Circle of Blue

DECEMBER 7, 2022

It’s clear this victory for wild salmon, orcas, and Puget Sound belongs to no one person or group. After the net pens are removed, 130 acres of Puget Sound will be natural again. . Washington state banned net pen aquaculture in state-owned waters, a decision that will protect native fish species.

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Washington Nature

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

These trees help clean the water flowing into streams, rivers and Puget Sound, help purify the air we breathe, beautify our neighborhoods—and so much more. The tool has incorporated the high-resolution tree canopy data produced by Davey Resource Group for the Central Puget Sound Region’s urban areas. View the recording.

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Washington Nature

MARCH 18, 2022

Here are a few highlights from the FY2022 spending bill: Puget Sound Puget Sound recovery will receive an increase in funding this year through a combination of regular budget appropriations and the infrastructure bill. Barnum Point on Camano Island looks out over Port Susan Bay in Puget Sound, Washington.

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Washington Nature

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

Despite their array of benefits, functioning estuary habitat has declined across Puget Sound, with critical species and local communities feeling the impact. Where the freshwater of the Stillaguamish River meets the seawater of Puget Sound lies an expanse of estuarine tidal marsh. In 2019, just 500 fish returned.

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Washington Nature

NOVEMBER 17, 2021

by Bob Carey, Director of Strategic Partnerships I recently volunteered on a restoration project up near Marblemount along the upper Skagit River, about 75 miles from Puget Sound. Learn more about our puget sound work. Banner photo by Bridget Besaw

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Washington Nature

DECEMBER 8, 2022

By Caitlin Magel, research scientist at UW-Tacoma's Puget Sound Institute Catalyzing Innovation in Stormwater Solutions The iconic rain of the Puget Sound region creates problems when it hits the streets and other impervious surfaces that characterize this highly developed urban landscape. How could the tool be applied?

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Washington Nature

JUNE 8, 2021

For example, over the past 10 years, the Puget Sound Restoration Fund has worked with partners to restore 100 acres of Olympia oyster habitat in the Puget Sound. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife), scientists, industry, conservation organizations and community members have come together to restore oyster beds.

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Washington Nature

APRIL 14, 2021

From the Duwamish River Valley to Kent neighborhoods to Tacoma parks and streets to streams and shorelines around the Sound, Sarah Low, Tahmina Martelly, Whitney Neugebauer and Paulina Lopez are building community and restoring our world. Whitney Neugebauer, Whale Scout. © Heather Van Steenburgh.

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Washington Nature

OCTOBER 2, 2023

  © Martha Kongsgaard In recognition of Martha's commitment to protecting the natural world, former Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire appointed her to the inaugural board of the Puget Sound Partnership in 2007. She communicated with boards, engaged with Tribes, and spoke with communities on the Puget Sound.

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Washington Nature

JANUARY 18, 2023

Estuarine marshes are critical habitat—without them, Chinook salmon in Puget Sound will not recover. In Puget Sound, there is an extreme deficit of functioning estuary habitat that is severely impacting not just salmon, but a host of other wildlife and the human communities that rely on them. Port Susan Bay Preserve.

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Washington Nature

MAY 21, 2021

By Beth Geiger, freelance writer When Mathis Messager went around Puget Sound streets with his sci-fi looking ray gun, few of the curious people who spotted him would have guessed his real purpose: to help save Puget Sound’s iconic orcas. The more pavement, the more runoff. © Phil Green/TNC.

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Washington Nature

FEBRUARY 8, 2022

Now, we have a snapshot of this IFM work, thanks to the Puget Sound Institute, which just completed a “Synthesis of Integrated Floodplain Management in Selected Puget Sound River Deltas.” Over the Snohomish River basin, looking up the Snoqualmie River. Photo by Paul Joseph Brown/LightHawk.

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Washington Nature

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Kathy Fletcher, a biologist who developed the first Puget Sound Management Plan and founded People for Puget Sound, also received an award for her activism during TNC in Washington’s birthday celebration. Being honored on the same stage as Frank reminded Mike of the power of individuals to protect our shared resources.

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Washington Nature

FEBRUARY 1, 2023

Within Central Puget Sound, a collaborative of cross-sector representatives is seeking to address similar challenges, particularly within the green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) field. Workforce development is key to Implementing green stormwater infrastructure at the pace and scale necessary to meet the current needs of Puget Sound.

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Environmental News Bits

NOVEMBER 1, 2022

The shrinking Mississippi River has hobbled the most efficient channel for moving US soybeans onto world markets, prompting a pivot to alternatives from Puget Sound to Texas to the Great Lakes. Read the full story from Bloomberg.

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Washington Nature

JANUARY 11, 2024

Port Susan Bay features some of the finest estuarine habitat in Puget Sound, supporting a diverse array of birds, salmon, and marine life. Explore the stunning landscapes while appreciating the region's rich history. Port Susan Bay Preserve Member fieldtrip to Port Susan Bay. Photo: The Nature Conservancy.

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Washington Nature

DECEMBER 8, 2022

By Robinson Low and Darby Swayne, graduate students at UW School of Marine and Environmental Affairs Catalyzing Innovation in Stormwater Solutions The iconic rain of the Puget Sound region creates problems when it hits the streets and other impervious surfaces that characterize this highly developed urban landscape.

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Washington Nature

APRIL 20, 2022

GRIT, or Greening Research in Tacoma (nicknamed “ Grit City ”), is also the name of a new, collaborative research project that TNC has embarked on with Tacoma Tree Foundation , the Environment & Well-Being Lab at the University of Washington , and the City of Tacoma with funding from Puget Sound Partnership.

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Washington Nature

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Chinook stocks in the Stillaguamish River are some of the weakest in the Puget Sound, which has resulted in fishery closures in the Sound as well as in the Gulf of Alaska. Digging a connected network of channels will help fish to access the site, improve fresh and saltwater flow, and allow marsh vegetation to thrive.

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Washington Nature

APRIL 9, 2021

Over the last couple of years, the Conservancy’s Puget Sound Cities team has collaborated with partners throughout the Sound to support our urban tree canopy through planting, preserving and maintaining trees at residences, parks, schools and restoration sites.

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Washington Nature

APRIL 26, 2023

An excavator reshapes estuary channels along Puget Sound. A team of TNC scientists, restoration practitioners, land stewards, and community partners were compelled to enter a second phase of restoration to improve the fish and wildlife habitat and climate resilience by creating deep, interconnected channels. Photo: Julie Morse.

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Washington Nature

APRIL 21, 2023

Coastal and Puget Sound communities are experiencing the impacts of King Tides being compounded by severe, climate-driven storms, resulting in flooding and damage. Credit: Hannah Letinich/TNC This year we’ve seen progress with legislators taking climate resilience as a serious priority.

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Washington Nature

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

Two of our volunteer trustees , Doug Reed and Maud Daudon, recently wrote an Op-Ed in the Puget Sound Business Journal calling on their fellow business and community leaders in the Seattle area to “walk the talk” on their own corporate climate commitments by advocating for this rare opportunity directly with policymakers.

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Washington Nature

JULY 15, 2021

As our population grows throughout the Puget Sound region, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to tackle stormwater issues that threaten our salmon and orca. “We The prospect of scaling and replicating projects like these is not only feasible, it’s necessary. We can’t go back.

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Washington Nature

OCTOBER 6, 2021

The Puget Sound never fails to impress me with its beauty. I wandered over to unsurprisingly be met with smiling eyes on everyone's face and the same exuberant energy I had, which could not be covered up by our masks and other covid precautions. Getting on a boat is also very exciting when you're from a land-locked state.

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Washington Nature

FEBRUARY 15, 2022

However, in order to impact the Central Puget Sound 2024 comprehensive planning process, HB 1099 must be passed this year. The Department of Commerce has also laid the groundwork for creating the programs necessary to implement the bill, thanks to the passage of a budget proviso last session.

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Washington Nature

FEBRUARY 7, 2022

Combating toxic pollutants Roads and highways are the main source of stormwater runoff, the leading contributor of pollution in the Puget Sound Region’s waterways, which in turn harms wildlife and human health.

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Washington Nature

JUNE 1, 2023

The Stillaguamish work is particularly critical, as Stillaguamish Chinook are the weakest stock of the endangered Puget Sound Chinook population. The projects will work together as one continuous marsh; setting back levees and carving a network of tidal channels to restore critical habitat for endangered juvenile Chinook salmon.

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Washington Nature

MAY 2, 2023

The Nature Conservancy is leading this collaborative research project with the Tacoma Tree Foundation , the Environment & Well-Being Lab at University of Washington , and the City of Tacoma , with funding from Puget Sound Partnership.

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Washington Nature

JANUARY 22, 2024

Our research this past year has taken us from the mucky, miraculous estuaries of the Puget Sound to the budding green infrastructure projects of neighborhoods in South Tacoma to the towering, pine-scented forests of Eastern Washington and beyond. Nature Conservancy scientists doing field work. Photo: Hannah Letinich.

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Washington Nature

JUNE 14, 2023

Together, we’ve been building this training over the past few years for conservation-minded folks across Puget Sound. This new tool was created as a way to learn more about the history of Native Nations in the U.S. and how to effectively engage and support Tribes in conservation work.

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Washington Nature

MARCH 28, 2024

To understand water’s connectivity, her research has taken her from the summits of the Cascades Mountains to understand the source of a watershed, to the streets of our urban and residential areas to observe how water flows to the Puget Sound. License, [link]

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Washington Nature

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

Bean and evo, pioneering sustainable salami at Coro Foods, and co-founding Grant Peak Capital, a private equity firm investing in small-to-mid-sized businesses across Puget Sound. “I These include positions at outdoor retailers L.L. It's about how we treat our employees and community, and how we take care of the environment.”

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Washington Nature

JANUARY 31, 2024

Its health and biodiversity are significantly influenced by the health of waters filtering through it and flowing out to Puget Sound. The sound of restoration is a mother’s whisper—constant. Her data shows this preserve is a “sentinel for climate change in nursery habitats and for so many marine organisms.”

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Washington Nature

APRIL 16, 2024

In addition to the value of personal connections, DeAnne loves witnessing and participating in TNC’s work, from planting trees in Tacoma and South Puget Sound to conserving the Emerald Edge rainforest. “I I would not have ever experienced [these efforts] outside of being on the board, which was terrific,” DeAnne said.

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Washington Nature

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Our research led us to learn more about various inclusive signage projects, museums, and people across the Puget Sound. We seek to help ensure that the placenames, informational materials, and signage developed for the preserve will do a better job of reflecting the Indigenous histories and their present-day relationships to the area.

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Washington Nature

JANUARY 18, 2023

In Puget Sound, April is typically a time of peak outmigration from the rivers into the estuary for juvenile Chinook. We set and pull up the net from the same set of sites, week after week from February through August. But this year, the Chinook weren't showing up. In fact, hardly anything was showing up,” Howe recalled.

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