Guillemot watch!

Clallam MRC’s pigeon guillemot monitoring season wrapped up mid-September.

The MRC monitors guillemots because their use of coastal bluffs for nesting and subtidal habitat for feeding makes them excellent indicator species of nearshore habitat health.

This year’s observations indicated that guillemots are nesting and fledging later than usual. The MRC will continue data collection to help with future research on their nesting and feeding habits.

A special thanks to dedicated MRC volunteers Ed Bowlby and Mary Sue Brancato, whose work along with strong community partnerships, have helped make this long-term monitoring project a success!

Learn more about Pigeon Guillemot Surveys.

Harmful algal blooms

Whatcom MRC’s HAB team has been actively sampling for phytoplankton and mussels at both Semiahmoo Marina and Birch Bay Marina. Over the past month, the team has observed a slight decrease in the presence of harmful algal species compared to previous months.

Due to a lack of data in north Whatcom County, the MRC partners with the SoundToxins monitoring network, overseen by Washington Sea Grant, to monitor HABs in the Salish Sea. This effort includes weekly sampling from March-November and biweekly sampling from November-February at the Semiahmoo and Birch Bay Marina sites.

The HAB data collected by the MRC provides information to management agencies and scientists to effectively manage shellfish closures for public safety. Please note that beaches throughout Whatcom County remain closed for recreational shellfish harvesting. The MRC will continue monitoring efforts and reporting on updates and changes.

Learn more about HAB monitoring.

Wooden Boat Festival

Jefferson MRC is thrilled to report that their participation at the Wooden Boat Festival was a great success! The MRC’s booth welcomed 300+ visitors and the new speaker series tent was extremely well attended attracting 1400+ visitors!

The MRC partnered with WA Sea Grant and the Port Townsend Marine Science Center to host 21 speakers over three days presenting on topics ranging from derelict crab pots, orcas of Port Townsend, the ecology of a whale fall, and sustainable fishing and boating practices.

The MRC would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to MRC volunteers and special shout out to project lead Betsy Carlson for making this event possible!

Learn more about Jefferson MRC’s education and outreach.