Presentation Abstract
Throughout Puget Sound, long-term funding and investment in recovery actions have resulted in measurable improvements. Results from individual projects have been reported anecdotally in terms of improved water quality, habitat condition and wildlife, and salmon populations. Yet our ability to report these positive outcomes to funding agencies has been limited. This is because information and results are scattered across databases maintained by multiple local, state, tribal, and federal agencies. Data sets are typically well curated, but not connected. We have developed a prototype of a web tool that combines information about actions and outcomes to demonstrate the value of investments for Puget Sound recovery. Working across agencies and data sets, our approach summarizes data at the subwatershed scale (HUC12), tests for changes in environmental condition using statistical meta-analysis, and illustrates how restoration and management actions are effective, or not, to nontechnical audiences, including funders, elected officials, and sponsors. The web application is a regional prototype that demonstrates how data collected from multiple organizations can be connected to measure change over time and scaled over larger and smaller watershed areas.
Session Title
Lessons from Management Approaches
Keywords
Effectiveness, Restoration, Evaluation
Conference Track
SSE4: Ecosystem Management, Policy, and Protection
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE4-303
Start Date
6-4-2018 9:45 AM
End Date
6-4-2018 10:00 AM
Type of Presentation
Oral
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)
Watershed restoration--Washington (State)--Puget Sound Watershed; Watershed management--Washington (State)--Puget Sound Watershed
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Puget Sound Watershed (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
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
What's working to restore Puget Sound? Connecting investments, actions, and outcomes
Throughout Puget Sound, long-term funding and investment in recovery actions have resulted in measurable improvements. Results from individual projects have been reported anecdotally in terms of improved water quality, habitat condition and wildlife, and salmon populations. Yet our ability to report these positive outcomes to funding agencies has been limited. This is because information and results are scattered across databases maintained by multiple local, state, tribal, and federal agencies. Data sets are typically well curated, but not connected. We have developed a prototype of a web tool that combines information about actions and outcomes to demonstrate the value of investments for Puget Sound recovery. Working across agencies and data sets, our approach summarizes data at the subwatershed scale (HUC12), tests for changes in environmental condition using statistical meta-analysis, and illustrates how restoration and management actions are effective, or not, to nontechnical audiences, including funders, elected officials, and sponsors. The web application is a regional prototype that demonstrates how data collected from multiple organizations can be connected to measure change over time and scaled over larger and smaller watershed areas.
