Puget Sound Nearshore Environments
Introduction
 The nearshore environment covers the most productive waters of Puget Sound. The nearshore encompasses a wide range of habitat types, from marshes and sandflats to kelp and eelgrass beds and upland areas. Ron Thom, a scientist from Battelle Marine Sciences Laboratory, defines the nearshore as "the intertidal portion of the ecosystem that encompasses the tidally influenced portions of rivers and streams. The nearshore extends down to the depth where light can no longer support photosynthetic plants on the bottom."
Presentations
 On January 21st, 1999 The Central Puget Sound Watershed Team hosted an extremely successful workshop designed to highlight the integral role nearshore habitats play in our watershed ecosytems, particularly to salmon and other species.
Decision makers, regulators, agency staff, non-governmental organizations and others involved with watershed planning and restoration efforts attended the day-long workshop. Scientists provided morning presentations to give an overview of nearshore processes and threats to nearshore habitat. Afternoon panel discussions focused on policy and regulatory issues, case studies, and perspectives on the future of nearshore habitat.
The morning science panel used the following graphic representations of the nearshore environment as educational tools to help explain nearshore physical and biological workings and to discuss stressors to the system.
Click here to view the graphics as a slideshow, or browse through them below.
Nearshore Processes
 Salmon Use- Large River
 Large River Mouth Processes
 Stream Mouth Processes
 Accreting Beach Processes
 Summary of Nearshore Processes
Typical Differences-
Before and After Development
Stream Mouth
Before Development
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After Development
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Accreting Beach
Before Development
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After Development
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Eroding Bluff
Before Development
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After Development
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Summary of Nearshore Environments
Before Development
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After Development
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For more information about Puget Sound nearshore environments, call Ray Heller, Vashon/Maury Island Watershed Steward, at 296-8391.
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