caribou and grizzlies vulnerable. And efforts to get rid of them cause community uproar. Jimmy Thomson reports. (The Narwhal)

WA ferry fleet loses a Seattle to Bremerton boat; strain continues
Washington’s ferry system hit a low point over the weekend as yet another boat had to be taken out of service, leaving the fleet with just 14 working ships out of 21 owned by the state. The Chimacum ferry, among Washington State Ferries’ newer boats, was docked Saturday morning after a rod broke in one of its engines. David Kroman reports. (Seattle Times)

Have you read the Salish Current?
Independent, fact based news for Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties. Free to read, free from ads. Read the latest weekly newsletter here.

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  255 AM PDT Tue Oct 31 2023   
TODAY  SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft. SW swell 2 ft at  15 seconds. 
TONIGHT  SE wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 2 ft. SW swell 1 ft at  15 seconds.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to mikesato772 (@) gmail.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told