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Person standing on a paddle board with the Seattle skyline in the background.

Puget Sound perceptions of environmental and climate change

A summary report on perceptions of environmental and climate change based on the 2022 human wellbeing Vital Sign survey. This research was funded by the Puget Sound Partnership and led by members in Oregon State University’s Human Dimensions Lab.

Colorful graphic showing chart of Puget Sound Vita Signs.

Summary report of 2022 human wellbeing Vital Signs survey

This report presents results of the 2022 survey to monitor the human wellbeing Vital Signs prepared for the Puget Sound Partnership by Oregon State University.

Chemical symbols for QPPD and QPPD-6 overlain on image of black car driving on wet road

Lawsuits fly, as regulators come to grips with a toxic tire chemical

Finding a replacement for 6PPD in tires is one major challenge; another is to prevent the highly toxic derivative 6PPD-Q from reaching salmon streams and killing fish.

Car wheel and tire next to a pothole puddle.

Scientists worldwide are immersed in studies of a deadly tire chemical

Research that began in Puget Sound has revealed much about the cellular-level assault on vulnerable salmon and trout, yet the puzzle remains incomplete.

A coho salmon fry about 1.5 inches long watches for food below the Salmon Bone Bridge at Seattle’s Longfellow Creek.  Designed by the late sculptor Lorna Jordan, the bridge honors the creatures that so far keep returning to spawn. Photo: Tom Reese

Photographing the 'Creek of Hope'

Longfellow Creek near West Seattle's industrial district still draws spawning salmon despite a century of city development and an onslaught of toxic chemicals. A current exhibit by photographer Tom Reese explores this often-overlooked gem of urban nature.

An adult elephant seal resting on the shore with water in the background.

Northern elephant seals in Puget Sound and vicinity

Northern elephant seals were hunted heavily in the 19th century and believed to be extinct by 1892. However, a small remnant population (~50–100 animals) off the western coast of Mexico grew to populations in the United States and Mexico to at least 220,000 individuals as of 2010. Elephant seals are distributed in the central and eastern North Pacific Ocean, from as far north as Alaska down to

Image of a sailboat on the water at sunset.Text overlay reads: Puget Sound Marind Waters 2022 Overview.

Puget Sound Marine Waters 2022 Overview

Each year, the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program releases the annual Puget Sound Marine Waters Overview report. The latest report combines a wealth of data from comprehensive monitoring programs and provides a concise summary of what was happening in Puget Sound’s marine waters during 2022. The report represents the collective effort of 84 contributors from federal, tribal, state, and local

A stream full of hundreds of swimming salmon.

Surging numbers of pink salmon raise ecological concerns

An estimated 80% of all the salmon in the North Pacific are pink salmon. Scientists say the extreme abundance of pinks could be causing a "trophic cascade" that is harming species across the food web.

Report cover

State of the Sound report 2023

The 2023 State of the Sound is the Puget Sound Partnership’s eighth biennial report to the Legislature on progress toward the recovery of Puget Sound. The document reports on both the status of the Partnership's recovery efforts and a suite of ecosystem indicators referred to as the Puget Sound Vital Signs.

Aerial view of Interstate 5 stretching across a large area of land covered by brown flood waters from the Nooksack River in the foreground with mountains and Puget Sound in the distance and grey skies above.

Studies target increasing flood risks

All across the region, communities are finding that rising seas and rising rivers are two sides of the same coin. New research funded by the Environmental Protection Agency may help managers target their responses to climate-fueled flood risks in Puget Sound. The following article was commissioned by the Habitat Strategic Initiative Lead (HSIL), a cross-agency team co-led by the Washington