Front Page Featured Items Archive | Puget Sound Institute

March 24, 2026

Seabirds Live! A conversation with author Eric Wagner on May 13

What can tens of thousands of rhinoceros auklets tell us about the health of the Salish Sea? Get the inside scoop on the remote and often enigmatic seabirds of Protection and Destruction Islands. Author Eric Wagner will be on stage with seabird biologist Peter Hodum for a live conversation on May 13 at the University […]

Events

March 23, 2026

Puget Sound shoreline viewed from Chambers Creek WWTP site, with freight train passing in foreground.

Out of Sight, Back to the Sound

Tucked along the shoreline of Commencement Bay, the Chambers Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant is one of dozens of wastewater treatment plants that discharge directly into Puget Sound. It serves more than 320,000 people — roughly a third of Pierce County’s population — in an area that includes Tacoma, Lakewood, University Place, and surrounding communities, processing […]

Blog Post

March 17, 2026

Nature assessment describes both peril and promise, as humans relate to the natural world

The past, present and future of natural conditions in the United States are described in a new report, which has traveled a bumpy road to its current draft form, now out for public review and comment. “The Nature Record,” originally titled the “National Nature Assessment,” was launched in 2022 as a government project — the […]

Blog Post

March 16, 2026

Seabirds as Sentinels book cover showing the title and two rhinoceros auklets.

Seabirds as Sentinels: Auklets, Puffins, Shearwaters, and the View from Destruction Island

Eric Wagner’s new book, Seabirds as Sentinels, is out this month and features writing inspired by some of his reporting for our magazine Salish Sea Currents. The book, published by the University of Washington Press, follows a team of scientists who have spent more than a decade studying the remote seabirds of Destruction Island. It […]

Research

February 19, 2026

Six container ships are anchored close to each other in the Salish Sea.

March 10 roundtable digs into the impacts of commercial anchoring in British Columbia

The Salish Sea Science Roundtable online speaker series continues on Tuesday, March 10 from 12:30 – 1:30 pm. Anchoring of commercial vessels can have a range of social, cultural, ecological, and physical impacts in coastal marine systems. Using a combination of spatial data, field observations, and vessel activity records, Dr. Fiona Francis (Fisheries and Oceans Canada; […]

Events

January 22, 2026

Man in red with clipboard surrounded by tires.

Testimony in legislative committees focuses on when a toxic tire chemical should be banned

While not exactly a chicken-or-egg debate, when it comes to regulating a deadly tire chemical, Washington state lawmakers are being called upon to decide what comes first in the effort to save salmon. In public hearings this week, speakers were clearly divided in their views on companion bills in the House and Senate to ban […]

Blog Post

January 13, 2026

Washington lawmakers to decide whether to ban a tire chemical shown to be toxic to salmon

A new bill introduced to the Washington Legislature, now in session, would require tire manufacturers to reformulate the rubber in their tires to remove a chemical responsible for killing large numbers of coho salmon and other fish. If approved, the legislation would give tire manufacturers nine years to find a suitable replacement for the compound […]

Blog Post

January 12, 2026

Three people with the Tulalip Beaver Project release a beaver back into the environment.

February 10 roundtable explores beavers as partners in restoration: A look inside the Tulalip Beaver Project

The Salish Sea Science Roundtable online speaker series continues on Tuesday, February 10 from 12:30 – 1:30 pm. Twelve years ago, the Tulalip Beaver Project started with a bold idea: maybe we can partner with beavers — nature’s original engineers — to help restore salmon habitat. Today, the project is known across the country for showing […]

Events

January 9, 2026

Study finds juvenile coho salmon at risk from deadly tire chemical

Untold numbers of hatchery fish may be dying from exposure to tire-contaminated runoff, according to a new study. When it was first identified in 2020, the deadly tire chemical 6PPD-quinone (6PPDQ) was seen mostly as a threat to adult coho salmon. Fish returning in the fall were found disoriented and gasping shortly after entering creeks […]

Findings

December 30, 2025

Cougar in tree. Photo courtesy of National Park Service.

Where mountain lions and people do or do not mix

Today, we look inland at our mountains and forests where top predators like cougars remind us that nature is still wild and — often — unpredictable. PSI staff writer Eric Wagner has this look at a new paper with insights into when, where and why cougars may be more likely to cross paths with humans […]

Blog Post

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