FY 2011 South Sound Prioritization

Information from the pocket estuary database, the WRIA 13 and 14 juvenile salmonid nearshore project selection tool (NPST), the PSNERP Puget Sound change analysis and county based shoreline inventories is being used to devise a habitat based focused restoration and conservation strategy for Totten and Eld Inlets. In all inlets shoreline and upland catchments were identified and rated. Eld Inlet- 107 shoreline and 89 upland; Totten 151 shoreline and 113 upland. Nearshore drainage catchments were identified and rated for level of development and human disturbance using the NOAA C-CAP development database. For each nearshore catchment a landscape based strategy is being generated that consists of: conservation, restoration enhancement or creation. The strategies will be used by policy level personnel, planners, and on the ground restoration and conservation groups to rank and identify discrete projects in a landscape context.

Previous efforts in the nearshore have focused on identifying individual projects. The goal of this exercise is to provide decision makers with explicit project level information that is in a landscape/inlet context. This will help ensure that projects selected have a high likelihood of success and are self maintaining over the long term.
The information generated will provide a strategy to policy level personnel, planners, and on the ground restoration and conservation groups to rank and identify actions in a landscape context.