We are pleased to announce that veteran journalist Chris Dunagan has joined the Puget Sound Institute as a Senior Writer. Anyone who has followed Puget Sound issues over the years will recognize Chris’s byline. As the very first environmental reporter for the Kitsap Sun, he has been a respected voice in the region for more than 25 years. As a writer at PSI, he will continue to cover science-related stories focusing on Salish Sea recovery.

Chris estimates that he has written close to 10,000 stories in his career, but he is not worried that he will run out of things to write about. “The list gets longer instead of shorter,” he says. “I’ve always said that Puget Sound is the most interesting place in the United States for an environmental reporter to live and work. You have such a variety, from the forests and National Parks all the way to open ocean. I just think it’s an amazing place.”

Chris retired from the staff of the Kitsap Sun last October, but continues to blog for the newspaper while writing occasional in-depth environmental stories. He recently completed the two-year series “Taking the Pulse of Puget Sound” and this spring he covered the Legislature for InvestigateWest, a nonprofit journalism organization. He is the recipient of many science writing awards, including the Governor’s Writers Award and most recently the SeaDoc Society’s Octopus Award for contributions to a healthy Salish Sea.

In this month’s PSI newsletter, Chris reports on the latest progress in the state’s efforts to remove shoreline armoring from Puget Sound’s beaches. We look forward to bringing you more of his stories in the coming months.

Read an in-depth profile of Chris Dunagan in the Washington State University alumni magazine.