Case Studies
Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative:
Restoring and Conserving Puget Sound
The Puget Sound fishery plays a significant role in the local economy. The Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative was created to protect this important body of water.
Historically, Puget Sound in northwest Washington State has been habitat for a range of critical marine and anadromous species, and its fishery plays a vital role in the regional economy. By the mid-1990’s, the quality of the fishery was rapidly degrading, threatening both marine and freshwater species, as well as human communities dependent on the natural resources of the Sound. In response to the environmental and economic crisis facing Puget Sound, Congress established a bottom-up, citizen-driven framework for conservation and restoration known as the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative. The Initiative was given a five-year window to show progress toward restoring, conserving, and protecting the Northwest Straits. During these five years, the Northwest Straits Commission and seven marine resource councils were charged with establishing community-based marine sanctuaries, conducting citizen-driven scientific studies on marine species and their habitat, and restoring marine habitat by removing abandoned commercial fishing debris from the marine floor.
According to a Congressionally mandated evaluation of the Northwest Straits Initiative, the project has met its targets and established itself as one of the most innovative and important experiments in citizen-based conservation in the United States. A citizen group has established and enforces a marine sanctuary, conducted research critical to the conservation of key salmon species, and succeeded in removing enormous quantities of fishing debris from the ocean that would otherwise threaten marine life.
Marine life, like the shark shown here, can become entangled in abandoned fishing gear. Since 1998, the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative has removed thousands of pounds of this gear.
“The Initiative’s success thus far can serve as a foundation on which to build toward significant and sustained protection and restoration of marine resources in the Northwest Straits,” said William Ruckelshaus, former EPA Administrator and Chair of the evaluation.
Partner organizations in this project include: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Northwest Straits Commission, Clallam, Jefferson, Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan Island and Snohomish counties, Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team, Washington State Department of Ecology, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Congress, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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