Corps of Engineers to Begin Devising Ways to Restore Nearshore Habitats

By Christopher Dunagan, Kitsap Sun
Posted November 20, 2009

What could become one of the largest ecosystem-restoration projects in the history of the United States has been inching forward since 2001.

The goal is to restore natural functions to key shoreline habitats throughout the Puget Sound region — an effort that could ultimately cost several billion dollars.

The Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project is being led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, an agency known for tackling massive public-works projects. The Corps’ primary partner in the venture is the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“This is a program seeking to bring national attention and national funding to Puget Sound,” said Curtis Tanner, project manager for Fish and Wildlife.

A 12-person science team has been working to understand the nature of various types of nearshore systems. They are trying to determine what types of habitat are critical for what species and where important habitats are missing in Puget Sound.

Two major studies, scheduled for release early next year, will examine changes to the Puget Sound nearshore as well as the physical causes of ecological decline. The reports will help experts identify potential shoreline-restoration projects along with priorities for funding.

“In broad terms,” said Tanner, “we are largely completed with the retrospective analysis. We have an understanding about how Puget Sound has changed over the years since nonnative settlement of the region. And we are starting to understand the causal factors for those changes.”

Years ago, road builders never thought twice about building roads along the shoreline. Instead of bypassing small estuaries, they filled them in with dirt. If a steep bluff was in the way, they would knock it down, build up a wall or fill the tidelands.

Amazingly, these and other nearshore alterations have reduced the total length of Puget Sound’s shoreline by about 15 percent and eliminated some 225 embayments, Tanner said. Today, scientists understand that such “pocket estuaries” are important stopovers for migrating juvenile salmon. They also serve a variety of other functions.

Other major shore forms, each with their own functions, include rocky coasts, beaches and river deltas. Bluffs near the water’s edge provide sand and gravel to the beaches, determining what kind of fish and shellfish inhabit nearshore areas.

Bernie Hargrave, project manager for the Corps of Engineers, said federal and state officials realized in 2000 that to accomplish such a major restoration project would require a systematic study of the nearshore ecosystem throughout Puget Sound. More than 800 shoreline segments have been characterized.

“We’re now reaching a milestone,” Hargrave said. “Up to now, we have been looking at problems. In March of 2010, we’ll be turning a corner and starting to look at projects. We’ll spend the next year or year-and-a-half developing solutions.”

One scientific report, now in peer review and scheduled for release in January, is called a “change analysis.” It compares early maps of shoreline areas from the 1800s to conditions of today. Understanding the physical changes leads to an understanding of functional changes in the ecosystem.

The second report, expected to be released in March, is called a “strategic needs assessment.” That report identifies the causes of ecological decline, lists the locations of the greatest problems and assesses what actions should get priority.

Later, a feasibility study and environmental impact statement will be completed on the overall program. Individual environmental assessments are planned for specific projects, which will typically range from $5 million to $50 million each, Hargrave said.

Eventually, the Puget Sound nearshore project could reach the scale of the Florida Everglades restoration, where $8 billion has been authorized, or the Chesapeake Bay restoration, where $5 billion has been spent.

Projects approved under the program will involve only public property, though private lands could be acquired from willing sellers. Condemnation of private property is not allowed.

Meanwhile, some nearshore restoration projects are already under way in Washington state using state and federal dollars from other programs, mostly focused on salmon restoration. The Nisqually delta restoration north of Olympia is a prime example.

The Puget Sound nearshore project is fully integrated into the priorities of the Puget Sound Partnership, according to Hargrave and Tanner. The partnership was created by the Legislature to lead the restoration effort.

“We realize that we need to be speaking with a single voice,” Tanner said. “This is a big ecosystem, and it has undergone widespread injury. We need to be rock solid on the science, and we need to organize it in a way that can be understood by community leaders and elected officials. We have to be able to show that this effort warrants the investment of the nation.”

COMMENTS

...November 20, 2009
3:54 p.m.
BlueLight writes:
Welcome to Puget Sound, er, Salish Sea (or is the Salish Sea partnership going to be yet another recovery program?). At least here you won't have to worry about a watchdog press keeping you honest, efficient or effective.

...November 20, 2009
4:52 p.m.
csob writes:
I hope the 12 science advisers have been collecting some new, localized research instead of reading the same 20 or 30 papers from midwest feedlots and freshwater areas cited by local planners, enviro groups and the DOE. If that can show us what has happened, what is happening and what we can do to ensure a positive outcome I will be happy to back the corps.

...November 20, 2009
5:14 p.m.
fasteddie writes:
I assume this is the same fricking incompetent U.S. Corp of Frickeneers that just got held liable for the billions in losses in New Orleans, the flooding of the 9th Ward and other sectors and the deaths of thousands of New Orleans poorest residents.
If they are involved, I encourage everyone to duck and cover.
READ THE COURT'S DECISION ON THEIR GREATEST EFF UP IN HISTORY that just rolled out this week. Just what we need--more Obamanation.
Pray for us.

...November 20, 2009
10:15 p.m.
rapcady#314839 writes:
Fast eddie dont fret when we finally kill ourselves all off the World will recover just fine

...November 21, 2009
9:49 a.m.
kcb writes:
The biggest problem is all the bulkheads that this county has allowed on the beaches. I still see new ones going up all the time. They all need to go. If you buy waterfront, erosion will happen, it's natural. We are killing all the shore life.

...November 21, 2009
3:01 p.m.
Waldo writes:
Sweet... how do I get involved with this pork project? Cha-ching - Cheddar coming...
...

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/nov/20/corps-to-begin-devising-ways-to-restore-habitats/#ixzz0XVSNau5I

FAIR USE NOTICE
Information provided here contains copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such information/material available in an effort to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use any copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond "fair use", you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.