- Salish Sea References
- 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.
Shoreline Process Unit 2002 is one of the longest beach systems in Puget Sound. Located on the Kitsap Peninsula on northern Hood Canal it stretches for 29 kilometers from a leeward divergence north of Anderson Creek, northward to its terminus at the Teekalet Convergence and the Port Gamble Ecosystem.
Notes
- SPU 2002 includes the extensive shorelines and restricted zones of the Bangor Naval Submarine Base.
Nearshore Strategies Data Report
Cereghino et al 2012 completed a soundwide analysis to identify and describe beach sites in Puget Sounds as part of a nearshore ecosystem restoration strategy (using remote sensing data c. 2000-2006). The following narrative was developed to support distribution and use of analysis results:
- Beach Site 2002 is a 28.96 km long beach system containing 4866 meters of barrier beach (17%) and 38 creek mouths, one of 72 beach sites located in the Hood Canal Sub-basin. Based on these attributes it ranks 88 out of 100 in terms of size and complexity among all Puget Sound Beach systems. Over five generations of beach development, 31 percent of beach length now has some indicator of sediment supply degradation, and 21 percent of the nearshore zone has estimated impervious levels higher than 10 percent. Property boundaries now legally segment the shoreline with an average of one property every 60 meters. Based on these metrics, this site ranks 54 out of 100 in terms of estimated degradation among all beach sites in Puget Sound. The PSNERP Strategy Analysis places this site in Degradation Group D13, a large group of 116 sites where parcel size, nearshore impervious and sediment supply degradation all approach or exceed the Puget Sound average. Based on this grouping we recommend this site for a restoration-based strategy, where there may be the opportunity through a combination of protection and restoration efforts to recover the full operation of ecosystem processes thereby recovering ecosystem services that are either degraded or at risk. The site faces no risk from jetty development impounding sediment, has no impacts from active shoreline railroad, and faces no substantial risk from predicted future population growth.
- This site is among 518 littoral cells that contained barrier-type embayments. Historically this system contained 12 barrier-type embayments, with an embayment shoreline of 5.98 km, encompassing 23.2 hectares of tidal wetlands - considering the length of beach this is the equivelent of one embayment every 2.4 km. This system is one among 64 barrier embayment complexes in the Hood Canal Sub-basin. Based on these metrics this site ranks 80 out of 100 in terms of size and complexity among all Puget Sound barrier embayment systems. The PSNERP Strategy Analysis placed this site in Potential Group P9, a large group of 69 sites with large embayments and wetlands at a typical density, identified as noteworthy sites for their high potential to provide ecosystem services.
- Site 2002 currently has 7 embayment--5 less than under historical conditions. This has been accompanied by a 54 percent loss of wetland area and a 20 percent loss of embayment length, based on comparison to historic maps. 65 percent of the remaining embayment shoreline length has evidence of shoreline modification. Based on these metrics, and the general development status of the drift cell, the PSNERP Strategy Analysis ranked this system 62 out of 100 and placed this site in Degradation Group D4, a medium group of 33 barrier embayment systems where there has been a high degree of development within embayments themselves and a moderate to high level of armoring within the supporting drift cell, but no susbstantial loss of embayment length or shoreline urbanization. Based on this grouping, the site is recommended for a restoration-based approach, where there may be the opportunity through a combination of protection and restoration efforts to recover the full operation of ecosystem processes thereby recovering ecosystem services that are either degraded or at risk.
