MUKILTEO — The Puget Sound rewards us with bustling ports and a plethora of marine life, swimming beaches and beautiful views.
Tremendous population growth has degraded the area’s natural wonders over the past century and a half.
Experts are only starting to understand how.
Anyone interested in learning more about the interplay of urban development and water quality, estuary restoration and fish can sign up for an event called Sound Living to be held Oct. 31.
“We’re looking for people to come and join us and learn as much as they can — and to walk away inspired,” said Chrys Sacco Bertolotto, natural resource programs manager for the local Washington State University Extension office.
Dubbed a “one-day university,” Sound Living is now in its fifth year.
This year’s program is to run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Mukilteo Presbyterian Church. Registration costs $15 per person.
Members of WSU Extension’s Beach Watchers program have lined up a series of expert speakers to talk about the region’s past, present and future. They’re focusing on six ecosystem vital signs.
Keynote speaker Scott Redman is a director from the Puget Sound Partnership, a state agency. His job is applying science to help ensure the Sound’s recovery.
In his talk, Redman plans to discuss two trends identified in the Puget Sound Partnership’s upcoming State of the Sound report.
While conservationists have succeeded in restoring habitat, they have yet to observe a major rebound in marine species. That includes orcas and chinook salmon.
A local example near Marysville is the Qwuloolt estuary project being led by the Tulalip Tribes. By breaching levees this summer, they hope to revive the salt marshes that existed before the area was diked up to create farmland more than a century ago.
“We can see our influence on improved habitat,” Redman said. “That’s something we can invest in. We can invest in certain places around Puget Sound and make things better. We’ve increased tidal flow into estuaries.”
It’ll take time to observe the effects of habitat changes, as species run through their life cycle. Meanwhile, development continues to put pressure on the natural environment in ways that aren’t fully understood.
About 4 million people now inhabit the Puget Sound region.
Other speakers during Sound Living intend to focus on wildlife, urban planning, water quality and estuary habitat. They include: Howard Garrett from Whidbey Island-based Orca Network; Leska Fore from the Puget Sound Partnership on water quality in rivers and streams; Julia Parrish from the University of Washington on what we can learn from dead birds that wash up on the beach; Erika Harris from the Puget Sound Regional Council on how to protect habitat as the area’s population grows; Debby Sargeant from the state Department of Ecology on water quality at swimming beaches; and Morgan Ruff from the Tulalip Tribes on habitat restoration in the Snohomish River Delta.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
If you go
What: Sound Living, an intensive one-day educational event put on by WSU Extension Beach Watchers
Who: Anyone curious about Puget Sound is encouraged to sign up
When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 31
Where: Mukilteo Presbyterian Church, 4514 84th St. SW, Mukilteo
Why: to explore connections between the water, land and people
Registration costs $15 per person. The price includes free snacks. An optional lunch is available for $8.00.
For more info or to register: www.wsusoundliving.org,
soundliving@wsu.edu or 425-357-6028.
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