As ongoing research confirms the importance of shoreline habitat throughout Puget Sound, experts are looking for new ways to help shoreline property owners pay for bulkhead removals. One emerging idea, which could be established as a formal initiative within a year, consists of a special shoreline loan program that could provide low-interest loans to residential …
Update: A pdf of slides from the presentation is now available. Adequate stream flows are critical to Puget Sound’s endangered salmon and are one of the state’s ‘Vital Sign’ indicators of ecosystem health. Earlier data suggests that summer stream flows have been on the decline, but new analysis shows that gauging these flows may be …
In 2020, state health authorities upgraded six shellfish-growing areas in various parts of Puget Sound. Now, thanks to improved water quality, the harvest of clams and oysters can take place on these 309 acres for the first time in years, adding to an ongoing gain in harvestable acreage. While efforts to upgrade shellfish growing areas …
An EPA-funded team of scientists and other experts has completed draft recommendations for the future cleanup of toxic chemicals in Puget Sound. The group’s Toxics in Fish Implementation Strategy addresses pollutants such as PCBs and a slew of emerging contaminants that can affect species throughout the waterway. The strategy will be available for public review …
Outside seems to be the answer, in more ways than one. Virologists tell us that, aside from isolation, we are less likely to be infected with COVID-19 if we go outdoors and stay away from crowds. Psychologists have known for decades that getting out in nature can improve our mental health, something that many of …
It was ten years ago this summer that the Puget Sound Partnership first established what it called Puget Sound’s ‘Vital Signs,’ 25 indicators of Puget Sound health ranging from levels of toxic chemicals in fish to the abundance of Chinook salmon and southern resident orcas. Those indicators have now been revised and expanded, setting off …
This is a reprint of an article originally published by the EPA-funded Strategic Initiative Leads for Puget Sound. 2020 NEP Funding Announcement The Strategic Initiative Leads for Habitat, Stormwater and Shellfish are pleased to share the funding recommendations of the Strategic Initiative Advisory Teams (SIAT) and the Local Integrating Organizations (LIOs) for Federal Fiscal Year …
Few cities in the world can rival Seattle’s combination of money and brain power. It’s a town where the world’s two richest men live within walking distance. Amazon and Microsoft and hundreds of other leading tech companies call this region home, driving the economy and influencing the way we live. Could this same corporate culture …
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 …
Re-posted from the Habitat Strategic Initiative blog: Please join the Habitat Strategic Initiative for a webinar on Thursday, February 13th at 12pm Join the [pugetsoundestuary.wa.gov]Habitat Strategic Initiative for a webinar highlighting the results of one of our investments that is advancing progress on the Shoreline Armoring Implementation Strategy, Shoreline Monitoring Toolbox Protocol Implementation and Data …
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 …
Three inter-agency teams at the state of Washington have announced their recommendations for the distribution of more than $10.9 million dollars in National Estuary Program Geographic Funds for Puget Sound in 2020. The funding is provided annually by the Environmental Protection Agency to support habitat protection, stormwater mitigation and the protection of shellfish beds. The …