Using the Open Standards
to Advance Puget Sound Recovery
Kari Stiles, PhD
Puget Sound Partnership
Conservation Measures Partnership
Oct 7-9, 2014
• National Estuary
Program (EPA)
•
•
•
•
•
16,500+ sq miles
International border
12 counties
100+ cities
20+ tribes
Snowcaps to Whitecaps …
with a focus on the watery bits
Recover Puget Sound by 2020
“swimmable, fishable, diggable, drinkable”
6 goals:
Habitat
Species
Water Quality
Water Quantity
Human Health
Human Well Being
Puget Sound restoration and protection (2007)
Washington State Statute at RCW 90.71.200(2)
•
Puget Sound Partnership: coordinate and lead the effort to restore and
protect Puget Sound. The partnership will:
– Define a strategic action agenda (2-year cycle)
• prioritizing necessary actions, both basin-wide and within specific areas
• addressing complex connections among land, water, species, human needs
• based on science
• include clear, measurable goals for the recovery of Puget Sound by 2020
– Determine accountability for performance, oversee the efficiency and effectiveness
of money spent
– Educate and engage the public
– Track and report results to the legislature, the governor, and the public
– Not have regulatory authority
•
Partners: All governmental entities, including federal and state agencies, tribes,
cities, counties, ports, and special purpose districts
– Support and help implement the partnership's recovery efforts
PUGET SOUND RECOVERY CONTEXT
2008
Death by
1,000
cuts
Recovery by
1,000
uncoordinated
actions
Locals
Region
watersheds
action areas
(cities, counties
tribes, NGOs)
State
feds
16 watershed
Chinook
recovery plans
(NOAA)
1 regional
Chinook
recovery plan
(NOAA)
Decision
makers
Scientists
Decision
makers
2008
Actions
Priorities
Locals
Actions
Actions
Actions Actions
Gaps & needs
Actions
Actions
Scientists
Region
Adaptive Management of Puget Sound
Recovery Efforts
2009-2014
Open Standards, Miradi, Miradi Share
Decision makers
2008
Region
Locals
Scientists
Decision makers
2014
Locals
Recovery Priorities
Priority Threats
Monitoring & Gaps
Ecosystem Status
Effectiveness & Impacts
Scientists
Region
Decision makers
Region
Locals
Scientists
Common
language
Puget Sound Taxonomies
Ecosystem & Human Wellbeing
Pressures
Strategic Initiatives
Action Types
Barriers, Corrective Actions
Common
tools
Theories of Change
(aka. Results chains)
Common
database
Standard taxonomy for
ecosystem components
 Status in Puget Sound
 Status within watershed
• geographic unit
ACCESSIBLE HABITAT
(% OF MAINSTEM)
100%
Small river
channels
% OF HISTORIC
LENGTH
90%
75%
29%
STATUS
GOAL
LARGE WOOD
(KEY PCS/100 M)
STATUS
GOAL
POOL FREQUENCY
(#/CHANNEL WIDTH)
POOR
FAIR
GOOD
VERY GOOD
0.7
1.3
0.31
GOAL
STATUS
0.27
STATUS
GOAL
16 Chinook watersheds  regional story
CHEM-K08.06. Intertidal habitat zone - extent
Extent of intertidal habitat
CHEM-K08.10. Water quality
CHEM-K07.01. Habitat connectivity condition
CHEM-K08.03. Estuarine habitats - extent
CHEM-K01.01. Coastal sediment dynamics in drift cells - condition
CHEM-K04.02. Freshwater hydrology - condition
CHEM-K08.02. SAV beds - extent
CHEM-K08.01. SAV beds - condition
CHEM-K05.01. Tidal channel formation - extent of channels
CHEM-K08.08. Tidally influenced wetlands - extent
CHEM-K05.02. Tidal channel formation - connectivity of channels
CHEM-K04.01. Freshwater hydrology - dependent water condition
CHEM-K06.01. Detritus recruitment & retention-extent
CHEM-K08.05. Estuarine habitats - distribution
CHEM-K01.02. Coastal sediment dynamics in drift cells - landscape context
Distribution
of estuarine
habitat
CHEM-K08.09.
Tidally influenced wetlands
- condition
CHEM-K01.08. Coastal sediment dynamics - extent of wind and wave features
CHEM-K03.01. Tidal circulation - extent of biological activity
# of Estuarine & Marine Indicators
by Key Ecological Attribute
CHEM-K09.01. Spatial extent and continuity of riparian area
CHEM-K06.02. Detritus recruitment & retention-extent of supply
CHEM-K03.02. Tidal circulation - dependent water condition
CHEM-K02.01. Fluvial sediment dynamics - condition
CHEM-K01.03. Coastal sediment deposition & accretion - extent
CHEM-K01.05. Coastal sediment deposition & accretion-condition of impoundment
CHEM-K01.06. Coastal sediment supply - extent
CHEM-K08.04. Estuarine habitats - condition
CHEM-K01.07. Coastal sediment supply - distribution
CHEM-K08.07. Intertidal habitat zone - condition
CHEM-K09.02. Riparian community structure
Riparian community structure
CHEM-K01.04. Coastal sediment deposition & accretion-condition of sediment
CHEM-K01.09. Coastal sediment dynamics - condition of wind and wave features
CHEM-K09.03. Riparian function
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Puget Sound:
Vital Signs
linked to
Ecosystem
Components
Estuaries
Chinook watersheds contribute to regional goals
Shellfish Beds
2009 Puget Sound Threats and Soundwide Rating
X
Puget Sound Pressure Taxonomy
SOURCES of pressure on Puget Sound ecosystems and people (41)
STRESSORS - proximate actors on ecosystem (47)
SOURCE – STRESSOR DIAGRAMS illustrating source-stressor relationships
Pathways of Effect
(Stressed)
Pressure
(Source)
Development
source of
acts on
Stressor
Stressor
Stressor
Land
conversion
Ecosystem
Component
Reduced
floodplain
habitat extent
Chinook watersheds & Puget Sound pressures
Stormwater
Roads & railroads
Marine shoreline armoring
Runoff from residential and commercial lands
Roads & Railroads (Including Culverts)
Marine shoreline infrastructure
Marine Levees, Floodgates, Tidegates
Housing & Urban Areas
Abstraction of ground water
Marine & Freshwater Finfish Aquaculture
Logging & Wood Harvesting
Fishing & Harvesting Aquatic Resources
Agricultural & Forestry Effluents
Abstraction of surface water
Annual & Perennial Non-Timber Crops
Recreational Activities
Freshwater shoreline infrastructure
Commercial & Industrial Areas (Including Ports)
Sewer - Domestic & Municipal Wastewater to Sewer
Oil Spills
Mining & Quarrying
Livestock Farming & Ranching
Freshwater Levees, Floodgates, Tidegates
Dams
Utility & Service Lines
Shipping Lanes and Dredged Waterways
Tourism & Recreation Areas
Onsite Sewage Systems (OSS)
Industrial Runoff
Air-Borne Pollutants/Climate Change
Release of Excess Energy (light, heat, sound)
Industrial Wastewater
Marine shellfish aquaculture
Wood & Pulp Plantations
War, Civil Unrest & Military Exercises
Garbage & Solid Waste
Fire & Fire Suppression
Renewable (e.g. Tidal) Energy
Hunting & Collecting Terrestrial Animals
Invasive species and other problematic species
Gathering Terrestrial Plants
Flight Paths
Dams
Utility Lines
Onsite Sewage Systems
Invasive Species
0
10
20
30
40
50
(%)
60
70
80
90
100
Pressure
Intrinsic
Vulnerability
Ecosystem
Endpoint
Assessment units: watershed
marine basin
Puget Sound
Potential
Impact
Pressures
Pressures posing greatest risk
(Puget Sound example)
Land Cover Conversion – Development
- Transp. & utilities
Large Spills
Ecosystem
Components &
KEAs
Most vulnerable parts of the ecosystem
(Puget Sound example)
Cuthroat Trout
Coho salmon
Chinook salmon
Riparian vegetation
Small, high-gradient streams
species
habitats & processes
Theories of Change: Actions linked to desired outcomes
 All 16 Chinook watershed plans (2005) (2005 plans expect lots of miracles)
 2014-2015: Regional “Implementation Strategies” focused on key Vital Signs
Theories of Change + Puget Sound Taxonomies
2016 and beyond

Refine common language
•
multi-scale information sharing and assessments

Refine and apply common tools
•
improve prioritization of recovery goals, pressures, actions and
science needs


Develop Steelhead recovery plan (NOAA)
Develop regional theories of change (“Implementation Strategies”)
as basis for
•
2016 Action Agenda
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2016 Biennial Science Work Plan
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Effectiveness Assessment
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(2015 &) 2017 State of the Sound reporting