m e t h o d s- south puget sound salmon enhancement group（m e t h o d s -南普吉特海湾鲑鱼增强组）（15页）.docVIP

WRIA 11 and 12 Nearshore Habitat Assessment and Restoration Design Project South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group BACKGROUND The nearshore environments of the Puget Sound are a critical piece of pacific salmon life histories. A salmon-centric view of the nearshore would highlight the upland bluff areas, the upper and intertidal beaches, and the subtidal region to the depth that light penetrates to support submerged aquatic vegetation. The upland habitats, or backshore regions, are important zones of communication between the terrestrial and marine environments. Backshore bluffs provide material to feed and accrete beaches. Marine riparian areas provide shade, act as an important component of the food web through input of insect prey and serve as an ongoing supply of large woody debris that ultimately creates structure and habitat for juvenile salmonids along the shorelines. Naturally low sloping beaches support juvenile migration corridors as the shallows provide important refugia from larger, predatory fish. The upper intertidal beaches are also important for forage fish spawning habitat, which serve as a food source for Puget Sound salmonids as well as other marine and avian creatures. Small estuaries and inter-tidal stream mouths provide areas for rest and physiological transition for salmonid smolts undergoing osmoregulatory processes to make the change from fresh water to salt water. Kelp, algae and eelgrass beds also provide important nursery habitat as the beds are highly productive environments and support herring spawning activity, another important prey species for young salmon. Many of these critical nearshore habitats have been significantly degraded or completely lost in the extensive development and modification of Puget Sound shorelines. The WRIA 11 and 12 Nearshore Habitat Assessment and Restoration Design Project seeks to assess the condition of the habitat along a small segment of shoreline in the southern Puget Sound region fro