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.
San Juan MRC 2015 Marine Managers Workshop: Increased Vessel Traffic
In March 2015, people living and working around the San Juan and Gulf Islands gathered to discuss implications the inevitable increasing volume of vessel traffic will have on ecosystem management in the region. The workshop focused on three concepts: understanding risk from marine vessel traffic, reasonable responses for marine managers, and strategizing potential actions to address vessel traffic risks.
By: San Juan MRC
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: San Juan County
Length: 25
QAPP Island County MRC Eelgrass Monitoring Program
This is a quality assurance progress plan for monitoring eelgrass beds in Island County. Eelgrass is a critical ecological aspect for nearshore habitat in the Puget Sound and Northwest Straits. It provides habitat and food for a diverse group of organisms, and consequently serves as an indicator species for the marine environment. Using aerial photography and underwater videography, the health of eelgrass beds in Island County are monitored in 3 main areas: Holmes Harbor, Penn Cove, and Cornet Bay.
By: Anna Toledo
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Island County
Length: 73
QAPP Island MRC Beach Seining Program
In response to declining salmon populations resulting from habitat degradation, there are increasing nearshore habitat evaluations via beach seining. The information gathered from seining will be used to monitor current population trends and density, as well as serving as a baseline for future monitoring.
By: Anna Toledo
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Island County
Length: 14
Phytoremediation Program in Island County
Phytoremediation is the process of using plants to extract and contain contaminants from soil and water via uptake from their root systems. Plants are then able to concentrate these harmful elements and even metabolize some molecules into their tissue. Clallam MRC is using this technology around storm water runoff areas to reduced the amount of detrimental contaminants from reaching the marine environment.
By: Joe Hillers
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Water Quality
Location: Island County
Length: 11
Pigeon Guillemot Long Range Study Results
This report presents the findings of a six year study by the Island County MRC and Whidbey Audubon of Pigeon Guillemots in the Salish Sea. Being that these birds serve as indicator species, it is important to tract and understand the overall health of the species. This study provided a baseline for guillemot breeding success as well as the type of prey they feed their young.
By: Frances Wood, Govinda Rosling, Kristen Kreamer, Kelly Zupich, Phyllis Kind
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Island County
Length: 4
North Chuckanut Bay PIC Water Quality Monitoring
This report is the Quality Assurance Project Plan for North Chuckanut Bay Pollution Identification and Correction Water Quality Monitoring for Fecal Coliform. The main goals of this project are to understand fecal coliform levels within the Chuckanut watershed, observe seasonal variations of bacteria, identify sources of pollutants, and develop solutions for combating them.
By: Austin Rose
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Water Quality
Location: Whatcom County
Length: 29
Fidalgo Bay Day 2014 Beach Seine Report
The annual Fidalgo Bay Day community education and outreach for 2014 was held on September 12, 2014 at the Samish Tribes RV Park on South Fidalgo Bay. The event drew a lot of community observers, as MRC members executed a beach seine before a crowd of local residents.
By: Skagit County MRC
Published:
Benchmark: Education and Outreach
Location: Skagit County
Length: 3
Northwest Straits Commission Ocean Acidification Fact Sheet
This fact sheet details the actions being taken by the Northwest Straits Commission and seven MRCs to address the issue of ocean acidification. Actions are linked to the Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification report.
By: Northwest Straits Commission
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: Northwest Straits
Length: 2
Sequim Bay Olympia Oyster Restoration Area Map
This is picture of the area of focus for the Olympia oyster restoration project in Sequim Bay in Clallam County.
By: Clallam MRc
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Clallam County
Length: 1
Pigeon Guillemot Brochure
This is an informative brochure about Pigeon Guillemots.
By: Island County MRC
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Island County
Length: 2
Clallam MRC 2014 Annual Report
This report summarizes the activities and progress of the Clallam MRC during the 2014 calendar year. Outreach programs and restoration projects such as the Dungeness River Festival Olympia oyster restoration and are highlighted, providing details of their process and progress.
By: Clallam MRC
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: Clallam County
Length: 8
Snohomish County MRC 2014 Annual Report & Recommendations
This is Snohomish County MRC's Annual Report and Recommendations for 2014.
By: Snohomish County MRC
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: Snohomish County
Length: 20
Northwest Straits Commission Olympia Oyster Fact Sheet
This fact sheet details the actions being taken by the Northwest Straits Commission and MRCs to restore self-sustaining Olympia oyster populations throughout their historic range in Puget Sound.
By: Northwest Straits Commission
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Clallam County, Jefferson County, Northwest Straits, Skagit County, Whatcom County
Length: 1
Targeted Outreach to Prevent Negative Impacts from Shoreline Armoring
This project was designed to both prevent shoreline armoring by building on previously successful efforts to educate shoreline property owners about the processes that form and support nearshore habitats while also providing specific information about the impacts of shoreline armoring and alternative options to hard armoring.
By: Northwest Straits Foundation
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Northwest Straits
Length: 6
Northwest Straits Initiative Strategic Plan 2014
This is the 2014 Strategic Plan for the Northwest Straits Initiative, adopted by the NWS Commission on September 26, 2014. The NWS Foundation added additional materials to the Plan in early 2015. Changes and additions to the Project/Action sections were approved at the end of January 2015.
By: Northwest Straits Initiative
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: Northwest Straits
Length: 17
Skagit MRC 2014 Annual Report
Annual report for the Skagit County Marine Resources Committee.
By: Skagit MRC
Published:
Benchmark: All
Location: Skagit County
Length: 15
Monitoring Plan: Bowman Bay Restoration Project
This report is a monitoring plan for the Bowman Bay Bulkhead Removal and Nearshore Enhancement Project. The site was initially armored to protect a fish hatchery, but has long since fell out of use and is now inhibiting healthy habitat development for forage fish, salmon, and bull trout.
The intent of the project is to restore natural erosion and sediment transport along the shoreline, in doing so creating a more viable habitat for fish spawning and migration. The purpose of the monitoring plan is to gain insight on how effective the restoration project is, as well as to better understand the effects of shoreline armoring.
By: Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Foundation
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Skagit County
Length: 27
Monitoring Plan: Shannon Point Revetment Removal
This report is a monitoring plan put together by the Northwest Straits Foundation for the Shannon Point Rock Revetment Removal Project. The project aims at restoring intertidal habitat to promote forage fish spawning, specifically sand lance and surf smelt. To accomplish this, a large portion of the rip rap will be removed which should restore the site to its native state to some extent. The Northwest Straits Foundation will monitor the physical and biological parameters of the project to determine the success and long term effects.
By: Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Foundation
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Skagit County
Length: 20
Port Townsend Waterfront Eelgrass Survey
This report presents results from a videographic survey of eelgrass (Zostera marina) resources along a portion of the City of Port Townsend waterfront in Port Townsend Bay. The purpose of the survey was to gather pre-project baseline data for submitting state, federal and local permit applications for a Voluntary No-anchor Zone (VNZ) south of the ferry dock. The survey will also be used to compare pre- and post-restoration data collected in the future. A secondary purpose of the survey was to gather post-project data for the established VNZ north of the ferry dock to help evaluate long-term effects of the VNZ efforts.
By: Ian Fraser, Marine Resources Consultants
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Jefferson County
Length: 15
Species Encountered in Derelict Nets Removal
This is a listing of species encountered by type in 4,994 derelict nets removed in the Puget Sound from 2002- August 31, 2014.
By:
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Puget Sound
Length: 1
Recent History and Near Future of Beach Cleanups on the Strait of Juan de Fuca within Clallam County
This document identifies existing beach cleanup efforts, including maps, dates, partner organizations and net weight of marine debris collected. It also prioritizes beaches still in need of cleanup along the Strait.
By: Jon Schmidt, Washington CoastSavers Coordinator
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Clallam County
Length: 15
A Boat-Based Survey Protocol for Bull Kelp in Puget Sound
This boat-based survey protocol has been developed as a reliable and relatively simple tool for Northwest Straits Marine Resources Committee (MRC) volunteers and other citizen-scientists to use toward monitoring bull kelp for its protection and recovery.
By: Emily Bishop, NOAA Hollings Scholar
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Species
Location: Northwest Straits
Length: 16
South Port Townsend Bay Marine Protected Area
The Jefferson MRC's goal was to protect eelgrass beds and marine water quality in South Port Townsend Bay, known locally as Lower (Port) Hadlock. By establishing a Voluntary Marine Protected Area, they also implemented key elements of the South Port Townsend Bay Management Plan that would satisfy Washington Department of Health and allow shellfish harvest and recreational boat use to co-exist.
By: Gabrielle LaRoche, Jefferson MRC
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Jefferson County
Length: 13
Marine Shoreline Protection Assessment for Skagit County
This assessment prepared by the Skagit Land Trust (SLT) is intended to help identify and prioritize marine shoreline parcels in private ownership. SLT wants to use this assessment to promote proactive outreach to landowners in targeted areas, those that have the most conservation value potential.
By: Kari Odden, Skagit Land Trust
Published:
Benchmark: Marine Habitat
Location: Skagit County
Length: 41
SoundIQ Tutorial
This is a step by step guide for startup, and basic functions with the SoundIQ program.
By: Northwest Straits Initiative
Published:
Benchmark: Sound Science
Location: Island County, Northwest Straits
Length: 2