Ruston, near Tacoma, was the location for a massive copper and arsenic-producing smelter operation for almost 100 years. Ruston and the northeast part of Tacoma were shaped by the smelter and its pollution, and the subsequent cleanup and redevelopment of the area have transformed Point Ruston into a bustling destination for folks throughout the South Sound.

The Puget Sound Partnership’s Science Panel expanded on its comments in the 2023 State of the Sound report in a letter about science and policy.

This episode of Making Waves Conversations features an interview between Laura (Blackmore) Bradstreet, executive director of the Puget Sound Partnership, and Nora Nickum, senior ocean policy manager at the Seattle Aquarium and author of books and magazine articles for kids. In the interview, Laura and Nora discuss Nora’s new book, “Superpod: Saving the Endangered Orcas of the Pacific Northwest;” orca recovery; and what it takes to make scientific information accessible for all readers.

The National Estuary Program and the Puget Sound Geographic Program have provided key funding for hundreds of projects throughout the Puget Sound region. Our new video highlights a few of the people and projects that are putting that funding to work and making a difference to the health of the Puget Sound ecosystem.

6PPD-quinone, the byproduct of a chemical added to automotive tires to keep them from breaking down, is lethal to coho salmon. People and organizations throughout the region are working hard to figure out how to control 6PPD-quinone pollution and remove it from stormwater runoff.

The Stormwater SIL recently awarded $1.6 million in Puget Sound Geographic Program funds to help prioritize locations for stormater management projects, control and lessen stormwater flow, improve water quality, control and lessen 6PPD-quinone, and replace culverts.

The Shellfish Strategic Initiative Lead recently awarded $5.5 million in Puget Sound Geographic Program funds to help establish pollution identification and correction programs, manage and control fecal pollution and disease-causing bacteria and viruses from onsite sewage systems (septic systems), and assist and educate farmers to help them voluntarily reduce livestock and animal manure runoff.

Starting this spring, Puget Sound habitat recovery is getting a $14 million boost! Distributed through the Habitat Strategic Initiative Lead, a partnership between Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the investment will benefit 25 projects across Puget Sound.

The Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration (PSAR) program was created in 2007 to help carry out the most important habitat protection and restoration projects for Puget Sound. PSAR projects restore habitat key to the survival of Puget Sound salmon populations.

In this interview, Ahren Stroming, special assistant for federal affairs at the Puget Sound Partnership, discusses the PUGET SOS Act, the increase in funding for Puget Sound recovery, and other recent federal actions.

One of the most common lifeforms in the ocean is one you might not think about very often: plankton. A new travelling exhibit reveals the dynamic and captivating worlds of plankton that exist in our waters.

The Partnership invited Steven Schauer to write a guest article providing lessons learned from the San Antonio River Improvements Project. Schauer, who now resides in Seattle, served as the director of external communications for the San Antonio River Authority during the construction and implementation of this innovative project.

The Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge encompasses more than 4,500 acres around the Nisqually River Delta. Among the many visitors to the refuge each year are hundreds of people who come to hunt geese, ducks, and other waterfowl during the fall and winter hunting seasons.

While it may seem foreign to most of the country, walking along public beaches with a shovel and bucket in hand to bring home dinner is a pastime Washingtonians know well. With hundreds of public beaches in Puget Sound, recreational shellfish harvesting allows access to local foods year-round for Washington residents.

The 2022-2026 Action Agenda is our community’s shared plan to advance Puget Sound recovery over the next four years. With bold leadership and collaboration at all levels, coordinating our efforts, and acting urgently, Puget Sound can be a resilient ecosystem that supports healthy and diverse human communities and the habitats and species that we care about.

This episode of Making Waves Conversations features an interview with Laura Blackmore, executive director of the Puget Sound Partnership, and Dennis McLerran, chair of the Puget Sound Partnership’s Leadership Council. In the interview, Laura and Dennis discuss what they find most exciting about the new Action Agenda and how it will help guide funding for recovery.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a game-changing boost to Puget Sound. This money will be invested in salmon recovery, transportation infrastructure, roads and bridges, and in helping to make Puget Sound more climate resilient. Watch our video to learn more about the impacts.

Toxic chemicals in Puget Sound and the surrounding environment affect aquatic animals throughout the region. These chemicals can affect water quality and degrade habitat.

An often unacknowledged but surprising aspect of modern life is that toxic chemicals are pretty much everywhere. We encounter them in common consumer products and building materials. Toxic chemicals are also used in manufacturing processes throughout a wide range of industries.

Following the release of the 2022-2026 Action Agenda, the Habitat, Shellfish, and Stormwater Strategic Initiative Leads (SILs) have released requests for proposals to solicit programs, activities, and lines of work that protect and restore habitat, water quality, and harvestable shellfish beds.

The Olympia oyster, Ostrea lurida, is the only oyster native to Washington. Its historical range stretches from the coasts of British Columbia down to Southern California. Before the arrival of white settlers in Washington, there may have been 20,000 acres of Olympia oysters living throughout the bays and inlets of Puget Sound.

Zooplankton are a diverse group of small organisms that drift in marine and freshwater and feed on phytoplankton (plant plankton) and other zooplankton. This group includes jellyfish and comb-jellies, small crustaceans like copepods and krill, the larval forms of crabs and oysters, the larval or juvenile forms of some fish, and many other organisms.

Last year, Pierce Conservation District became the first of its kind in the nation to create a carbon credit program. As one of 45 conservation districts in Washington State and approximately 3,000 nationwide, this is a big win in the fight against climate change for the state.

Born and raised in Virginia, Amy Eberling’s love of the ocean began on family trips to the Assateague and Chincoteague Islands. Although she may not have realized it at the time, those experiences planted a seed that would later bloom into The Salish Sea School.