Tidal_PAD_V1_Sec4.pdf - Snohomish County PUD

Snohomish County PUD –Pre-Application Document
4 – Existing Environment
within the confines of the site. Most of the maritime traffic is recreational, although commercial
traffic and the Victoria Clipper may use the pass as an alternate route if Puget Sound is too choppy.
Agate Passage
The lands on either side of this channel are primarily forested and residential in nature. Beaches
tend towards sand and cobble. The Port Madison Indian Reservation, which includes a casino,
occupies the western shore of the Passage, and State Highway 305 crosses the channel on a steel
bridge whose trusses fall within the confines of the project area. Maritime traffic is primarily
limited to recreational vessels.
Rich Passage Project
Land use along this channel is dominated by a combination of forest, beach and residential
development. Beaches tend to be a mixture of sand and cobbles. Fort Ward State Park is located
along the northern shore of the Passage, while Manchester State Park lies along the southern. To
the south of Manchester State Park is the Middle Point and Orchard Point Military Reservation.
Naval vessels, including aircraft carriers, pass through the channel to reach the Puget Sound Naval
Shipyard at Bremerton. A ferry travels from Seattle through the channel to Bremerton and back
again. In addition, commercial vessels use the passage to transport goods and materials (Polagye
et al. 2007).
4.9 Aesthetic Resources
Residents and visitors are drawn to the Sound to enjoy its scenic vistas, relax on its shores, and to
observe its abundant wildlife. The basin was shaped by the carving and till deposition of glaciers
that retreated as recently as 13,000 years ago (Booth and Goldstein 1994). Nestled between the
Olympic Mountains to the west and the Cascade Mountains to the east, the basin is surrounded by
valley walls that descend through rolling hills before reaching the lowlands that form the periphery
of the Sound itself. The estuary has over 4,000 km of shoreline that encompass 7,250 square
kilometers of inland marine waters (Gelfenbaum et al 2006). These waters are fed both by the
Pacific Ocean and by the rivers and major streams that drain the adjacent watershed.
4-188 January 31, 2008