Shore Friendly is sending ripples throughout the region

The shore of a cobbled beach.

Shore Friendly is a voluntary program that helps private landowners of marine shorelines in Puget Sound reduce shoreline armoring and restore shoreline habitat around the Sound. The program aids landowners in managing their property while also restoring natural beach habitat.

Doubling down on restoration: How the Salish Sea Nearshore Programmatic and the Partnership’s Nearshore Credits Program drive restoration throughout Puget Sound

Aerial photo of the Dickman Mill site in Tacoma, WA. The photo shows the group of creosote-soaked pilings in the water near the site, and a boat floating in the water off to the righthand side of the photo.

The Salish Sea Nearshore Programmatic is a regulatory tool that helps proponents of on- or over-water construction projects balance out the ecological impacts of construction with equivalent ecological offsets. Project proponents can offset these impacts by purchasing conservation credits from the Partnership’s Nearshore Credits Program, which helps fund restoration throughout the region.

Point Ruston’s transformation from polluted smelter site to waterfront destination

Photo of two people walking along the paved path that leads from Point Defiance Park down to Point Ruston. Mount Rainier is in the background.

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.

Puget Sound Geographic Program funds at work

Screenshot from the Puget Sound Geographic Program funds at work video, showing an aerial shot of a boat travelling through Puget Sound.

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.

Preventing stormwater pollution protects what we care about

Photo of an overpass above the Cedar River, showing the underside of the overpass and the flow of the Cedar River.

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.

Protecting and restoring shellfish beds throughout Puget Sound

Aerial photo of Samish Bay shellfish beds, showing horizontal and diagonal lines of shellfish growing areas in Puget Sound water, with Samish Island in the background. One of the areas focused on protecting and restoring shellfish.

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.

Puget Sound habitat restoration efforts to receive $14 million boost

Photo of Puget Sound water and small land masses near the Nisqually River, with forested hills in the background.

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.