Influence Of Sedimentary Biogeochemistry On Oxygen Consumption And Nutrient Cycling In Bellingham Bay, Washington,
2018
Western Washington Univ., United States
Influence Of Sedimentary Biogeochemistry On Oxygen Consumption And Nutrient Cycling In Bellingham Bay, Washington, Everitt G. Merritt, David Shull
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Bellingham Bay, a shallow, urbanized embayment in north Puget Sound, is experiencing increasing seasonal hypoxia. But, rates of sedimentary geochemical processes that might contribute to this change are not well quantified. This project explored the relationships between sedimentary biogeochemical processes, nutrient fluxes, and oxygen consumption in Bellingham Bay. Working with the Washington State Department of Ecology, we sampled 25 stations throughout the bay, and measured fluxes of dissolved oxygen, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, dissolved inorganic phosphorus, silicate, and dissolved inorganic carbon between sediment and overlying water. We observed decreases in the fluxes of DO, DIC, and DIN with station depth, suggesting …
Evaluating Common Trends In Chinook Density And The Influence Of Temperature And Salinity Patterns Among Distributary Channels In A Large River Estuary To Aid Evaluation, Planning, And Prioritization Of Restoration Activities,
2018
NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Ctr., United States
Evaluating Common Trends In Chinook Density And The Influence Of Temperature And Salinity Patterns Among Distributary Channels In A Large River Estuary To Aid Evaluation, Planning, And Prioritization Of Restoration Activities, Joshua Chamberlin, Jason E. Hall, Todd Zackey, Frank Leonetti, Michael Rustay
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Landscape context is critical in estuary restoration planning and assessment due to the complexity and size of estuaries, and the unique attributes and cumulative effects of individual restoration projects. In addition, the diversity and mobility of estuarine species, in particular juvenile salmon, highlights the importance of landscape position given certain locations in the delta are less accessible to salmon. The Snohomish River delta has been the focus of major estuary restoration efforts in recent years and efforts could result in the largest cumulative estuary restoration action in Puget Sound. While several large projects have been initiated/competed in recent years, information …
Sound Impacts: Building An Impact Metrics Portal For Tracking Collective Positive Impacts Of Restoration And Green Infrastructure Across The Puget Sound,
2018
Stewardship Partners, United States
Sound Impacts: Building An Impact Metrics Portal For Tracking Collective Positive Impacts Of Restoration And Green Infrastructure Across The Puget Sound, Aaron Clark
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
SoundImpacts.org is a pilot of a regional scale, multi-user impact metrics portal. Entities engaged in restoration and positive impact environmental projects like green infrastructure (including rain gardens, tree planting, green roofs, depaving etc.) are highly dispersed, "siloed" and generally don't share data with each other and in fact rarely share the impacts of their work to their own communities beyond the funders who paid for the specific project. Sound Impacts addresses the tandem needs of 1. positive impact practitioners (e.g. NGO's, tribes, government agencies, communities) to collect and track their own impacts to better share that with their audiences and …
Small City Meets Big Water Quality Improvement Challenges,
2018
Washington State Dept. of Ecology, United States
Small City Meets Big Water Quality Improvement Challenges, Mark Henderson, Andrea Hood
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
From 1980 to 2011, the City of Blaine’s wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was located on Semiahmoo Spit, a peninsula west of the city, across the mouth of Drayton Harbor. During those years, raw sewage from Blaine traveled in a pipe across the waters of Drayton Harbor for treatment. Pollution challenges included leaks in the transfer pipe and a failing collection system that allowed inflow and infiltration to overwhelm the system during rain events. The WWTP reached its capacity in the late 1990s. WWTP upgrade construction began in 1999 at the Semiahmoo Spit site. Contractor mismanagement of Native American human remains …
Flood Modelling And Mitigation Planning In Bc's Lower Fraser River And Southcoast,
2018
Fraser Basin Council, Canada
Flood Modelling And Mitigation Planning In Bc's Lower Fraser River And Southcoast, Steve Litke
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
The Fraser Basin Council is a nongovernment, not for profit organization that is facilitating and coordinating a collaborative process in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland to develop a regional-scale flood management strategy. This initiative is focused on flood risks associated with the Lower Fraser River as well as coastal storm surge, including the effects of climate change on these hazards. More than 50 organizations are involved, including local, First Nations, provincial and federal governments, as well as the private sector and civil society. This collaborative process aims to better understand the vulnerabilities and risks associated with these flood hazards, identify priorities …
A Watershed Approach To Recovering Salmon In Changing Climate Conditions,
2018
King County (Wash.)
A Watershed Approach To Recovering Salmon In Changing Climate Conditions, Beth Ledoux, Jessica Engel, Morgan Schniedler Ruff, Colin Wahl
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
The Snohomish Basin Forum adopted the Snohomish Basin Protection Plan in 2015 which clearly stated that the survival of our iconic salmon will be challenged by climate change. From that integrative watershed planning effort the Snohomish Basin Technical Committee investigated how locally predicted impacts of climate change affect salmon recovery in the Snohomish Basin and what key actions can be taken to ameliorate those impacts. As the basin continues to implement the Snohomish Basin Salmon Recovery Plan, it will be critical to restore and protect areas that preserve the basin’s hydrologic patterns and key habitat functions that support salmon in …
The Wria 9 Marine Shoreline Monitoring And Compliance Project Phase 2,
2018
King County, United States
The Wria 9 Marine Shoreline Monitoring And Compliance Project Phase 2, Kollin Higgins
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
This phase builds off of the pilot project undertaken in 2012-2013. The pilot project found many shoreline changes within the WRIA were not permitted, especially on Vashon and Maury Islands. Since the pilot project was completed, King County has undertaken an effort to bring the unpermitted issues found on Vashon and Maury Islands into compliance. The pilot project and King County’s follow on compliance efforts have created community awareness on the islands about the problem and issues around shoreline modifications. This phase will undertake a similar set of boat based surveys of the 92 miles of marine shoreline of Watershed …
Prompt Data Sharing Promotes Engagement And Generates Change,
2018
Washington State Dept. of Agriculture, United States
Prompt Data Sharing Promotes Engagement And Generates Change, Michael Isensee
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
The Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Dairy Nutrient Management Program (DNMP) works with tribal, state, local and Canadian partners to publicly share preliminary fecal coliform monitoring data. As data becomes available it is combined into a unified and regularly updated online map: http://arcg.is/1qvHDq. The map improves transparency of agency monitoring and increases engagement with local farmers, land managers and the public by providing easy access to water quality results. Access to preliminary data within days, presented visually, allows people to more easily link recent activities and conditions to water quality results. For DNMP, the tool enables regulated dairy farmers to …
Engaging The Community In Drayton Harbor's Comeback Story,
2018
Puget Sound Restoration Fund, United States
Engaging The Community In Drayton Harbor's Comeback Story, Betsy Peabody
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
During the 1980 and 1990s, bacterial contamination in Drayton Harbor resulted in bay-wide closures of tribal, commercial and recreational shellfish harvest. In 2001, Puget Sound Restoration Fund partnered with local shellfish farmer extraordinaire Geoff Menzies to launch the Drayton Harbor Community Oyster Farm. With Geoff at the helm, the community farm invigorated a 20+ year community-wide effort to restore 810 acres of growing area to Approved harvest status in 2016. At the outset, seeding oysters in a bay prohibited to harvest, and involving volunteers in oyster farming, was a gamble. But the vision was that if people became immersed in …
Stable Isotope Analysis Reveals Different Trophic Niche Spaces For Wild And Hatchery Origin Juvenile Chinook Salmon In The Nisqually Delta,
2018
USGS Western Ecological Research Ctr., United States
Stable Isotope Analysis Reveals Different Trophic Niche Spaces For Wild And Hatchery Origin Juvenile Chinook Salmon In The Nisqually Delta, Melanie Davis, Isa Woo, Christopher S. Ellings, Sayre Hodgson, Susan De La Cruz
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Hatchery programs have been used as a conservation tool to bolster declining Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations throughout much of the Salish Sea. In many watersheds, hatchery fish are released concurrently with the natural-origin population, thus raising the potential for density dependent effects via depleted prey resources, territorial behavior, and movement into sub-optimal habitats. Competition during the critical period for early marine growth and survival might have detrimental effects for wild Chinook salmon populations, highlighting the potential importance of a productive delta habitat mosaic. We used an integrated diet approach with stomach content and stable isotope analyses to evaluate differential …
Reconstructing Historical Patterns Of Primary Production In Puget Sound Using Growth Increment Data From Shells Of Long-Lived Geoducks (Panopea Generosa),
2018
Long Live the Kings, United States
Reconstructing Historical Patterns Of Primary Production In Puget Sound Using Growth Increment Data From Shells Of Long-Lived Geoducks (Panopea Generosa), Jenny Eccles, Correigh M. Greene, Kathryn Sobocinski, Bethany Stevik, Henry Carson, Christopher Krembs
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Bottom-up hypotheses predict that changes in primary production affect marine survival of species like Pacific salmon. Long term records of primary production would provide important data to test these predictions. However, direct observations of primary production (in situ fluorometers, water chemistry, and satellite observations of color back-scatter) have relatively short time series (< 30 years). We investigated whether growth increments of geoduck clams (Panopea generosa) are correlated with primary production in different sub-basins of greater Puget Sound. Geoduck are long-lived (older specimens live >100 years), widely distributed throughout the Salish Sea, and deposit annual growth rings in their shells. Shell samples from aged geoducks were by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in four sub-basins within greater Puget Sound (Strait of Jan de Fuca, Southern Strait of Georgia, South …
Nitrogen In Puget Sound: A Story Map,
2018
Washington State Dept. of Ecology, United States
Nitrogen In Puget Sound: A Story Map, Sheelagh Mccarthy, Teizeen Mohamedali, Paula Cracknell
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
“Nitrogen in Puget Sound” is an ArcGIS Online Story Map developed by scientists at the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology). The Story Map is an interactive communication tool that uses a combination of maps, graphics, and text showcasing the state of the science and available data and resources used to understand nitrogen in Puget Sound. It was created to appeal to a broad audience, explaining nitrogen pollution and its effects at a basic level, as well as providing more detailed information for researchers and organizations interested in exploring available data and resources. The Story Map begins with an overview …
Capturing Information On Vessels And Cetaceans: Developing A Passive Monitoring System For Boundary Pass,
2018
Univ. of Victoria, Canada
Capturing Information On Vessels And Cetaceans: Developing A Passive Monitoring System For Boundary Pass, Lauren Mcwhinnie, Patrick O'Hara, Gregory O'Hagan, Molly Fraser, Sarah Berry, Leh Smallshaw, Norma Serra-Sogas, Rosaline Canessa
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
As marine traffic intensifies in the Salish Sea, cetaceans, and in particular, Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs), are continually facing increasing amounts of exposure to noise and other disturbances from movements of vessels. While the majority of large vessel activity can be captured and assessed through the use of Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), the contribution of smaller non-AIS vessels is difficult to quantify and currently largely under assessed. Increasingly, government and industry are required to take operational and strategic mitigation measures to minimise vessel disturbances on cetaceans without reliable, comprehensive data and analysis to inform those decisions. Therefore this work …
The Puget Sound Green Infrastructure Summit: Convening And Coordinating Across A Region And Across Sectors (.Com, .Gov, .Org. .Edu),
2018
Stewardship Partners, United States
The Puget Sound Green Infrastructure Summit: Convening And Coordinating Across A Region And Across Sectors (.Com, .Gov, .Org. .Edu), Aaron Clark
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
As part of the regional City Habitats network, Stewardship Partners created the Puget Sound Green Infrastructure Summit in 2016 and has made it into an annual event. The presentation will focus on how this event achieves regional organizing, coordinating and collaboration goals with content selection and collaborative working sessions. The event is organized by a cross-sector host committee and is designed as a Green Infrastructure Thought Leader event. Driven largely by the pressing need to solve the stormwater/ polluted runoff threat to the Salish Sea and the nearly impossibly complex and dispersed nature of that problem, the summit pivots from …
What Climate Change Means For The Salish Sea,
2018
Smart Shores, Canada
What Climate Change Means For The Salish Sea, Nathan Vadeboncoeur
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
The Salish Sea is a hub of interconnectivity. It is a key link for international trade between North America and Asia, home to approximately 11.5 million people and two large cosmopolitan urban centres, and connects climates regimes ranging from temperate rainforest to cool Mediterranean. The Salish Sea is also a nexus for political and ecological frontiers. It is divided by the Canada-USA border and is an ecological transition zone connecting the Alaskan and Californian Current ecosystems. Climate change will affect this region via its influence on watersheds, coastal microclimates, and marine ecosystems. These effects can have potentially serious consequences for …
Transboundary Cooperation To Reduce Bacterial Pollution In Washington's Lower Nooksack Basin,
2018
Washington State Dept. of Ecology, United States
Transboundary Cooperation To Reduce Bacterial Pollution In Washington's Lower Nooksack Basin, Doug Allen, Steve Hood
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
The presence of fecal coliform bacteria in streams and shallow marine waters used to grow and harvest shellfish indicate the presence of human- and animal-borne pathogens that can cause serious illness. People who contact polluted water or eat shellfish contaminated with these pathogens are at risk. Since 1998, state and local agencies, dairy operators, farmers, septic system owners and others have worked to address this concern. In 2012, a partnership of local, state and federal entities started the Whatcom Clean Water Program (WCWP), with the purpose of reducing fecal coliform contamination in Drayton Harbor and Portage Bay. County and State …
Enforcement Discretion And Best Practices For Enforcement,
2018
Friends of the San Juans, United States
Enforcement Discretion And Best Practices For Enforcement, Kyle Loring
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
In discussing challenges and opportunities for enforcing ecological protections, the four presenters discussed enforcement regimes generally and lessons learned from individual enforcement actions. The presentations covered attributes of successful enforcement and obstacles that arise, an ongoing review of permit compliance in King County, stormwater updates for consistency with the Clean Water Act, and challenges to enforcement in Canada. The presentations discussed methods for establishing effective programs and identifying obstacles for programs like shoreline master programs that apply broadly throughout a community. Such obstacles include a lack of political will at various stages in the enforcement hierarchy, incomplete or uncertain information …
Interdisciplinary Approaches To Understanding Eutrophication And Over-Enrichment Of Nutrients In Puget Sound And Effects On Marine Species,
2018
United States. National Marine Fisheries Service
Interdisciplinary Approaches To Understanding Eutrophication And Over-Enrichment Of Nutrients In Puget Sound And Effects On Marine Species, Christopher James Harvey
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
No abstract provided.
Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion For Environmental Progress,
2018
Makah Tribe, United States
Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion For Environmental Progress, Michael Chang, Natalie Lowell
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
No abstract provided.
Species And Habitats Of Emerging Concern,
2018
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, United States
Species And Habitats Of Emerging Concern, Henry S. Carson
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
No abstract provided.
