"> Next time you see a salmon moving upstream to spawn, consider the importance of estuaries. Estuaries, places where rivers and creeks mix with the waters of Puget Sound, help salmon adjust the ions (salts) in their bodies so they can safely make the transition from marine to fresh water. A new report by University of Washington scientist […]
December 16, 2024
"> Ask a scientist: What is a distributary channel?
In a natural state, a river passing through a floodplain will have many side channels and tendrils that distribute the water, fanning it out across the delta. However, these channels are often lost when rivers are diverted to make room for farmland or other human development. In many cases, even after the dikes and levees […]
March 28, 2024
"> Ask a scientist: Are human-derived hormones like estrogen harming fish in Puget Sound?
Hormones such as estrogens that humans create in their own bodies are entering Puget Sound through wastewater, raising concerns about their effects on fish and other wildlife. We spoke with Puget Sound Institute scientist Maya Faber about how environmental exposure to human-derived estrogen can alter the reproductive cycles of male and female fish. The effects […]
February 12, 2024
"> The words ‘in common with’ were pivotal to Judge Boldt’s ruling on Native American fishing rights
Three common words and their legal interpretation a half-century ago helped set the stage for a cultural revival among Native Americans while propelling an environmental movement that still resonates today in Washington state. It was 50 years ago today that U.S. District Judge George Boldt handed down his landmark ruling, which resolved the meaning of […]
November 21, 2023
"> GAO report calls for strengthening of regulations on nonpoint source pollution
By Sarah DeWeerdt A new report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) is renewing calls to strengthen Clean Water Act protections against nonpoint source pollution such as stormwater and agricultural runoff. The recommendation echoes findings made by the GAO in 2013 when it called for Congress to revise “largely voluntary” regulations for nonpoint pollution sources that wash […]
November 8, 2023
"> Puget Sound ecosystem holding on, but recovery remains uncertain, says latest status report
Efforts to restore ecological health to Puget Sound have largely failed to meet recovery goals, yet fish and wildlife populations are still hanging on, according to a new report that describes many struggling populations as neither increasing nor decreasing to a significant extent. The latest State of the Sound report, released last week by the […]
June 28, 2023
"> Prey and predators create varying life-or-death conditions for salmon, as shown with Atlantis model
This article is the latest in a series about computer models and their uses within the Puget Sound ecosystem. As scientists uncover more and more information about a particular ecosystem, computer modelers are often eager to put that raw data to good use in complex models tuned to local conditions. One highly acclaimed model, called […]
June 28, 2023
"> Examining the link between low summer stream flows and climate
A 2023 paper in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association says future low flows in Puget Sound streams could be lower than are projected by climate models that do not reliably account for multidecadal climate variation. The paper is co-authored by Nicholas Georgiadis and Joel Baker of the Puget Sound Institute. When rains […]
June 23, 2023
"> Southeast Alaska troll fishing restored for this year by court of appeals pending full legal review
Fishing in Southeast Alaska by the commercial troll-fishing fleet will not be cancelled this year, as ordered by a Seattle judge, thanks to a last-minute ruling by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Considerations for the economic damage that would be caused by shutting down the Alaskan fishery outweigh the “speculative environmental threats” that […]
June 8, 2023
"> Health of killer whales examined through Bayesian network modeling and informed predictions
Qualitative network modeling, as shown in the previous post in Our Water Ways, is focused on actions that create either positive or negative results for actors in the model. This modeling approach is useful for considering the possible outcomes triggered by various actions, especially when data are lacking to develop mathematical relationships between the actors. […]