- This 35 acre preserve, located on a glacial outwash plain, protects an example of the “Mima Mound” landscape and a small remnant of native Puget prairie grassland, which is dotted with large glacial cobbles. The landscape is a gently rolling plain with low swales and rises. The largest known population of golden paintbrush, a federally listed threatened plant species, grows on the preserve. A state-listed sensitive plant species that grows only in Puget prairies, white topped aster, is also protected on the preserve.
- IC 342 (Wikipedia)
IC 342 (also known as Caldwell 5) is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis, located relatively close to the Milky Way. Despite its size and actual brightness, its location behind dusty areas near the galactic equator makes it difficult to observe, leading to the nickname “The Hidden Galaxy”, though it can readily be detected even with binoculars. If the galaxy were not obscured, it would be visible by naked eye. The dust makes it difficult to determine its precise distance; modern estimates range from about 7 million light-years (Mly) to about 11 Mly. The galaxy was discovered by William Frederick Denning in 1892. It is one of the brightest in the IC 342/Maffei Group, one of the closest galaxy groups to the Local Group. Edwin Hubble first thought it to be in the Local Group, but it was later determined not to be a member.