Implementation Strategies will target Puget Sound ‘Vital Signs’

A 2021 synthesis report from the University of Washington Puget Sound Institute synthesizes leading integrated floodplain management approaches to support the EPA-funded Floodplains and Estuaries Implementation Strategy.

This article provides an overview and a link to further information about the Marine Water Quality Implementation Strategy. Implementation Strategies (Strategies) are plans for accelerating progress toward the 2020 ecosystem recovery targets for the Puget Sound Vital Signs. The Strategies are developed collaboratively with technical, professional, and policy experts and with local and regional input. They are funded by the Environmental Protection Agency.

This article provides an overview and a link to further information about the Shellfish Implementation Strategy. Implementation Strategies (Strategies) are plans for accelerating progress toward the 2020 ecosystem recovery targets for the Puget Sound Vital Signs. The Strategies are developed collaboratively with technical, professional, and policy experts and with local and regional input. They are funded by the Environmental Protection Agency.

A 2014 report from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources outlines a recovery strategy for native eelgrass in Puget Sound. The strategy is designed to address a target set forth by the Puget Sound Partnership to increase eelgrass by 20 percent in Puget Sound by 2020. 

This article provides an overview and a link to further information about the Chinook Salmon Implementation Strategy. Implementation Strategies (Strategies) are plans for accelerating progress toward the 2020 ecosystem recovery targets for the Puget Sound Vital Signs. The Strategies are developed collaboratively with technical, professional, and policy experts and with local and regional input. They are funded by the Environmental Protection Agency.

This article provides an overview and a link to further information about the Land Development and Cover Implementation Strategy. Implementation Strategies (Strategies) are plans for accelerating progress toward the 2020 ecosystem recovery targets for the Puget Sound Vital Signs. The Strategies are developed collaboratively with technical, professional, and policy experts and with local and regional input. They are funded by the Environmental Protection Agency.

This article provides an overview and a link to further information about the Floodplains and Estuaries Implementation Strategy. Implementation Strategies (Strategies) are plans for accelerating progress toward the 2020 ecosystem recovery targets for the Puget Sound Vital Signs. The Strategies are developed collaboratively with technical, professional, and policy experts and with local and regional input. They are funded by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (B-IBI) Implementation Strategy is designed to improve freshwater quality by analyzing the health and diversity of invertebrate populations in Puget Sound area streams.

A 2020 Base Program Analysis from the University of Washington Puget Sound Institute presents an overview of the programs, policies and initiatives that support the Puget Sound Partnership’s Land Development and Cover Implementation Strategy.

The Toxics in Fish Implementation Strategy is a recovery plan that will guide funding and activities to reduce the impacts of toxics contaminants on marine fish and the humans that consume them. A final version of the plan was published in May 2021.

A 2021 report published by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington Department of Natural Resources describes a regional strategy to reduce shoreline armoring in the Puget Sound region.

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 component of the ecosystem (e.g. marine water, economic vitality). Each component is, in turn, represented by one or more indicators. The indicators are specific measures of Puget Sound conditions, including human wellbeing, while ecosystem recovery targets are policy statements that express desired future conditions for human health and quality of life, species and food webs, habitats, water quantity, and water.

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.

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 2021 report commissioned by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources identifies potential actions at the state or local level, or in combination, that could further bolster shellfish bed recovery in support of the Puget Sound Partnership's shellfish bed recovery target.