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Puget Sound Vital Signs
The Puget Sound Vital Signs are measures of ecosystem health that guide the assessment of progress toward Puget Sound recovery goals. They were adopted by the Puget Sound Partnership at the state of Washington to help guide local, state and federal ecosystem recovery efforts. Each of the six Puget Sound recovery goals are expressed with one or more Vital Signs. Vital Signs represent an important
Managing the Salish Sea’s ‘Herring 401 K’
Scientists argue that herring managers should take a tip from stock market investors and diversify the population’s “portfolio.”
Studies show challenges for eelgrass restoration
As critically important eelgrass declines in some parts of Puget Sound, scientists are trying to plant more of it. The health of the ecosystem may be riding on their efforts, but what they are finding is something that farmers have known for thousands of years: Getting something to grow may be harder than you think.
Policy pivot in Puget Sound: Lessons learned from marine protected areas and tribally-led estuarine restoration
A 2018 paper in the journal Ocean and Coastal Management examines and compares planning approaches used to develop marine protected areas and estuary restoration projects in Puget Sound. It finds that management policies can benefit from increasingly collaborative planning with a focus on multiple benefits such as flood control, salmon recovery, recreation and resilience to climate change.
The Puget Sound Coastal Storm Modeling System
The Puget Sound Coastal Storm Modeling System analyzes the potential impacts of sea level rise on nearshore areas of the Puget Sound region.
Biennial Science Work Plan for 2016-2018
This is the 4th biennial science work plan (BSWP) developed by the Puget Sound Partnership’s Science Panel. This 2016-18 BSWP, like its predecessors, identifies specific science work actions to be done over the next 2 years and provides recommendations for improvements to the ongoing science work in Puget Sound. This version of the BSWP builds upon the Partnership’s Strategic Science Plan (2010)
Nights in the lives of the rhinoceros auklets of Protection Island
More than 70 percent of the seabird population of Puget Sound nests on a single island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. That includes a massive colony of rhinoceros auklets that has drawn the interest of scientists and birders alike. Our writer Eric Wagner visited the island this summer and reports on a long-term study of the auklets that is revealing new information about the health of seabirds in
Marine mammals from distant places visit Puget Sound
The reasons for the surprise visits are unknown, but changes in environmental conditions here or elsewhere are one possibility.
For declining orcas, food is fate
Recent images of a mother orca appearing to grieve for her dead calf have brought worldwide attention to the plight of Puget Sound’s endangered Southern Resident orcas. As orca numbers decline, we look at how the effects of toxic chemicals on the whales are magnified even as the residents slowly starve from a general lack of Chinook salmon, their chief source of food.
Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - July 16, 2018
Its summer! River flows are generally below normal levels in response to low precipitation and warm air temperatures. Algae blooms are causing intense red-brown colors in Bellingham and Samish Bays, as well as in some other bays. Infrared images revealed that the algal blooms are in water exceeding 15°C. These warmer waters increase the risk of harmful algal blooms if toxin-producing species are