Whatcom County MRC Projects - Nearshore Habitat

Cliffside Beach Wood Debris Removal Project – Phase 1
Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Survey
Marine Creosote Piling Remediation Project
Forage Fish Habitat Assessment

Cliffside Beach Wood Debris Removal Project – Phase 1

SThe Whatcom County Marine Resources Committee partnered with the Department of Ecology, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Puget Sound Action Team to evaluate wood debris at Cliffside Beach in Bellingham, WA. An assessment and feasibility study was conducted by Anchor Environmental, L.L.C. and Coastal Geologic Services, Inc. Removal of wood debris in this area has been targeted as a potential nearshore restoration project to enhance the natural habitat and processes necessary to support native marine and upland vegetation, benthic organisms, and shoreline wildlife. Final Report(pdf), Appendixes A-C(pdf), Appendixes D & E(pdf)

Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Survey

Submerged aquatic vegetation is used as an indicator of estuary health throughout the world because it responds to many natural and human caused environmental variables. Changes in abundance or distribution of this resource are likely to affect other species that depend on this habitat. For example, SAV function as rearing and refuge habitat for juvenile salmon during their smoltification phase. In addition, Pacific herring use eelgrass beds and macroalgae in Whatcom County for spawning. Larval herring, surf smelt, and sand lance, as well as invertebrate organisms that are prey items for juvenile salmon, also use this habitat. As a part of local efforts to collect baseline information and prioritize nearshore restoration and conservation projects, the MRC surveyed SAV from the north end of the Lummi Reservation to Point Whitehorn. (Specific Project Details)

Marine Creosote Log Remediation Project

Creosoted pilings and remnants from piling projects are a continuous source of pollution to marine beaches, with damaging environmental impacts, especially to forage fish spawning areas high on the intertidal zone. Some of these abandoned pilings work their way out of the sediments and wash up on the beaches as "rogue" logs. Many of these rogue logs remain on the beaches, leaching a chemical soup that includes polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) for years, poisoning valuable beach habitat and biota important to the salmon food chain. The Whatcom MRC partnered with the City of Bellingham to inventory and remove rogue creosote logs from Whatcom County shorelines. (Specific Project Details)

Forage Fish Habitat Assessment

The Whatcom County Marine Resources Committee took part in a multi-county forage fish habitat inventory. The MRC recruited, trained, and coordinated volunteers to assist Washington State Department of Fish And Wildlife (WDFW) biologists with field surveys of Whatcom County shorelines. Gary Wood of the Island County MRC is the multi-county project coordinator for the Northwest Straits Forage Fish Assessments. The assessments were conducted by a team of WDFW biologists, led by Dan Pentilla. The habitat inventory is also being conducted in Skagit, Snohomish, Island, San Juan, Jefferson, and Clallam counties. (Specific Project Details)