The Nature Conservancy in Washington

Go Deeper

Science
Conservation Action Planning

Marine Invaders
Learn about invasive marine species in Puget Sound, and what The Nature Conservancy is doing about them.

Octopus Eats Shark!
An octopus at the Seattle Aquarium was caught eating four-foot long sharks! Watch the video on YouTube.

Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines
Learn about efforts to restore Puget Sound Shorelines, and how you can get involved, at the Alliance's Web site.

MudUp
MudUp is a campaign to involve people in the many volunteer clean-ups, educational activities, and celebratory events happening on behalf of the Puget Sound region. Learn more about how you can get muddy for a cleaner Puget Sound.

Puget Sound is an incredible place. It's diverse and rich habitats support a tremendous variety of mammals, fish, birds, invertebrates, plants and more. Many generations of people have lived, worked and played along its 2,500 miles of shoreline. It is where Washington's mountains, prairies and rivers meet the tides and the sea. It is a treasure for us, our region, and our world.

The Conservancy’s work in Puget Sound builds on the organization’s growing marine program. In key sites around the world, the Conservancy has begun extending its collaborative and innovative approach to conservation to the marine and estuarine environment, linking land and sea conservation. In Washington, this has meant extending our conservation planning and action into the salt water at places like the Skagit River, Hood Canal, South Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. To be even more effective, we have formed an alliance to focus on restoring and protecting shorelines around the Sound.

The Nature Conservancy is proud to be part of the growing community working on saving Puget Sound, from neighborhoods and non-profit groups, to scientists and elected officials, to the state's Puget Sound Partnership.

Conservation Actions in Puget Sound

Habitat restoration at Port Susan Bay—Large logs used to wash down the Stillaguamish River to Port Susan Bay, where they anchored in the estuary and provided vital shelter for juvenile salmon and other native species. As people altered the lands along the river, fewer and fewer trees came down. Piles of wood became sparse, and the wood in them became smaller. Nature Conservancy scientists studied the wood that remains and have begun an experiment with intentionally placed logs.
Helping native oysters—At the other end of Puget Sound, near Olympia, The Nature Conservancy arranged a first-of-its kind lease of state aquatic lands. At Woodard Bay, the Conservancy is working to restore habitat for the once-abundant Olympia oyster. This type of effort is being expanded to other parts of Puget Sound where Olympia oysters were historically present and where larvae are still found, such as Frye Cove in Eld Inlet and Liberty Bay near Poulsbo. Habitat restoration is in the works at both of these sites and is being carried out in collaboration with the Puget Sound Restoration Fund and the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Eliminating Spartina—Commonly known as cordgrass, Spartina is an aggressive noxious weed that severly disrupts ecosystems of native saltwater estuaries in Washington. It out competes native vegetation and covers mudflats, destroying important shornird and waterfowl habitat. In Puget Sound, this invasive plant has been found from Vashon Island north into Canada, and especially in Island, Skagit and Snohomish Counties. The Nature Conservancy and many partners have worked tirelessly to remove infestations, making great progress in recent years. The Conservancy has drawn on its experience in Willapa Bay, where much work has been done to control acres of Spartina. This effort has involved much advocacy; state and federal policy and funding has been key to achieving success.
Removing toxic substances—Conservancy staff have been collecting and analyzing samples of sand from beaches where creosote-soaked logs are found, to see whether any of the creosote has leached into the sandy soil. Creosote has been commonly used to preserve wood for more than 50 years. Now we know that it’s toxic to marine and human life. The results from this study will inform the growing number of creosote debris removal efforts in the Sound, allowing land managers to decide whether sediments surrounding creosote logs should also be removed. The Nature Conservancy is already involved in projects to remove creosote logs from the shorelines two of its preserves, Ebey’s Landing on Whidbey Island and Foulweather Bluff on the Kitsap Peninsula.

The Alliance For Puget Sound Shorelines
Restoring Puget Sound shorelines, one mile at a time.

The Nature Conservancy is part of the Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines, a groundbreaking collaboration with the Trust for Public Land and People for Puget Sound. The Alliance, funded in its initial efforts by a generous grant from the Russell Family Foundation, has ambitious goals: to create 10 new parks, to do restoration work on 100 miles of Puget Sound shoreline, and to push for public policies that will protect 1,000 miles of shoreline over its first three years.

What does it mean to restore and protect the shorelines?
It means that invasive species will be removed, so native species to thrive; banks and bluffs revegetated; barriers to the shoreline removed; habitat supporting native shellfish replaced; and tidal marshes will be enhanced and restored. Together, we’ll make significant progress in protecting and improving freshwater flows to Puget Sound, create new protected areas in biodiversity hotpots, speed the clean up of toxic, contaminated sediment sites, and strengthen oil spill prevention efforts.

The goal is to engage our partners and the public in a long-term and sustainable relationship with Puget Sound’s shorelines that allows natural processes and the biodiversity they support to thrive side by side with the people of our region.

Nature picture credits: Photo © Jeff Compton/TNC (Puget Sound shoreline); Photo © Keith Lazelle (children on beach); Photo © Nancy Sefton (low tide).