"> Puget Sound residents struggling to pay high water utility fees could benefit from a study funded this month by the Washington Legislature. The legislation coincides with research sponsored by the Puget Sound Institute that quantifies wastewater utility costs for the region. The funding for the study is part of Senate Bill 5950, omnibus legislation passed […]
February 21, 2023
"> PUGET SOS brings new funding and a federal makeover
Recently passed federal legislation has increased funding to protect Puget Sound while also changing the way ecosystem recovery efforts are organized. The legislation includes key provisions of the PUGET SOS Act and establishes a national office for Puget Sound recovery based at the Environmental Protection Agency in Seattle. The end of 2022 marked a seismic […]
September 14, 2022
"> Add-on structure will begin to address steelhead crisis at the Hood Canal Bridge
The Hood Canal Bridge, which connects the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas, has proven to be a dangerous impediment to juvenile steelhead trout. As many as half of the young migratory steelhead in Hood Canal may get picked off by seals, birds and other predators as the fish try to pass under the floating highway, according […]
July 1, 2022
"> Green crabs in Hood Canal raise questions about invasion; further response is coming
For the past six years, a volunteer crew has been diligently visiting Nick’s Lagoon near Seabeck on Hood Canal, checking the waters for the destructive European green crab. The three citizen scientists have caught and released lots of native crabs — including thousands of hairy shore crabs. But, until May of this year, they never […]
February 16, 2022
"> Governor’s renewed salmon strategy faces decisive period in the current Legislature
State legislation designed to enhance salmon habitat by requiring protective buffers along streams has been set aside pending further discussions over the coming year. Meanwhile, several other salmon-protection measures proposed by the governor could move forward with decisive funding from the Legislature. The buffer bill (HB 1838), named the Lorraine Loomis Act, would prohibit degradation […]