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Sep 16, 2011

Overarching, Large-Scale Protection and Restoration Strategies

Here we focus on strategies that address broad-scale impacts in Puget Sound. We discuss perhaps the two must ubiquitous drivers, human footprint and climate change, recognizing that all other strategies must be imbedded within the context of these ultimate drivers. This review concentrates on publications that focus on Puget Sound, or at least the Pacific Northwest, including: Clanc...
Apr 26, 2021

State agencies will focus on improving environmental justice under new law

The recently approved HEAL Act requires the state of Washington to address issues of environmental justice within its agencies. The Act is expected to be signed by the governor and focuses on inequities in environmental health conditions for disenfranchised populations.
By Christopher Dunagan
Jul 03, 2025

Many actions may be needed to improve Puget Sound waters

Scientists at the Washington Department of Ecology along with many other researchers have spent years studying and debating the problem of low oxygen in Puget Sound. Now, many new developments — technical, scientific and legal — are reaching a critical stage and setting up a framework to make some major decisions. This is part four of a four-part series originally published in the Puget Sound Institute blog.
By Christopher Dunagan
Sep 30, 2011

2. Food Web Evaluation

This version of the Puget Sound Science Update provides an initial evaluation of food web indicators, but is not intended to be comprehensive. Highlights include the evaluation of individual species or species complexes as food web indicators due to their key functional roles (e.g., forage fish, jellyfish), and the identification of existing data sources for assessing food web struc...
Mar 20, 2019

Oil spill risks by the numbers

An EPA-funded study of oil spill risks in Puget Sound forms the basis of new legislation to regulate vessel traffic in the region. We break down some of the numbers from the study and look at where the risks may be greatest.
By Christopher Dunagan
May 14, 2020

Fire danger returning to Western Washington

Historically, the eastern part of the state has seen the largest impacts from fires, but climate change is now increasing the risk west of the Cascades. That could have big implications for many rural communities throughout Western Washington, including those in the Puget Sound region.
By Christopher Dunagan
Jul 02, 2025

Computer models examine the extent of Puget Sound's low oxygen water-quality problem

Scientists at the Washington Department of Ecology along with many other researchers have spent years studying and debating the problem of low oxygen in Puget Sound. Now, many new developments — technical, scientific and legal — are reaching a critical stage and setting up a framework to make some major decisions. This is part three of a four-part series originally published in the Puget Sound Institute blog.
By Christopher Dunagan
Jul 17, 2025

Coming into the colony

Gulls are perhaps our most familiar seabird. Pick a seashore or even an occasional landfill, and you are likely to see at least a few. But casual sightings don't always paint a true picture of population health. Recently, scientists took to the field to see how glaucous-winged gulls are faring in the Salish Sea. The gulls were ready for them.
By Eric Wagner
Jan 14, 2020

Air contaminants, such as mercury and PCBs, undermine the health of Puget Sound

High levels of mercury and other toxic chemicals are showing up in seemingly remote and pristine parts of the Puget Sound watershed, the result of atmospheric deposition. Scientists talk about a “dome” of pollution hanging over urban areas, leading to a never-ending cycle of persistent compounds working their way through the air, onto the land and into the water.
By Christopher Dunagan
Sep 16, 2011

Driver: Human Activities in Proximity to Shoreline

The level of human activity in the Salish Sea region both partly springs from and leads to extensive use of nearshore ecosystems. Access to shipping, fishing and other commercial and recreational endeavors makes the region an attractive location for human settlement. Expanding settlement and human activities exerts growing pressures on the ecological system. In the Driver-Pressure-S...