Cooperatove Conservation Project
COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION CASE STUDY

Northwest Salmon Enhancement

Sound Science Benefi ts the Sound

Location: Far West Region: Washington

Project Summary: The Northwest Salmon Enhancement Program is a multi-agency effort to improve and protect habitat and prey for listed fish species in Puget Sound.
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Compressed air pumped through perforated pipes provides sound attenuation from pile driving, reducing impacts to salmon. (PHOTO BY MARVINE FRYE)
Resource Challenge

Several threatened and endangered fish species live in Puget Sound’s nearshore zones. Particular species of concern include the Hood Canal Summer Run Chum, Puget Sound Chinook, and Bull trout. Sandlance, Herring, and Surf Smelt serve as food for one or more of the endangered species and also need to be protected and conserved.

The Northwest Salmon Enhancement Program, a specially created joint federal/state/tribal government partnership, is working to ensure quality habitat for these species.

Examples of Key Partners

Navy Region Northwest, Navy units in Puget Sound, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), USDI Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Ecology, and the Suquamish Tribe.

Results and Accomplishments

Numerous projects have been completed to remove culverts, install fish ladders, and restore miles of habitat and spawning areas. Projects include:

  • Mitigation measures at a Naval Base Kitsap, Bangor service pier included a "bubble curtain" to reduce noise that scatters fish during pile driving. The Navy funded a project to establish sound energy data that the USFWS and NMFS can use to determine the degree of impact likely to occur at steel pile driving projects throughout the Puget Sound Basin.
  • The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife identified the Charleston Beach restoration project as the first in Washington designed specifically to benefit Surf Smelt and Sandlance. The project removed fill from shoreline areas and installed native shoreline vegetation as mitigation for replacing an old pier.
  • The Sinclair Inlet Marine Sediment Cleanup at Bremerton, WA, removed polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and mercury-contaminated sediments, and used clean sediment from the project nearshore to improve the habitat for juvenile salmon by decreasing the shoreline’s slope. A citizen-based Restoration Advisory Board took part in the project.
Innovation/Highlight

Provided new data about how sounds in the water affect fish.

Project Contact
Randi Thurston
Fisheries Biologist
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife


360-895-6123
Thurstrlt@telebyte.com






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