Presentation Abstract
The challenges facing Puget Sound reach beyond its deep inlets and sinuous shorelines, all the way to the crests of the Cascades and Olympics, into the rivers and streams that are the Sound’s lifeblood. The streams that flow into Puget Sound are an integral part of its physical, biological, and chemical integrity. When those streams are inadequately protected, the consequences affect Puget Sound as surely as water flows downhill. State and local government agencies in Washington are charged with protecting Puget Sound’s streams from negative impacts caused by adjacent land-use activities. In many cases that charge hasn’t been met for a surprisingly simple reason: agencies have been relying on inaccurate maps. Washington’s regulatory agencies depend on a process called water typing to identify and classify streams, lakes, and wetlands for their importance, ecologically and for human uses. This basic inventory is the most fundamental step in conserving the health of Puget Sound and its tributaries. Water typing answers the question: “Where are the streams, and where are the fish habitats within them?” Unfortunately, current water typing records and maps often underestimate the actual miles of fish-bearing waters by 50% or more. Wild Fish Conservancy has documented widespread error throughout Puget Sound, finding that a significant number of streams in Puget Sound do not even appear on any maps. Hundreds of miles of productive Puget Sound watersheds are threatened because, when they are misidentified or unidentified on regulatory maps, they are often subjected to inappropriate land-use practices. Many streams are not receiving protection they warrant under already existing regulations. When misclassified and mismapped Puget Sound lowland are not protected from the negative impacts associated with forestry, agriculture, and development; the results are devastating for the streams, the fish that live in them, and the integrity of the Puget Sound nearshore habitats they feed. Until the watersheds draining into Puget Sound are accurately identified and protected, cumulative effects from land-use in these watersheds will continue to contribute to the compromised health of Puget Sound. And until systematic inventories are performed, models are improved, regulatory maps are updated, and streams are adequately protected, progress towards restoring the integrity of Puget Sound will continue to be significantly offset by the pervasive and in many cases unrecorded loss of freshwater habitat and water quality.
Session Title
Session S-04C: Importance of Puget Sound Lowland Streams
Conference Track
Freshwater
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
1-5-2014 8:30 AM
End Date
1-5-2014 10:00 AM
Location
Room 606
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Stream ecology--Washington (State)--Puget Sound; Watershed ecology--Washington (State)--Puget Sound; Rivers--Washington (State)--Maps
Subjects – Names (LCNAF)
Wild Fish Conservancy Northwest
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Puget Sound (Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
A Thousand Cuts – Protecting the streams that sustain Puget Sound
Room 606
The challenges facing Puget Sound reach beyond its deep inlets and sinuous shorelines, all the way to the crests of the Cascades and Olympics, into the rivers and streams that are the Sound’s lifeblood. The streams that flow into Puget Sound are an integral part of its physical, biological, and chemical integrity. When those streams are inadequately protected, the consequences affect Puget Sound as surely as water flows downhill. State and local government agencies in Washington are charged with protecting Puget Sound’s streams from negative impacts caused by adjacent land-use activities. In many cases that charge hasn’t been met for a surprisingly simple reason: agencies have been relying on inaccurate maps. Washington’s regulatory agencies depend on a process called water typing to identify and classify streams, lakes, and wetlands for their importance, ecologically and for human uses. This basic inventory is the most fundamental step in conserving the health of Puget Sound and its tributaries. Water typing answers the question: “Where are the streams, and where are the fish habitats within them?” Unfortunately, current water typing records and maps often underestimate the actual miles of fish-bearing waters by 50% or more. Wild Fish Conservancy has documented widespread error throughout Puget Sound, finding that a significant number of streams in Puget Sound do not even appear on any maps. Hundreds of miles of productive Puget Sound watersheds are threatened because, when they are misidentified or unidentified on regulatory maps, they are often subjected to inappropriate land-use practices. Many streams are not receiving protection they warrant under already existing regulations. When misclassified and mismapped Puget Sound lowland are not protected from the negative impacts associated with forestry, agriculture, and development; the results are devastating for the streams, the fish that live in them, and the integrity of the Puget Sound nearshore habitats they feed. Until the watersheds draining into Puget Sound are accurately identified and protected, cumulative effects from land-use in these watersheds will continue to contribute to the compromised health of Puget Sound. And until systematic inventories are performed, models are improved, regulatory maps are updated, and streams are adequately protected, progress towards restoring the integrity of Puget Sound will continue to be significantly offset by the pervasive and in many cases unrecorded loss of freshwater habitat and water quality.
