Resource Library
Our library contains a collection of materials from projects and meetings brought to you by the Northwest Straits Commission and the seven Marine Resources Committees. Please contact Commission staff if you are unable to find what you are looking for online.
Enter keywords to search below. Results will include resources that contain any, but not necessarily all, of the keywords.
A Sound Investment: The Northwest Straits Initiative
This is a report summarizing the 5 years that the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative has been in place. It reflects on past accomplishments, on-going projects and work, and future goals and plans.
By: Ginny Broadhurst, Andrea Copping, Tom Cowan, Duane Fagergren, Kathy Fletcher, Sasha Horst
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: Northwest Straits
Length: 36
Derelict Fishing Gear Identification and Retrieval Project Port Susan
Abandoned and lost fishing poses safety hazards, creates economic loss, and most commonly, causes detrimental environmental issues in marine waters. To combat this ongoing problem, the Stillaguamish Tribe contracted with Natural Resources Consultants to manage the derelict fishing gear problem in Port Susan, at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River. This report presents the methodology and results of this project.
By: Natural Resource Consultants Inc.
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Island County, Snohomish County
Length: 32
2003 Bottomfish Recovery Zone Fishing Pressure Assessment
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of 8 Bottom fish Recovery Zones (BRZ's), established in San Juan County in 1996. This was carried out by comparing fishing effort in voluntary no-bottom fishing areas with efforts in the nearby BRZs.
By: Brandon Davis
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: San Juan County
Length: 11
Clallam County Nearshore Mapping and Restoration: Derelict Gear Removal
This report presents the results of derelict gear identification and removal in targeted areas in Clallam County. Derelict gear presents several causes for concern in the Puget Sound: increased mortality for marine life, hazards to marine navigation, and safety hazards for commercial and recreational diving
By: Natural Resource Consultants Inc.
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Clallam County
Length: 49
Whatcom MRC Marine Creosote Piling Remediation Project
Approximately 100 tons of rogue creosote-treated wood was removed from the shores of Whatcom County between February 2002 and July 2003. This report provides detailed information on the specific reaches of Whatcom County shorelines where creosote wood was removed or inventoried.
By: Whatcom MRC & City of Bellingham
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Whatcom County
Length: 13
Nearshore Habitat Mapping of the Central and Western Strait of Juan de Fuca 2: Final Report
This report provides the findings of mapping 43 miles of forage fish habitat along the central and western Strait of Juan de Fuca, from August 2002 through June 2003. The findings demonstrated forage fish spawning along the Strait beaches are highly variable, as previously observed. Excitingly, for the first time, forage fish were documented spawning in the lower rivers of the Olympic Peninsula.
By: WDFW: Anne J. Shaffer
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Clallam County
Length: 22
Marine Life in Whatcom County: Fish Series
This fact sheet provides information about Lingcod, a species of fish found in Whatcom County, including a description, distribution, economic value, reproduction, ecology and current status.
By: Whatcom MRC
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Whatcom County
Length: 2
Derelict Gear Inventory in Skagit County Waters: Phase I Final Report
This report presents the Skagit County MRCs work combating the perpetual problem of identifying and removing derelict fishing gear from marine waters. Following the Northwest Straits Commissions lead, Skagit MRC is working towards removing derelict gear in targeted areas, as well as increasing public outreach efforts to reduce the amount of gear lost and abandoned in the future.
By: Mchelle L. McConnell & Jim Ramaglia
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Skagit County
Length: 34
Derelict Gear Inventory in Skagit County Waters
Lost and abandoned fishing equipment is a perpetual problem in the waters of the Puget Sound, as this derelict gear poses threats to wildlife, habitat, and hazards to humans. In 2002, the Northwest Straits Commission began a regional effort to locate, identify, and remove derelict fishing gear from the Northwest Straits region of the Puget Sound. In this report, the Skagit County MRC outlined an plan to continue efforts to assist with combating this problem.
By: Michelle L. McConnell and Jim Ramaglia
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Skagit County
Length: 34
Snohomish County Marine Shore Inventory
This final report describes the Snohomish County Marine Shore Inventory Project, in which shoreline cover types were inventoried, data was integrated into the county’s GIS and a preliminary analysis of possible candidate sites for protection and restoration activities was conducted.
By: Snohomish MRC
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Snohomish County
Length: 6
Whatcom County Marine Zoning Map
This map shows generalized features of marine resources in Whatcom County marine waters.
By: Whatcom County GIS
Published:
Benchmark:
Location: Whatcom County
Length: 1
Citizen Based Marine Restoration and Protection in Action
This is a progress report from the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative for 2003. It focuses on importance of utilizing volunteers to help the NW Straits Marine Conservation Initiative achieve their goals.
By: David G. Gordon
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: Northwest Straits
Length: 14
Samish Island Rapid Shoreline Inventory
This report presents the findings of a Rapid Shoreline Inventory (RSI) on select marine shorelines of Samish Island during the summer of 2002. The RSI is designed to gather information about the relationships between shoreline land use and indicators of beach health, information that can then be used to determine areas best fit for conservation and restoration actions.
By: Phil Bloch, Tom Dean, Jacques White, People For the Puget Sound
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: Skagit County
Length: 159
Derelict Fishing Gear Removal Guidelines
This document provides the guidelines for the environmentally acceptable removal and disposal of derelict fishing gear from the waters of Washington State. There are many environmental, safety, and economical benefits for removing derelict gear from the marine environment, making it an important endeavor for preserving and protecting the waters of Washington State.
By: Northwest Straits Commission, WDFW, U.S. Coast Guard
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Puget Sound
Length: 36
Rocky Reef Bottomfish Recovery Study Area
This is a map of the Rocky Reef Bottomfish Recovery Phase I & II project in Skagit County.
By: Skagit MRC
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Skagit County
Length: 1
The Removal of 12 Tons Derelict Fishing Gear
Twelve tons of lost and abandoned fishing gear was removed from the Puget Sound off of Whatcom and Skagit County shorelines. The removal process was executed by the Northwest Straits Commission.
By: Tom Cowan
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Skagit County, Whatcom County
Length: 2
Substrate Map of Rocky Reef Recovery Phase I & II
This is a substrate map of the Rocky Reef Bottomfish Recovery Phase I & II projects in Skagit County
By: Skagit MRC
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Skagit County
Length: 1
Rocky Reef Bottomfish Recovery in Skagit County - Phase II Final Report
This is a follow up report to the "Phase I" work done by the Skagit MRC, which presented management alternatives for bottomfish recovery and resulted in the proposal of 8 no-fish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This report presents "Phase II" of the project, in which further evaluation of each of the candidate sites was executed on the basis of biological, social, and regulatory criteria. What resulted was an overall ranking amongst the sites of importance for each MPA.
By: Michelle L. McConnell & Paul A. Dinnel
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Skagit County
Length: 43
Vegetation Map of Rocky Reef Bottomfish Recovery Phase I & II
This is a vegetation map of the Rocky Reef Bottomfish Recovery Phase I & II in Skagit County
By: Skagit MRC
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Skagit County
Length: 1
Nearshore Habitat Mapping of the Central and Western Strait of Juan de Fuca III: Pacific Herring Spawning Surveys
This report presents the findings of sampling potential herring spawning habitat within the central and western Straits of Juan de Fuca in areas that had not previously been surveyed. Herring are important prey for a large variety marine organisms, specifically salmon, are a popular recreational fishing bait, and are critical for commercial and subsistence fisheries. For these reasons, it is important to understand the spawning process of these fish to aid in preserving and protecting their embayment spawning habitats.
By: Jaron J. Sikes, Anne Shaffer, Dan Pentilla, WDFW
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Clallam County
Length: 17
Nearshore Mapping of the Strait of Juan de Fuca: IV. Pacific Sand lance Spawning Habitat
This study presents the findings of documenting sand lance spawning beaches along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The information obtained in the study is important to increasing the understanding of how to properly manage sand lance habitat.
By: Ryan J. Moriarity, Anne Shaffer, Dan Pettila
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: San Juan County
Length: 22
Nearhsore Habitat Mapping of the Central & Western Strait of Juan de Fuca
In this study, for the first time, researchers attempted to quantify basic parameters of juvenile salmon and forage fish in kelp bed habitats. The results showed that juvenile salmon, surf smelt, and sandlance demonstrated complex habitat separation within the nearshore. Being that this study was relatively the first of its kind in the Northwest Straits area, it shed light onto the importance future management and preservation of kelp bed habitat.
By: Anne Shaffer
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Clallam County
Length: 20
Nearshore Habitat Mapping of the Central and Western Strait of Juan de Fuca I: Surf smelt spawning habitat
In 2001, nearshore mapping along the Central Strait of Juan de Fuca revealed 11 surf smelt spawning sites, resulting in six of these sites being newly recognized spawning habitat. Surf smelt are important forage fish for juvenile and adult salmonids.
By: Clallam MRC & WDFW
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Clallam County
Length: 23
Northwest Straits Nearshore Habitat Evaluation - Final Report
This report is the evaluation summary of nearshore habitat in the Northwest Straits. The project was executed by compiling, organizing, and analyzing existing nearshore habitat and resource datasets. Results from this project provided the MRCs with information needed to asses nearshore habitat conditions, as well as identifying top priority restoration sites.
By: Anchor Environmental & People for Puget Sound
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Northwest Straits
Length: 47
Forage Fish: Snohomish County Marine Fact Sheet
This fact sheet outlines the three most common forage fish within Washington, including Pacific herring, Pacific Sand lance, Surf smelt, and Northern anchovy. It outlines protection efforts, human impact on forage fish, and life histories and status.
By: Snohomish MRC
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Snohomish County
Length: 2