Counties and tribes collaborating to improve water quality The Hood Canal Regional Pollution Identification and Correction (HCRPIC) Program is a unique collaboration between the Hood Canal Coordinating Council, Kitsap County, Mason County, Jefferson County, the...
Clean Samish Initiative
Cleaner water for shellfish beds The Puget Sound Partnership 's Leadership Council set a goal of upgrading 10,800 acres of shellfish beds by 2020. Over 4,000 of those acres are in the Samish River watershed. The Clean Samish Initiative is a partnership working to...
Swinomish Clam Gardens
Reviving the Past to Protect the Future The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (SITC) is working near Similk Bay to revive an ancient mariculture practice by installing the first present-day clam garden in the United States. Clam gardens are shoreline habitats modified...
Drayton Harbor
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: 2 LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT: 42 WRIA: 1 CITY, COUNTY: Blaine, Whatcom County Project Summary For decades, Drayton Harbor provided ideal growing conditions for shellfish and jobs for many in the local community. By 1995, much of Drayton Harbor was...
Maury Island & Quartermaster Harbor
Thanks to improved water quality, the Washington State Department of Health recently reopened 180 acres of shellfish beds on Vashon Island to commercial and recreational harvesting for the first time in 20 years. Water quality in Quartermaster Harbor suffered not...
Birch Bay
Birch Bay, north of Bellingham, was closed to commercial shellfish harvesting in 2008 because of bacteria contamination, affecting a 670-yard radius around the mouth of Terrell Creek. Local, state, and federal agencies collaborated to create a comprehensive...
Bayshore Preserve & Oakland Bay
Bayshore Preserve was created to protect the country's most productive Manila clam site. Washington state is the biggest exporter of Manila clams in the country, and Oakland Bay in Mason County is where to find them. The Squaxin Island Tribe, as well as 2,000 annual...