Local Resources

There’s so much to learn about environmental science in the Pacific Northwest, and luckily, there are many resources to help you further connect with and protect natural systems. Here are a few and we plan to add more:

Easy ways to help your watershed

Watersheds are land areas draining or channeling rainfall and snowmelt first to creeks, streams, and rivers, and then to larger bodies of water, and the ocean. Stormwater is the water that enters local watersheds through storm drains without being filtered or cleaned. Use some of these simple stormwater action steps to improve the health of Puget Sound. You may already be doing some of them!

City of Burien            City of Renton           Puget Sound Starts Here

Marine Life identification guide (English & Spanish)

The organisms found on local shorelines have some very interesting adaptations to live in this unique ecosystem. Use our beach guide to identify local creatures and ways you can help them as you explore gently.

Learn more about Puget Sound marine life and environmental issues through King County. Here you can do everything from view a photo collection of marine plants and animals (including Puget Sound fish, invertebrates, and algae), to identify common intertidal sea stars.

Chinese Beach Guide   Vietnamese Beach Guide  Somali Beach Guide

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Tide Chart

Check this resource to view the tide and current predictions.  This is a great tool to check before planning a visit to the beach.  Through this NOAA website you can look up any beach at any date and see what the tide predictions are. Find a list of 2021 low tides on our event pages.

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Plastics in our Oceans

Most people rely heavily on plastics from day to day. The consequence is that a staggering amount of marine debris is negatively affecting species from small plankton to large whales. Learn some ways to limit these effects from the Ocean Conservancy and Plastic Oceans, which include recent and upcoming films on the subject. We typically host spring and fall beach cleanups at Seahurst Park and participants can add to the Salmon Sculpture. Take part anytime in June to have your data added to local and worldwide research!

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Salmon Recovery

The numbers of salmon in our waters have been on the decline.  It is directly related to the health of our Puget Sound. Many of our programs involve reporting local water quality data and educating people about stormwater action steps. See if you have the same questions for NOAA scientists as local students and find out what others are doing to help with salmon recovery.

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Seahurst Shoreline Restoration Project

The Puget Sound shoreline is vital to life for many plants and creatures.  Salmon and other species depend on marine nearshore habitat for food and shelter.  Find out why Seahurst was home to the largest bulkhead removal of its kind on Puget Sound and what that means for the health of our ecosystem.