Oct 15 2007
Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership Technical Reports
A few weeks ago Jim Johannessen of Coastal Geological Services announced the release of a technical report called Beaches and Bluffs of Puget Sound and the Northern Straits. Behind this mild-sounding title is a detailed analysis of how key aspects of the Puget Sound coastal habitat are being compromised by shoreline modifications, particularly the building of retaining walls or bulkheads. I was amazed to learn that more than 800 miles (34%) of the Puget Sound shoreline has been artificially modified in this way; I was more amazed to learn how much of a negative impact this practice has had on important shorline features such as gravel beaches and eelgrass beds.
As fascinating as the report is, what’s really intriguing to me is the web site where the report is posted.
The Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership is an extraordinary cooperative venture among numerous local, state, tribal, and federal entities, most notably the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The goal of this ad hoc group is collect research about coastal habitat and then plan restoration projects based on that research. The complete list of reports is pretty impressive, and while I can’t claim to have begun an even partial review of them all, I did enjoy reading The Geomorphology of Puget Sound Beaches, by David Finlayson. This paper tells you everything you ever wanted to know about “the processes that shape the shoreline over space and time” — important information for those hoping to recreate what has been lost or damaged.
Highly recommended.