Restoration news summer 2012

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1 Restoration news summer Another beautiful day on Henderson Inlet: cloaked in mist, volunteers gather to enjoy the time-honored experience of harvest and celebrate improved water quality and another shellfish upgrade! Thanks to volunteers, watershed residents, Thurston County, Thurston Conservation District, Nisqually Tribe, WSU, Elliott s and PCSGA for continued support. Photo - Derek King OUR MISSION Puget Sound Restoration Fund (PSRF) restores marine habitat, water quality and native species in Puget Sound through tangible, on-the-ground projects. PSRF is committed to a vision of a clean and healthy Sound that is full of life and capable of sustaining us. Founded in 1997, PSRF is a Washingtonbased nonprofit organization. Updated Olympia Oyster Restoration Objectives In Spring 2012, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife released an updated Olympia Oyster Stock Rebuilding Plan that identifies 19 areas in Puget Sound that supported historic core populations and that provide strategic opportunities for rebuilding dense, breeding populations. Working within these 19 historic areas, Puget Sound Restoration Fund and multiple partners are endeavoring to rebuild 100 acres of native oyster habitat in order to restore ecological services provided by dense assemblages of native oysters. The following performance metrics, which are articulated in WDFW s updated plan, will be used to evaluate native oyster enhancements: Regular recruitment and survival of oysters in 3 out of 10 years. Statistically significant increase of total adult population in 3 out of 10 years. 3 year classes present in the population within 10 years. Statistically significant increase in density within enhancement footprint in 3 out of 10 years. Expansion/colonization beyond enhancement footprint. After years of enhancements, the Liberty Bay, Dogfish Bay and Fidalgo Bay sites are meeting conservation objectives outlined in the State s plan and starting to form structured bed habitat. Thanks to the many, many partners and funders who have helped re-build these living and functioning habitats.

2 National and State Shellfish Initiatives Olympia oysters and Pinto abalone received a big boost December 9, 2011 when Governor Chris Gregoire and Dr. Jane Lubchenco with NOAA unveiled the Washington Shellfish Initiative a broad agreement among federal and state agencies, tribes, and shellfish growers to restore and expand Washington s shellfish resources. The restoration of native oyster and abalone populations is a key feature of the Initiative. A $200,000 NOAA grant to the NW Straits Foundation supports native oyster enhancements in the North Sound and a $560,000 NOAA grant to Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife supports abalone recovery. Puget Sound Restoration Fund looks forward to implementing key components of these recovery efforts. We are also partnering with NOAA s Manchester Lab to establish a hatchery for native oysters to increase seed production that meets established genetic conservation guidelines. This is an enormous step forward thanks to the Manchester Team, NOAA, and the Washington Shellfish Initiative! 2011 Annual Fund Drive Bountiful thanks to all those who contributed so generously to PSRF s 2011 Annual Fund Drive, which topped $50,000. Many thanks also to Safeway Foundation and employees for $22,000 and One Call for All (on Bainbridge) for $7,300. We greatly appreciate this outpouring of support. Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification In March 2012, as part of the Washington Shellfish Initiative, Governor Gregoire appointed a Blue Ribbon Panel on ocean acidification to advance our scientific understanding and develop an action plan to reduce harmful effects on Washington s shellfish and other marine resources. To document our current knowledge and develop recommended actions, Bill Ruckelshaus and Jay Manning are leading a team of tribal, state, federal and policy experts, scientific experts, public opinion leaders and industry representatives. PSRF s executive director, Betsy Peabody, has been appointed to the panel. For more information, please visit Department of Ecology s website: (Above) Billy Frank, Jr., NOAA Director Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Governor Gregoire and Bill Dewey at the Taylor shellfish plant to announce the Washington Shellfish Initiative. (Below) 5th generation shellfish farmer, Brittany Taylor, demonstrates the power of filtration with seawater and 2 jars. Manila clams placed in the jar on the right filter and clean the seawater in 30 minutes while the jar on the left remains unfiltered. Updated PSRF brochure See PSRF s updated brochure at: 15th Anniversary February, 2012 marked Puget Sound Restoration Fund s 15th anniversary! A toast to all our partners and contributors for results on the ground and experiences to fill a lifetime.

3 The Case for Rebuilding Olympia oyster Habitat - The reason we here at PSRF are gung-ho about rebuilding native oyster habitat is because historically native oyster beds provided a significant intertidal habitat feature that is no longer present today. Yes, we have oyster presence. What we don t have is the biogenic habitat structure that native oyster beds provided in our estuaries historically. Brady Blake at Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife has unearthed estimates of historic oyster conditions in 1850 at the following select locations: Belfair 500 acres native oyster 200,000 oysters/acre = 100,000,000 oysters Quilcene 100 acres... = 20,000,000 oysters Samish 2,000 acres*... = 400,000,000 oysters Padilla Bay 2,000 acres**... = 400,000,000 oysters Oyster Bay (Totten) 450 acres... = 90,000,000 oysters Mud Bay (Eld) 200 acres... = 40,000,000 oysters Big Skookum 180 acres... = 36,000,000 oysters North Bay 100 acres... = 20,000,000 oysters * Samish may have had 5-8,000 acres but there is solid documentation for at least 2,000 acres. ** Padilla Bay likely was similar to Samish in acreage & quantities with at least 2,000 acres. These numbers provide a staggering vision of abundance, representing just a small portion of the overall historical intertidal presence of native oysters in Puget Sound. All told, according to Brady s research, there were at least 10,000 acres of intertidal native oyster beds in Puget Sound circa There were also a few rare examples where portions of large intertidal populations extended into the adjacent subtidal area. That means that 10,000 acres of historic habitat structure is missing from Puget Sound today. Some of that acreage has since been colonized by eelgrass and cultivated shellfish beds, but there are thousands of acres left with no oyster bed habitat at all. This cannot bode well for salmon or any other critter dependent on the nearshore. That s why we ve gone round the bend in trying to rebuild native oyster habitat. Everlasting thanks to our tribal partners, to Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and to our funders: The Nature Conservancy, NOAA, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, NW Straits Foundation, Department of Natural Resources, and The Russell Family Foundation. PSP Shellfish Sampling Network Three cheers for the volunteers who faithfully collected over 250 samples in 2011 at shellfish marine biotoxin monitoring locations. Thanks to them, recreational shellfish harvesters can safely gather and consume clams, oysters and mussels on local beaches from South Sound to the San Juan Islands. According to the Department of Health, less than 3% tested with PSP toxin levels higher than the accepted limit. PSRF is currently looking for volunteers to sample at Steilacoom Dock, Cattle Point (San Juan Island) and Paradise Cove (Vashon Island). Please contact josh@restorationfund.org right away if you would like to participate in this important project!

4 Kelp Sproutings Ahead? PSRF waited with baited breath for spring. In April, we visited three sites to see if baby kelp plants were growing from seed patches transplanted in September Toward the end of the growing season, seed patches detach from the blade and fall to the bottom, where they lie dormant until the next growing season. In spring, when the sun returns, the seeds grow into the next generation of kelp plants. When we visited the sites in April, low density kelp recruits were observed in 2 of the 6 treatment sites. Multiple experiments were conducted in 2011 to refine techniques for re-establishing kelp beds in historic locations. To improve upon our methods and results, PSRF is working with a technical advisory team in 2012 that includes Paul Dorn (Suquamish Tribe), Helen Berry (Department of Natural Resources), Tom Mumford (Marine Agronomics, retired WDNR), Robert Waaland (UW Emeritus), Terrie Klinger (UW Marine & Environmental Affairs), Louis Druehl (Canadian Kelp Resources, LTD), and David Duggins (UW Friday Harbor Labs). Thanks to Department of Natural Resources and Bainbridge Community Foundation for funding. In 2011, ship captains with Puget Sound Pilots Association and homeowners supported the project and cheered on seedling efforts to develop successful recovery techniques. Our trusty partners, the Suquamish and Port Gamble S Klallam Tribes, provided boats and scuba tanks, and The Russell Family Foundation funded the effort in Port Gamble Bay as part of a larger, place-based project to restore marine resources. Why the excitement? According to a recently released film called Ocean Frontiers, it takes 1,000 pounds of kelp to produce one pound of salmon. In other words, we need primary producers at the bottom of the food chain in order to recover salmon populations. Leonard Forsman, Chairman of the Suquamish Tribe, remembers good fishing near the kelp beds off Jefferson Head and longs for their return. Inspired by this vision, we will continue working to rebuild a productive zone along the shoreline where kelp AND salmon can thrive. Paul Dorn (above) with the Suquamish Tribe immerses kelp blades in water during transport to restoration sites. Below - Seed patches (dark area on kelp blade) being readied for outplant at kelp restoration sites. It takes 1,000 pounds of kelp to produce one pound of salmon.

5 Pinto Abalone Recovery Efforts Josh Bouma joined PSRF in May 2011 to manage abalone recovery efforts, thanks to significant support from Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and NOAA s Species of Concern program. He has been working hard on the production side of the operation to increase the number of animals available for outplant while also maximizing their genetic diversity. The world of abalone recovery is based on cutting edge science but it s also sprinkled with interesting mystical elements like so much in the natural world. For instance, spawning events that follow rigorous science-based procedures are scheduled in accordance with the moon and the equinox which have governed cycles of reproduction at a more mystical level for millennia. On the field side of the operation, PSRF divers are working with the WDFW shellfish dive team in the San Juan Islands to evaluate adult abalone aggregation sites established in 2008 and outplant sites seeded with hatcheryreared juveniles in 2009 and We have observed as many as 25% of outplanted juveniles at one site and we hope to fine-tune our strategies from such observations. There have been some perturbations in the hatchery program of late that we re trying to sort out. Carolyn Friedman and her team at University of Washington have been investigating increased mortality in the hatchery. Equipment is being installed to monitor and buffer ph levels. We also intend to hold a small number of abalone broodstock at the Shannon Pt. Marine Center in order to monitor animal health and test spawning, larval rearing and seed grow-out in a secondary facility. It s hard to know, at this stage, if what we re experiencing is normal or part of larger systemic changes in ocean chemistry, for instance. These questions will likely occupy us for years to come as they relate to onthe-ground recovery efforts. State biologist, Michael Ulrich, leads the hand-off of pinto abalone, preparing to be outplanted. Photo: Derek King On the hunt for Olympia oysters with Julie Barber, shellfish biologist for the Swinomish Tribe, on a clear November night just before Thanksgiving. Department of Natural Resources Agreement In July 2012, the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and PSRF joined forces to help meet Governor Gregoire s goal of making Puget Sound swimmable, fishable, and diggable by With new funding from the Jobs Now Act, DNR is providing $400,200 to restore habitat for the native Olympia oyster, pinto abalone, and kelp in DNR s Aquatic Reserves. Along with creating jobs, this funding will help restore three species of concern identified in the Washington State Shellfish Initiative and ensure the environmental health of the tidelands and bedlands that support shellfish habitat. 1) The waters around the Cypress Island Aquatic Reserve, in the San Juan Islands, once teemed with pinto abalone. DNR funding there will help to restore habitat, develop field nurseries for other remote locations, and examine the efficacy of larval outplants. 2) DNR funding will help restore Olympia oysters within the Fidalgo Bay Aquatic Reserve where a small, dense population of Olympia oysters is thriving following seeding experiments that began in Working with the Swinomish and Samish Tribes and the Skagit MRC, PSRF will increase settlement structure in order to expand this native oyster population further. Additional funding is provided by the NW Straits Foundation s Skagit Restoration Initiative. 3) PSRF will conduct kelp restoration experiments that will investigate the efficacy of introducing kelp at different life stages, with the goal of creating a naturalized canopy kelp habitat. The kelp work will take place at historic locations and an as-yet-determined aquatic reserve.

6 Puget Sound Restoration Fund 590 Madison Ave. N. Bainbridge Island, WA Planting restoration-grade Olympia oyster seed on the Swinomish Tribal reservation. Drayton Harbor is the focus of renewed state-level attention. While there have been improvements in water quality over the past several years, according to a recent analysis by Washington State Department of Health, there is still much work ahead to get the harbor in line with most other shellfish growing areas throughout Puget Sound. As part of the Washington Shellfish Initiative, the State is sending a team of experts to Drayton Harbor to help reduce pollution from agriculture and septic systems that impair access to shellfish resources. The long struggle to protect the community shellfish beds in Drayton Harbor is recognized in this initiative. We wish all partners success in this effort. For more information, go to: The community continues to play a big role in Drayton Harbor recovery efforts. Geoff Menzies, the widely regaled champion of Drayton Harbor, harvested oysters March June to support 2012 CSA members in PSRF s Drayton Harbor Community Oyster Farm. Sales to premium restaurants in Blaine, Bellingham and Seattle resumed as well. To help connect watershed residents with the intricacies of farming in the marine system, Whatcom Community Foundation awarded a $40,000 grant to PSRF (thanks to Julie Hirsch with Hirsch Consulting Services). In addition to harbor tours, which underscore the shared need for clean water, the project developed and piloted a shellfish curriculum in select Lummi Island schools. A bonny day at the Port Madison Community Shellfish Farm on tideflats below the Bloedel Reserve. Many thanks to Kitsap Public Health District, Leiter Family Foundation, Puget Sound Energy Foundation and CSA members. Joe Michael