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2015 Puget Sound Factbook Book | v3.0 ESRP. (2015). Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program. Retrieved from: http://www.rco.wa.gov/grants/esrp.shtml Martínez, M.L., Intralawan, A., Vázque, G., Pérez-Maqueo, O., Sutton, P., Landgrave, R. (2007). The coasts of our world: ecological, economic and social importance. Ecological Economics, 63, 254-272. Nature Conservancy. (2015). Washington: Restoring a river mouth at Port Susan Bay. Retrieved from: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/washington/ washington-restoring-a-river-mouth-at-port-susan-bay.xml Nisqually Delta Restoration. (2011). About the Nisqually Delta Restoration Project. Retrieved from: http://www.nisquallydeltarestoration.org/about.php Puget Sound Partnership (2015). Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration Fund fact sheet. Retrieved from: http://www.psp.wa.gov/PSAR.php. Shipman, H. (2008). A Geomorphic Classification of Puget Sound Nearshore Landforms. Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership Report No. 2008-01. Published by Seattle District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle, Washington. Simenstad, C.A., Ramirez, M., Burke, J., Logsdon, M., Shipman, H., Tanner, C., Toft, J., Craig, B., Davis, C., Fung, J., Bloch, P., Fresh, K., Campbell, S., Myers, D., Iverson, E., Bailey, A., Schlenger, P., Kiblinger, C., Myre, P., Gerstel, W., and MacLennan, A. (2011). Historical change of Puget Sound shorelines: Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project Change Analysis. Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project Report No. 2011-01. Published by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, Washington, and US Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle, Washington. Tulalip Tribes. (2015). Qwuloolt Estuary: Restoration Plan – Snohomish Estuary Restoration. Retrieved from: http://www.qwuloolt.org/RestorationPlan/SnohomishEstuary 58
Habitats Nearshore environments Section author: Richard Strickland, University of Washington School of Oceanography This document focuses on the physical and geological conditions in the nearshore environment of Puget Sound. The nearshore environment extends from the head of tide and the upper edge of coastal bluffs seaward to the offshore limit of the photic zone (Shipman 2008). The boundaries described in this section represent the broader definition of the Puget Sound watershed, including the Strait of Juan de Fuca or the San Juan Islands. Puget Sound covers approximately 8,000 km 2 (2 million acres) and has 4,020 kilometers (2,500 miles) of shoreline (Gelfenbaum et al., 2006). It receives runoff from a 36,000 km 2 (8.3 million acres) watershed that includes 16 major rivers (Fresh et al., 2011; Cereghino et al., 2012). The Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project (PSNERP), a major collaborative effort, examined the extent and condition of several categories of shoreform (Shipman, 2008; Fresh et al., 2011) in the Puget Sound nearshore environment: 1) rocky platform and pocket beaches; 2) two beach types: bluff-backed beaches and barrier beaches; 3) four embayment types: barrier estuaries, barrier lagoons, closed lagoons/marshes, and open coastal inlets; and 4) large river deltas. This report focuses on the value, extent, and condition of beach and embayment shoreforms. Large river deltas are discussed in a separate report. Overall, Puget Sound’s shoreforms have experienced a large degree of alteration since the mid-19 th century, the baseline for comparison. 1. The nearshore environment of Puget Sound provides habitat for 211 fish species, 100 species of sea birds, and 13 marine mammals (Cereghino et al., 2012). a. It includes critical habitats such as coastal forests, spawning beaches for forage fish (such as surf smelt), eelgrass beds, and salt marshes, all of which shape the health of salmon populations (Johannessen & MacLennan, 2007). 2. The shoreline of Puget Sound has become shorter and simpler since the first surveys in the last half of the 19 th Century, and the vast majority of the changes are due to human alterations (Fresh et al., 2011). a. The net decline in shoreline length over all of the Sound has been 694 km or about 15% of the historical length of the shoreline (Fresh et al., 2011; Simenstad et al., 2011; Schlenger et al., 2011). b. More than 1,000 km of natural shoreline were lost and 368 km of artificial shoreline were added (Fresh et al., 2011). 3. Forty percent of the shoreline of Puget Sound has been altered by (Fresh et al., 2011) one or more of the following “stressors:” Armoring, nearshore fill, tidal barriers, marinas, 59
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