As state, tribal and federal salmon managers work together to establish this year’s fishing seasons, they have not forgotten about the needs of Puget Sound’s endangered killer whales. In fact, new documents related to the southern resident orcas describe an investigation looking to find ways to reduce fisheries at certain times and locations that might […]
February 25, 2020
Shoreline armoring in Puget Sound gets new scrutiny from the Army Corps of Engineers
Shoreline bulkheads, which can damage beaches and destroy fish habitat, could come under more extensive review and permitting as the result of a revised shoreline policy announced last week by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The revised policy (PDF 163 kb), which resulted from a federal lawsuit, now requires a Corps of Engineers permit […]
February 20, 2020
New fishing rules increase limits on warm-water fish to indirectly help orcas
In an effort to protect young salmon from predation, new fishing rules will allow anglers to double their catch of some warm-water predatory fish found in 77 lakes across Washington state. Reducing the population of salmon-eating bass, catfish and walleye is one of many ideas promoted by the governor’s Southern Resident Orca Task Force, which […]
January 30, 2020
Missing orca named ‘Mega’ lived a long, productive life, says Ken Balcomb
A 43-year-old male orca named Mega, now missing and presumed dead, was one of the first new calves that researcher Ken Balcomb spotted when he began his extensive census of Southern Resident killer whales back in 1976. Ken didn’t know it at the time, but the baby orca — one of nine born in 1977 […]
January 29, 2020
How air pollution becomes water pollution with long-term effects on Puget Sound
When thinking of air pollution, I used to think only of breathing toxic chemicals into our lungs, with uncertain health effects. That’s bad enough, but air pollution — which is everywhere — is also getting into our waterways and penetrating deep into our food webs. Rivers, lakes and Puget Sound, no body of water escapes […]
January 22, 2020
Partnership explores revised measures of Puget Sound health, as 2020 deadline arrives
It is the year 2020. You could say that the time has run out for restoring Puget Sound to a healthy condition. But time marches on. When the Legislature created the Puget Sound Partnership in 2007, lawmakers included this sentence in state law: “It is the goal of the state that the health of Puget […]
January 7, 2020
PSI launches “Our Water Ways” blog
We are pleased to announce that we are launching a new blog from veteran environmental journalist Christopher Dunagan. Chris has been a senior writer at the Puget Sound Institute since 2015 and has written dozens of in-depth stories for our science magazine Salish Sea Currents. That signature reporting will continue, but now Chris will be […]
January 7, 2020
Welcome to ‘Our Water Ways,’ a blog about Puget Sound and all things water-related
Welcome to “Our Water Ways,” a new blog I’m writing for the Puget Sound Institute with a name that will sound familiar to some. For the past 12 years, I’ve been writing a blog called “Watching Our Water Ways” for the Kitsap Sun. Now, my blogging efforts will have a new home. I’ve outlined the […]