Kitsap Sun
· 2009 State of the Sound report
OLYMPIA — The Puget Sound ecosystem continues to show signs of stress, but progress is being made toward restoring healthy conditions, according to a new "State of the Sound Report."
Puget Sound Partnership, which issued the report, has not finalized a proposed set of benchmarks for measuring progress in restoring Puget Sound. But the new report tells of worsening trends in eight "indicators," including fish harvests, orcas, herring and eelgrass. Improvements were noted in seven indicators, including increases in shellfish harvesting areas and runs of threatened salmon species.
This report is a "hybrid version," said David Dicks, executive director of Puget Sound Partnership. Future plans are to develop a Web site that will allow people to observe current conditions in water quality and other indicators to see where progress is being made.
"Ecosystem-performance evaluation and reporting is complex," Dicks said. "This daunting task of linking actions to improving overall ecosystem conditions has eluded many of the large restoration efforts in places like the Chesapeake Bay and the Everglades.
"We have significant issues ahead of us," Dicks added, "but we are on a path to make this work in Puget Sound, and it will take a committed effort by the partnership and its many partners to be successful."
Kathy Fletcher, executive director of People for Puget Sound, said she is getting frustrated with the process of setting up this complex accountability system.
The new "State of the Sound" report is not what the Legislature envisioned, she said, because it lacks a way of measuring progress. Agencies working on Puget Sound restoration are beginning to draft their budgets for the next two-year cycle, and they need guidance from the partnership.
Dicks said he is confident that his organization will meet a May deadline for setting priorities for the next state budget, and within six months a new system of accountability will be in place. The so-called "performance-management system" will link budgeting, planning, research and actions together. The system is outlined in the new report.
"I'm pleading for patience so we can get this right," Dicks said. "We need to demonstrate that we are changing the sound by the actions we are taking. If we go to Congress and someone asks, 'What have you done?' and we say, 'We don't know,' that will be the end of the program."
Dicks and Fletcher agreed that many excellent large-scale projects are under way, including restoration of the Skokomish and Nisqually estuaries and the upcoming removal of the Elwha dams in Olympic National Park.
As tough as the economy has been, federal stimulus funding has put many people to work in ecosystem restoration at a pace that would have been impossible in normal times, Dicks noted.
For the 2009-11 biennium, about $400 million in the state budget has been allocated for actions identified by the Puget Sound Partnership. Another $150 million is coming through from the federal stimulus program.
Gov. Chris Gregoire said the Puget Sound Partnership is off to a good start.
"It's encouraging that even during these tough economic times we are continuing to make progress in Puget Sound cleanup," she said. "I applaud the work of the partnership and their many partner organizations for their hard work and commitment to restoring our natural jewel, Puget Sound."
Article courtesy of Seatle Times
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