Vashon-Maury Island environment

Vashon-Maury Island page provides environmental information and services from King County and its partners related specifically to the island. For more information about Vashon-Maury Island or to get involved in Water and Land activities, please call Lori Larkin, Vashon/Maury Island Watershed Steward, at 206-263-7316. Related information can be found for the Central Puget Sound Watershed, of which Vashon-Maury Island is a part.

Basin Steward Program
Find out what Water and Land Resources' Basin Steward Program does and how to contact Basin Stewards.

Community Service Center
Information about the King County satellite office on Vashon Island at the address, Courthouse Square, 19021 Vashon Hwy. S.W., Vashon, WA 98070. Phone 206-296-4510.

Maury Island Ecological Economic Evaluation
Report describing the island's ecological assets and estimating their economic value to help inform decisions related to resource conservation, land use planning and sustainable practices.

Wastewater Treatment

Vashon Wastewater Treatment Plant
Learn about this treatment plant including details about a project to upgrade it. This page provides notices of public meetings, news releases, contact information and a map showing where the plant is located.

Surface Water, Groundwater, and Drinking Water

Introduction to Watersheds

Vashon-Maury Island Watershed Plan
Plan assessing the water resources on Vashon and Maury Islands and to help resolve surface water issues.

Vashon-Maury Island Rapid Rural Reconnaissance - Draft Report
Inventory of the island's surface water needs. This report lists priority drainage and water quality projects, acquisitions, studies and programs that would receive funding through surface water management fees.

King County's Surface Water Management Fee for Unincorporated King County & Vashon Island
Provides a history of King County's surface water management program, its services and fees, and contacts for more information.

Vashon - Maury Island Water Resources Evaluation
Read about this long-term project to understand what affects the quality and quantity of the island's groundwater, and update it's drinking water budget based on new knowledge.

Vashon-Maury Island Groundwater Management Area
Read the groundwater sampling and analysis plan, an interactive map, and learn about the area's groundwater protection committee.

Salmon Watching on Vashon Island
Maps of salmon viewing sites located on Vashon Island and contact information to volunteer as for King County's Salmon Watcher monitoring program.

Vashon Island Water Type Survey (external link)
An interactive web-site that reports Vashon Island stream habitat health and identifies fish barriers, among other things. This work will better protect streams, support informed land-use decisions, and guide restoration efforts where there is interest and funding. King County is proud to have supported this grassroots effort, co-funded by the Vashon-Maury Island Audubon, Trout and Salmon Foundation and Washington Trout. About the project.

Rain Barrel Information and Sources for the Pacific Northwest
How to design a rain barrel or cistern system and where to buy them.

Salmon Recovery

Salmon Habitat Planning and Action - WRIA 9 Watershed (including Vashon-Maury Island)
Currently, local salmon recovery efforts are taking place in King County in response to the Endangered Species Act listing. A local group of citizens, stakeholders, and scientists are developing a long-term recovery plan for the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed (Water Resource Inventory Area 9). Vashon-Maury Island is included in this effort and a representative from the Vashon community participates in the citizen-stakeholder Steering Committee for the watershed. The long-term watershed salmon habitat plan is being developed during 2004-2005 and several public involvement opportunities will occur.

Beaches and Nearshore Environment

Marine Shoreline Inventory Report
Inventory of selected shoreline habitat features that support juvenile salmonids, presented in part using high-resolution aerial photos with overlays that classify habitat types.

Quartermaster Harbor Nitrogen Management Study
This study will evaluate the role of nitrogen in the risk of lethal, low-level dissolved oxygen events in Quartermaster Harbor, a sensitive marine embayment of Vashon-Maury Island in Puget Sound.

Juvenile Salmonid Composition, Timing, Distribution, and Diet in Marine Nearshore Waters of Central Puget Sound in 2001-2002
Scientific report essential for protecting Puget Sound salmon from extinction and to recover depleted salmon stocks.

Puget Sound Shoreline Stewardship Guidebook
Provides info and contacts for residents of beach and bluff shorelines to learn about natural shoreline protection, manage runoff, use native plants, control aggressive non-native plants, and maintain septic systems in an ecologically friendly way.

Puget Sound Marine Life
A photo collection of Puget Sound fish, invertebrates, and algae to aid the identification of marine species.

Marine Life Beach Assessments
Results of a volunteer marine life survey conducted in 1996 and 1997, providing descriptions for beaches at Burton Acres, Dockton, Maury Island Marine Park, Point Robinson Park, and Tramp Harbor on Vashon-Maury Island.

Puget Sound Nearshore Environment
The Puget Sound Nearshore Environment. An illustrated presentation.	Beyond the Beach: Learn about the Nearshore Environment and what you can do to help protect it from damage.	State of the Nearshore Report Summary and assessment of the state of our current knowledge of ecological processes and conditions, natural resources, and ecosystem health in nearshore portions of Central Puget Sound. Intended to provide a foundation for future environmental work and decision making.

Lands

Puget Sound Fresh
Look up Vashon area u-pick farms, community-supported farms, nurseries and produce markets.

Forestry Programs
The goal of the Rural Forest Program is to encourage the business of forestry and to maintain the forest land base in King County.

Agriculture Program
This program brings together the County's previous efforts to preserve prime agricultural soils with recent efforts to make agriculture more environmentally friendly and future programs to encourage the activity of agriculture.

Soil sampling: 1999-2000 Vashon-Maury Island Soil Study
This report page provides findings from Soil Sampling of Vashon-Maury Island and the Southern Mainland Coastline of King County including a report providing an examination of the levels of arsenic, lead, and other metals in the area downwind from the former Tacoma copper smelter.