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Animals, plants and habitat

Animals, plants and habitat

Biological environment in King County, Washington

For contacts and advice for pest control, please visit King County's pest control portal.

Biodiversity in King County, Washington
Learn about the state of biodiversity in King County, Washington and its importance.

Noxious weeds
Comprehensive and practical information about noxious weeds in King County including photos, identification tools, and control methods. See maps of noxious weed locations, find out about classes and education events, and learn about services offered to King County residents to assist with noxious weed control.

Salal flowers

Native plants
Learn how to support native plant biodiversity in your yard and provide forage for native animals such as bees to birds.  Browse photos of native trees, shrubs and flowering forbs, learn about their functional value for wildlife, get design ideas and learn how to use them in your native landscape plan, and compile a list of plants to bring to your local native plant nursery.

Habitat restoration projects
Learn about projects King County is working on or has completed to restore fish and wildlife habitat in damaged or degraded places.

chinook_salmon

Salmon and trout topics
Find out how King County and partners are working to restore regional salmon and trout populations that are threatened under the Endangered Species Act, read related news, review scientific studies, sign up for volunteer events and programs, and look up reference materials such as identification drawings and photos.

Living with Wildlife (*external links)
Facts and tips to help coexist with wildlife, from black bears* and beavers* to moles*.

Animal bites and suspected human rabies exposures

Beavers
Learn about beavers including region-specific life history and ecology, problems they can pose for people and property, and how to solve associated problems.

Freshwater mussels
Learn about freshwater mussels and what they indicate about the streams they live in.

Stream bugs monitoring

Learn about benthic macroinvertebrates including why they're important indicators of stream health, and how King County monitors stream bugs to assess water quality and habitat quality.

Leeches!
Overview of the leech, which inhabits lakes in King County, Washington.

Puget Sound marine life photos
Underwater photos of marine invertebrates and other living creatures in Puget Sound.

Sea star identification
View photos and read the distinguishing features of various sea stars (or starfish) found in the intertidal zone around Puget Sound.

Clam identification
Look up how to identify Puget Sound bivalve shellfish from photos and descriptions of their distinguishing features.

Contact

Please offer suggestions and report errors for the wildlife, plants and habitat portal to Fred Bentler, webmaster.

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