Floodplains are the areas of low-lying ground adjacent to rivers, formed mainly of nutrient-rich river sediments and subject to flooding after storms and heavy snowmelt.
Source: Floodplains by Design
Scientists are rethinking floodplain management in Puget Sound. Can we have our farms and salmon too?
Between 2016 and 2021, $21 million provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funded 100 different projects to protect, restore, and study critical habitats in Puget Sound. This publication presents an overview of many of the key accomplishments and lessons learned from these efforts. It is a catalog of some of the ‘big ideas’ presented by the scientists and conservationists involved, and it is meant to inform and guide future Puget Sound recovery efforts. This overview is based on the full synthesis report, “Synthesis of Habitat Strategic Initiative Lead 1.0 2016-2023 Investments for Puget Sound Recovery," published by the Puget Sound Institute.
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 Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Natural Resources.
Salmon restoration groups are learning how to work with beavers to create better salmon habitat. The process hinges on reducing human-beaver conflicts while taking a natural approach to ecosystem recovery. The beavers are happy to help.
A 2023 report from the University of Washington Puget Sound Institute synthesizes past Watershed Lead Organization Program grants to support the EPA-funded Land Development and Cover and Floodplains and Estuaries Implementation Strategies. The report offers lessons learned from the habitat restoration and land acquisition-focused grants.
A pilot project to create a 'living dike' in Canada's Boundary Bay is designed to help a saltwater marsh survive rising waters due to climate change.
Can restoring the natural balance of the Nooksack River also reduce flood risks? Officials on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border are taking note as climate change raises the stakes.
