South Puget Sound
- Salish Sea References
- Ecology Shoreline Photography Viewer
- The Encyclopedia of Puget Sound provides a peer reviewed version of the wiki
- PRISM Project Search
- Washington Coastal Atlas
- UW River History Project
- Wiki Rules
- Wiki text does not reflect the policy or opinion of any agency or organization
- Please adhere to our Social Contract and Style Guide
- Complain here, and be nice.
The South Puget Sound Region generally encompasses the reaches, passages and inlets south of the Tacoma Narrows. North lies West Sound which sometimes also claims the Pierce County areas of South, and also East Sound which includes The Megapolis. The largest freshwater inputs are Nisqually followed by the Deschutes. South Sound is the usual and accustomed area of the seven bands that are now the Squaxin Island Tribe as well as the Nisqually Indian Tribe. Compared to other parts of the Salish Sea, South Sound has many protected Embayments and wave energy is generally low. South Sound has extensive Shellfish beds, but largely lacks Eelgrass. While most Catchments are defined by inlets, people often live in communities that identify by peninsula, making place definition conflicted. Wild Chinook Salmon have been largely extirpated, but there are common runs of Chum Salmon. Pierce County, Thurston County and Mason County all manage Shoreline and the largest Urban area distinct from The Megapolis are the clustered tri-cities of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater. South Sound was the terminus of the Wisconsin Glaciation and features of Post-Glacial Geology and Geomorphology are abundant, as well as the best remnant areas of Prairie and Oak Woodland on glacial outwash maintained historically through Cultural Burning by tribes.
Notes[edit]
- South Puget Sound Volunteer Opportunities - a list of organizations that offer direct hands-on opportunities to restore ecosystems.
- Dissolved oxygen from nitrogen loading http://www.ecy.wa.gov/puget_sound/dissolved_oxygen_study.html
- In the 2008 Water Quality Assessment, Ecology found that 24 locations in South Puget Sound were impaired due to a lack of dissolved oxygen. Ecology identified another 27 locations as waters of concern. The locations of greatest concern are Carr, Case, and Budd Inlets. Fish need oxygen. In areas with low levels of dissolved oxygen, fish and other marine life become stressed and die or are forced to flee their habitat. From [1]
- On an annual basis, wastewater treatment plants south of the Tacoma Narrows send an average of 6,000 pounds of dissolved inorganic nitrogen into South Puget Sound per day. Another 11,000 pounds of dissolved inorganic nitrogen came from all other human and natural sources in the watershed. During the critical summer period for dissolved oxygen when river flows are lower, the wastewater treatment plants are a larger percentage of the load. The area between the Tacoma Narrows and Edmonds has many more people and it contributes about four times more dissolved inorganic nitrogen than South Puget Sound. Future work will quantify the amount of nitrogen coming into South Puget Sound from the Pacific Ocean. [2]
- Prairie ecosystems are notable in glacial outwash
- Joint Base Lewis McCord provides a major ecological preserve under federal ownership
- Urbanization is rapid (need strong source)
- Nisqually Watershed is a focus of protection by multiple parties
- Three tribal nations were signatory to the Medicine Creek Treaty which ceded tribal lands to colonization.
- Squaxin Island Tribe includes the descendants of seven bands that were spread among the inlets of the South Sound.
- Nisqually Indian Tribe includes the descendants of bands that lived around the Nisqually River.
- Deschutes Delta is a major restoration opportunity. The mouth of the Deschutes River was converted into a reflecting pool for the state captial, but over time has accumulated sediment, surplus nutrients and an infestation of New Zealand mud snail.
- There are 11 Budd Inlet MTCA Sites located in at the southern head of Budd Inlet identified as part of the Puget Sound Initiative.
Planning[edit]
- The Squaxin Island Tribe completed a Nearshore habitat assessment in Mason County.
- Capital Land Trust completed a Thurston County aquisition assessment.
- South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group completed an analysis of the drift cells from Nisqually Delta to Pt. Defiance.
South Puget Sound[edit]
The following pages are flagged with the South Puget Sound category:
Workgroups
The following workgroups are based in South Sound.
Governments
NGOs
- Black Hills Audubon Society
- Capitol Land Trust
- Center for Natural Lands Management
- Community Farmland Trust
- Community Foundation of South Puget Sound
- Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team
- Great Peninsula Conservancy
- Greater Gig Harbor Foundation
- Native Plant Salvage Foundation
- Nisqually Reach Nature Center
- Olympia Coalition for Ecosystems Preservation
Places
Catchment Scale Places
- Budd Inlet Ecosystem
- Deschutes Watershed
- Henderson Inlet Ecosystem
- Nisqually River Watershed
- Totten Inlet Ecosystem
Landform Scale Places
- Burley Lagoon Ecosystem
- Butler Cove Watershed
- Chambers Creek Estuary
- Chambers Creek Watershed
- Deschutes Estuary
- East Bay
- Filucy Bay Ecosystem
- Frye Cove
- Goldsborough Creek Estuary
- Green Cove Creek Watershed
- Indian-Moxlie Creek Watershed
- Mission Creek Watershed
- Schneider Creek Watershed
- Skookum Inlet
- West Bay Watersheds
Site Scale Places
Other Pages
- HendersonEcoregion.jpg
- Henderson Inlet Watershed.pdf
- Little Skookum Map.jpg
- Olympia 2018 surface and storm water plan.pdf
- PSRC 2018 regional open space conservation plan.pdf
- Schneider creek GLO.jpg
- Schneider creek aerial.jpg
- Schneider creek overview.jpg
- South Sound at Night.jpg
- Southernmost salish sea.jpg
- TRPC 2013 thurston basin evaluation and management.pdf
- The Southernmost Salish Sea.pdf
- Thurston CD 2004 WRIA 13 salmon recovery plan.pdf
- Thurston County 2007 henderson inlet watershed characterization.pdf
South Puget Sound Products[edit]
The following products are associated with South Puget Sound.
Documents
- Hayes et al. 2019 non-natal marine basin use
- Hernandez et al 2019 environmental DNA fish presence south sound
- Olympia 2018 surface and storm water plan.pdf
- PSRC 2018 regional open space conservation plan.pdf
- TRPC 2013 thurston basin evaluation and management.pdf
- Thurston CD 2004 WRIA 13 salmon recovery plan.pdf
- Thurston County 2007 henderson inlet watershed characterization.pdf