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.
Mussel Watch Program Manual
The National Mussel Watch Program utilizes mussels and oysters to, "monitor spatial distributions and temporal trends of chemical concentrations in coast and estuarine regions of the US". With 20 sites in Washington State, this is a useful and efficient monitoring system that is sampled biennially.
By: Amy Johnson
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Snohomish County
Length: 49
Clallam County Forage Fish Habitat Suitability Index
This forage fish map provides an estimate of the suitability of a given site for forage fish spawning in Clallam County along the Straight of Juan de Fuca.
By: Suzanne Shull
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Clallam County
Length: 1
Port Susan Bay Marine Stewardship Area Interview Project
This is a report of Port Susan Bay Targeted Interview Project. The intent of this report was to gather input about Port Susan Bay's unique ecological and socio-cultural character. Included are the targeted interview project and supporting materials.
By: Northwest Straits Foundation
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Northwest Straits
Length: 58
Port Susan Bay Targeted Interviews Summary Report to the NW Straits Foundation
Port Susan Bay provides a healthy and viable marine habitat for salmon, Dungeness crab, marine birds, marine mammals, and other wildlife. It also plays a important role in the lives of Tribal members, fisherman, farmers, hunters, and land owners in the area.
With its high biodiversity, diverse user groups, and multiple jurisdictional boundaries, Port Susan Bay is an good candidate for a comprehensive ecosystem based management approach. This report provides background and summarizes the results of 19 stakeholder interviews in Port Susan Bay.
By: Tom Cowan
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: Island County
Length: 17
Northwest Straits Five Year Strategic Plan 2008-2013
This is a five year strategic plan to guide the Northwest Straits Initiative and shape internal development. The plan is designed to complement strategic goals and objectives laid out by the seven Marine Resource Committees in a collaborative effort.
By: Northwest Straits MRC
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: Northwest Straits
Length: 20
Snohomish County MRC 2008 Derelict Fishing Gear Project
The goals of the 2008 Snohomish MRC derelict gear project were to locate and remove derelict fishing gear from a specific study area in the commonly fished commercial, Tribal and recreational crab fishing area of Port Gardner and to use this area for crab pot loss rate measurements by conducting future surveys and removal operations.
By: Natural Resources Consultants, Inc.
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Snohomish County
Length: 10
Pilot Clam Seeding Project: Interim Report
The goal of the clam seeding pilot project was to evaluate seeding methods and identify challenges in monitoring, site preparation, permitting, seeding, and wave energy/predator control. This interim report describes the procedures used to survey and seed clams and presents a summary of the survey data collected to date.
By: Atina Casas, Whatcom County Public Works - Stormwater
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Whatcom County
Length: 19
Water Quality Monitoring Project: Interim Report
The Whatcom MRC developed a water quality monitoring project to collect water quality information at freshwater discharges to Drayton Harbor, Birch Bay and Chuckanut Bay. This interim report describes the procedures used to collect water quality data and presents a preliminary review of data collected between 2006 and 2008.
By: Atina Casas, Whatcom County Public Works - Stormwater
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Water Quality
Location: Whatcom County
Length: 14
Pharmaceutical Take-Back Education and Research
This summary report describes Snohomish MRC's effort to to facilitate the Washington PH:ARM (Pharmaceuticals from Households: A Return Mechanism) Coalition’s mission to create a simple, low-cost and secure take-back system to collect unwanted medications from households and small quantity sources.
By: Snohomish MRC
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Water Quality
Location: Snohomish County
Length: 88
Kayak Point County Park Restoration
Coastal Geologic Services was contracted by the Snohomish County Surface Water Management to provide restoration feasibility assessments and proposed restoration designs of the shoreline at Kayak Point County Park. This report focuses on Phase II of the project, which included taking into account sea level rise for assessing and restoring the area.
By: Jim Johannessen, Andrea MacLennan
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Snohomish County
Length: 47
Wetland Characterization: Chuckanut Village Marsh
The scope of this project was to provide a wetland characterization of Chuckanut Village Marsh to assist in the decision matrix for a proposed culvert removal project. The characterization included a wetland rating, a general functional review, a survey of the marsh and immediate vicinity topography, and habitat mapping. It also included an analysis of existing conditions, proposed action alternatives and recommendations based on the collected data.
By: Northwest Ecological Services
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Whatcom County
Length: 83
ROV Assessment of Rockfish Abundance, Distribution and Habitat in Whatcom County Marine Waters
The survey described in this report, supported by the Whatcom MRC, was a preliminary step in assessing the abundance and spatial distribution of rockfish and critical habitat in Whatcom County and determining whether rockfish populations were declining or recovering.
By: Trevor Grove and David H. Shull
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Whatcom County
Length: 76
Rates of Marine Species Mortality Caused by Derelict Fishing Nets in Puget Sound, WA
Lost or abandoned commercial & recreational fishing gear, known as derelict gear, is responsible for the killing of target and non-target species throughout the Puget Sound and Northwest Straits. In 2007, the Northwest Straits Initiative began a derelict net monitoring program at 4 specific sites in the Puget Sound, putting together information to understand the mortality rate associated with derelict gear. This data was then extrapolated to gauge just how harmful derelict gear as a whole is in the Puget Sound.
By: Natural Resource Consultants Inc.
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Puget Sound
Length: 16
North Fidalgo Geomorphic assessment and drift cell restoration prioritization
The purpose of this study was to provide a coastal geomorphic assessment and restoration prioritization of the North Fidalgo Island shore from Washington Park to Weaverling Spit for the
Skagit County Marine Resources Committee. The assessment entailed mapping the current and historic geomorphic character of the drift cells within the study area with attention
focused on coastal processes and impairment of those processes. The results of the assessment were then applied to developing prioritized, coastal processes-based restoration
opportunities aimed at restoration/ enhancement of the nearshore habitats found along the shores of the study area.
By: Coastal Geologic Services Inc. : Andrea MacLennan, Jim Johannessen
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Skagit County
Length: 45
Northwest Straits Regional Creosote Inventory and Removal Project
Creosote-laden pilings litter the shoreline of Washington State from years of shoreline construction and development. As these structures weather and break down, they spread across the Puget Sound and wash up onto beaches. The harmful effects that these pilings have on the environment are the reason behind this Community based Restoration Program.
This report provides the methodology and results of removing creosote ridden debris from shorelines across the Puget Sound.
By: Joan Drinkwin
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Clallam County, Island County, San Juan County
Length: 38
San Juan Island Derelict Fishing Gear Removal Project
This is a project outline for a comprehensive program to safely remove derelict fishing gear from the marine environment in an environmentally acceptable manner. In the report, methodology and results are presented for identifying and removing derelict crab pots from the San Juan Islands waters.
By: Natural Resources Consultants Inc.
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: San Juan County
Length: 15
Northwest Straits Initiative Annual Report 2007
The annual report for the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative for the year 2007.
By: Northwest Straits
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: Northwest Straits
Length: 36
Community Spartina Education and Stewardship Program
This report presents the results of the kayak based Spartina surveys in Skagit County. These surveys were established to help in the eradication of Spartina, by locating and controlling potential seed sources to prevent re-infestation. Chemical control as well as manual removal were the preferred methods of removal. Special training was provided to volunteers for digging and seedling removal, with a focus on removing all rhizomal roots to prevent regrowth.
By: Rachel Benbrook & Keeley O'Connell
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: Skagit County
Length: 4
A Report to the Community: Skagit MRC Nine Years of Progress
To protect and restore marine shoreline as well as offshore areas, the Skagit County MRC has continually conducted scientific surveys, executed restoration projects, and created education and outreach programs for volunteers. This report summarizes on going surveys, projects, and community outreach efforts in the Skagit County area, many of which incorporate other partners such as WDFW, WSU Beach Watchers, and Coastal Geological Services.
By: Skagit County MRC
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: Skagit County
Length: 15
San Juan Islands Stewardship Connections Guide
This is a helpful guide for finding information, activities, and volunteer opportunities that can increase ones understanding of the San Juan Islands.
By: NW Straits, San Juan MRC, San Juan Nature Institute
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: San Juan County
Length: 6
San Juan County MRC Annual Report 2008
This is San Juan County MRC's annual report for 2008.
By: San Juan County MRC
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: San Juan County
Length: 4
Derelict Fishing Gear Priority Ranking Project
This report provides the outline for the Northwest Straits Initiatives goals to remove derelict fishing gear from the Puget Sound, as well as putting in preventative measures to stop future gear being lost. Three critical task are focused on in the report: identifying the highest priority areas for derelict gear removal, estimate the total amount of derelict gear throughout the Puget Sound, and to estimate the cost of removing said gear.
By: Northwest Straits Foundation
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Puget Sound
Length: 40
Kayak Point Park Restoration Feasibility Assessment
The purpose of this study was to provide a coastal geomorphic assessment and restoration feasibility study of the Kayak Point County Park for Snohomish County Surface Water Management.
By: Coastal Geologic Services
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Snohomish County
Length: 39
Juvenile salmon and nearshore fish in shallow intertide habitat - Harrington Lagoon
This report presents the findings of juvenile salmon and nearshore fish in Harrington Lagoon, located on the eastern shoreline of Whidbey Island. The focus of this report was to observe fish abundance and size , information that can be passed on to inform local citizens about the fish populations in the lagoon.
By: Island County PLanning & Community Development, Anna Kagley, Janielle Marcell, Kurt Fresh, Eric Beamer
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Island County
Length: 22
Development of Hydrodynamic Model of Puget Sound and Northwest Straits
The Marine Sciences Laboratory of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has developed three-dimensional hydrodynamic models for several estuaries and coastal basins in Puget Sound to support restoration projects, as well as initiating model development effort for the entire Puget Sound.
By: Zhaoqing Yang & Tarang Khangaonkar
Published:
Benchmark: Sound Science
Location: Puget Sound
Length: 74