Science and Technical Support Section

Who we are

The Science and Technical Support Section ("Science Section") is composed of scientists with a wide variety of backgrounds in applied work. For example, we are fisheries biologists, water quality specialists, hydrologists, hydrogeologists, modelers, terrestrial ecologists, and stream gagers. We have a depth of experience in applied work, with expertise in marine biology and nearshore ecology, environmental chemistry, limnology, risk assessment, toxicology, wildlife biology and biodiversity, and invertebrate zoology.

What we do

The Science Section’s mission is “to provide scientific knowledge, information, and analysis in support of regional environmental resource management.” We collect, analyze, model and interpret information that supports a variety of King County’s environmental programs, including those that address land use, habitat management, wastewater treatment, salmon and biodiversity, water resource, and surface water management. The section is also responsible for providing objective, scientific knowledge to inform and guide important policy and management decisions that protect the overall quality of life for King County residents. For details of our work, please refer to our Science and Technical Support Section Business Plan (1.5 Mb Acrobat pdf).

Projects and programs

We conduct monitoring programs, water quality analyses, provide water quality services, do hydrologic and other modeling work, and conduct stream habitat and fish surveys, wetland plant and animal surveys, and ecological assessments. We produce reports and provide information on key scientific questions to inform management and policy decisions. We work with other groups within King County to provide expertise on salmon issues, restoration ecology, river and floodplain processes, biological diversity, wetland ecology, marine, nearshore, and estuarine processes, and lake ecology. Learn more about our work on the Projects, Programs, and Products page.

Science Library

For reports produced by the Science Section, please refer to our library.

SciFYI Newsletter

SciFYI is the newsletter produced by the Science Section to promote the use and general public understanding of scientific data. These newsletters are produced approximately one or more times per year.

Science seminars

The Science Section periodically hosts science seminars that showcase our work. We sometimes invite other scientists to come present their work on relevant issues. Our seminars are in-house and are generally by invitation. If you would like more information or to speak at our next seminar, please contact Kate O'Laughlin or Jim Simmonds. Note that our seminars were suspended in 2011 but will likely be back in 2012.