Puget Sound Resources

Contents

• Introduction
• Puget Sound Laws and Regulations
• Puget Sound Government Resources
  • Binational (Canada-U.S)
  • Federal
  • State and Regional
• Selected Local Government Resources related to Puget Sound
• Nonprofit Organizations related to Protection of Puget Sound
• Other Puget Sound Research
  • Puget Sound Fish and Habitat Issues
  • Puget Sound Recreation and Shoreline Use
• Related MRSC Pages
• Other Related Water Resources Information

Introduction

The purpose of this page is to provide links to information regarding the protection of Puget Sound's water quality and resources. Puget Sound is an ecosystem in trouble. Polluted by decades of development and industrial, residential, and agricultural runoff, many critical species in the water and near the shore are declining. The decline in valuable salmon runs has been a primary concern in recent years.

Puget Sound is an estuary, a semi-enclosed, glacial fjord where salt water from the Pacific Ocean is mixed with fresh water draining from the surrounding watershed. Puget Sound proper consists of four interconnected basins: the main basin, southern basin (south of Tacoma), the Whidbey basin, and the Hood Canal basin. Puget Sound is deep, with an average depth of about 450 feet.

From a water quality planning perspective, Puget Sound includes the Sound from south of Admiralty Inlet (including: Hood Canal; the marine waters north to the Canadian border, including portions of the Strait of Georgia; the Strait of Juan de Fuca south of the Canadian border, extending westward to Cape Flattery and Saratoga Passage); and all the land draining into these waters.

In December 2005, Governor Chris Gregoire launched an initiative to revitalize efforts to protect and restore Puget Sound, and established the Puget Sound Partnership, which issued its report and recommendations in December 2006. In 2006, the legislature adopted a $52 million spending package and laws to address critical short-term needs. In 2007, legislation was adopted creating a new state agency, the Puget Sound Partnership (Partnership), which replaced the Puget Sound Action Team. The Partnership is responsible for integrating the work of state, local and federal governments, as well as local watershed planning and salmon recovery efforts. In December 2008, the Partnership released the Puget Sound Action Agenda, a strategy for cleaning up, restoring, and protecting Puget Sound by 2020.

Puget Sound Laws and Regulations

• Ch. 90.71 RCW - Puget Sound Water Quality Protection Act
• Ch. 341, Laws of 2007, Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5372, 2007 - Legislation to create the Puget Sound Partnership as a state agency (companion bill to HB 1374)
• Ch. 70.118A RCW - On-Site Sewage Disposal Systems - Marine Recovery Areas - Authorizes enhanced local programs in marine recovery areas to inventory on-site sewage disposal systems, provide for inspection and repairs to failing systems, and monitor these programs to ensure that they are working.
• RCW 77.50.010 - Limitations on commercial fishing for salmon in Puget Sound waters
• RCW 88.16.170 - RCW 88.16.200 - Oil tankers - restrictions related to oil tankers on Puget Sound and the Columbia River - including prohibition on oil tankers over 125,000 deadweight tons on Puget Sound waters
• Ch. 90.58 RCW - Shoreline Management Act of 1971
• RCW 90.58.160 - Prohibition of surface drilling for oil and gas in Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca waters
• Ch. 90.88 RCW - Aquatic Rehabilitation Zones - Watersheds draining into Hood Canal designated as aquatic rehabilitation zone.

Puget Sound Government Resources

Binational (Canada-U.S)

• Georgia Basin-Puget Sound Ecosystem Indicators Report, Transboundary Georgia Basin-Puget Sound Environmental Working Group, 2002 - Report examines selective aspects of the state of the environment in the transboundary region consisting of the Puget Sound region in the United States and the Georgia Basin in Canada, including the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
• Puget Sound Georgia Basin Ecosystem Indicators, U.S. EPA.

Federal

• Puget Sound Georgia Basin Ecosystem, U.S. EPA Region 10
• U.S. Department of Commerce, Northwest Regional Office, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA - Links to information on Endangered Species Act, salmon recovery, and protection of marine mammals
  • Sound Science: Synthesizing Ecological and Socioeconomic Information about the Puget Sound Ecosystem, ( 13.9 MB) January 2007, Mary H. Ruckelshaus and Michelle M. McClure, coordinators; prepared in cooperation with the Sound Science collaborative team. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NMFS), Northwest Fisheries Science NOAA report on Puget Sound science.
• U.S. Geological Society
  • Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound (CHIPS), U.S. Geological Society.
  • Water Quality in the Puget Sound Basin, U.S. Geological Survey
  • USGS Sound Waves, U.S. Geological Survey - Monthly coastal science and research newsletter.

State and Regional

• Puget Sound Partnership - A community effort of citizens, governments, tribes, scientists and businesses working together to restore and protect Puget Sound; established by Governor Gregoire and the Washington State Legislature. Replaced the Puget Sound Action Team.
  • Puget Sound Action Agenda approved, Dec. 2008 and Action Agenda Download (), Dec. 2008 
  • Puget Sound Partnership Document Downloads 
  • Partnership News - News releases
  • Puget Sound Assessment & Monitoring Program (PSAMP)
  • State of the Sound (), 2007 report - A scientific look at the health of Puget Sound and the status of its marine life, habitats, water quality, and climate. The report tracks more than two dozen environmental indicators that provide insight into the health of the Sound and threats to that health. State of the Sound Report Corrections (), 2007 
  • 2007-2009 Puget Sound Conservation and Recovery Plan (), July 2007
  • LID (Low-Impact Development) Local Regulation Assistance Project, Puget Sound Partnership - Environmentally sensitive approach to developing land and managing stormwater runoff.
• Washington State Department of Ecology, Saving Puget Sound
  • Puget Sound: Protecting and Restoring a National Treasure (), Issue Up Close, Jan. 2007
  • Puget Sound Initiative: 2007-09 Action Agenda
  • Puget Sound Shorelines
  • Shoreline Aerial Photographs
  • Washington State's Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Plan (), Sept. 2005
  • Washington Coastal Atlas
• Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife - Partnership among local, state and tribal governments, federal agencies, industries, and environmental organizations for habitat restoration in the Puget Sound basin
• Washington State Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office
• Salmon Recovery, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Nearshore Habitat Program, Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

Selected Local Government Resources related to Puget Sound

• Bellingham Habitat Restoration
• King County, Puget Sound Stewardship Guidebook, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, 2002
• Pierce County Habitat Protection and Restoration 
• Snohomish County Surface Water Management Division, Nearshore Habitat Protection 
• Thurston County, Salmon Recovery in Thurston County 
• Whatcom County Public Works, Stormwater Division, Marine Resources. 

Nonprofit Organizations related to Protection of Puget Sound

• People for Puget Sound - Citizens' group established in 1991 to protect and restore the health of Puget Sound's land and waters through education and action.
• The Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines - Partnership of three leading conservation groups, People For Puget Sound, The Trust for Public Land, and The Nature Conservancy, who have launched a fundraising campaign to restore and protect hundreds of miles of shoreline and create several new parks.
• Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative - Commission coordinates efforts of Marine Resources Committees and conducts regional projects in  seven counties (Clallam, Island, Jefferson, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom) 
• Puget Sound Restoration Fund - Washington-based nonprofit dedicated to restoring marine habitat, water quality, and native species in Puget Sound
• Puget Soundkeeper Alliance - Organization with mission to protect water quality and prevent pollution in Puget Sound; part of the National Waterkeeper Alliance.
• Washington Shore Stewards - Creating healthier shores for wildlife and people. Includes guidelines for shoreline living.

Other Puget Sound Research

• "The Sound of Broken Promises," Seattle Post-Intelligencer Special Report on Puget Sound, October 2006.

Puget Sound Fish and Habitat Issues

• Shared Strategy for Puget Sound - Collaborative initiative by Puget Sound communities to restore and protect salmon runs
• State of Salmon in Watersheds Reports, Washington Governor's Salmon Recovery Office
• NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
  • Puget Sound Killer Whale ESA Recovery Plan, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Region, Final Plan, Jan. 2008
  • Endangered Species Act Status of Puget Sound Killer Whales, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Region 
  • Puget Sound ESA Salmon Recovery Domain, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Regional Office
• Key to the Fishes of Puget Sound, University of Washington
• Regional Fisheries Enhancement Program, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife 
  • Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group - Nonprofit regional organization that works with communities to protect salmon 
  • Mid-Puget Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group - Nonprofit regional organization that works with communities in King and eastern Kitsap Counties to maximize self-sustaining salmon populations.
  • South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group - Nonprofit regional organization to protect salmon
• Salmon and Trout Info, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks - Link to Puget Sound salmon recovery information.

Puget Sound Recreation and Shoreline Use

• Puget Sound Shoreline Strategy Report and Map, Trust for Public Land - Report on public shorelines in Puget Sound
• Marine Tourism Best Management Practices (), A Practical Guide for Puget Sound, People For Puget Sound, Washington SeaGrant, Sept. 2005.

Related MRSC Pages

• Water Resources and Water Issues Information - General information on water resources, including water quality, storm and surface water management, watershed planning, and water rights, in Washington State.
• Endangered Species: Salmon and Bulltrout
• Shoreline Management Act
• Storm and Surface Water Management
• Critical Areas
• Watershed Planning.

Other Related Water Resources Information

• Restore America's Estuaries - Nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve the nation's network of estuaries by protecting and restoring the lands and waters essential to the richness and diversity of coastal life.
• West Coast Governors' Agreement on Ocean Health (), September 2006.

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Related Resources
MRSC Index – Water pollution and general water quality standards

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