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June 3, 2011
Partnership to set recovery targets; you’re invited to comment
The Puget Sound Partnership is creating targets for the recovery of Puget Sound. We invite you to join us in this work.
The ecosystem recovery targets for 2020 will be based in science, and will describe the desired future conditions of human health and well-being, species and food webs, habitats, water quantity, and water quality. Overall, the targets describe what Puget Sound would look like in 2020, reflecting what is achievable in this timeframe, and align with our mission to recover the ecosystem by 2020.
The Partnership intends that agencies will use these targets to identify and design activities to reach these targets, to allocate their funding and other resources to these outcomes, and to evaluate the effects of their investments and actions.
Targets will be set for the following general topics: More details
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Land use and land cover (develop and conserve)
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Pollution (wastewater, storm water, toxics in fish and sediment)
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Water availability and quality
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Fish and wildlife abundance (Chinook salmon, Orcas, Pacific herring, birds, recreational fishing)
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Support (funding, public engagement)
Public Comment Opportunities
The Partnership's Leadership Council will adopt ecosystem recovery targets at its meeting June 16-17. Public comments will be heard during the meeting, before the Council’s discussion of each topic. Between now and June 10, we are taking comments on these targets online through this questionnaire. In addition, if you want to engage with others on the targets and options, you can join the online discussion on MyPugetSound. We encourage your participation. The more these targets are developed regionally, the more meaningful they will be.
Action Agenda Update Underway
Setting targets is a critical part of our update to the Action Agenda. The Action Agenda is a living document, designed to be adapted. By statute, the near-term strategies and actions described in the Action Agenda must be updated every two years. These targets will help us refine and prioritize strategies and actions in the Action Agenda.
The Action Agenda – first developed in 2008 – explains what a healthy Puget Sound is, describes the current state of Puget Sound, prioritizes cleanup and improvement efforts, and highlights opportunities for federal, state, local, tribal, and private resources to coordinate. We currently are working on its first significant revision, and urge your involvement.
In our 2011 update to the Action Agenda and Biennial Science Work Plan, the Partnership has a number of objectives:
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Add recovery targets for many of the ecosystem indicators.
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Provide updated strategies and two-year actions to help guide the 2013-2015 state budget.
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Reflect updated scientific and technical information, including data from the Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project and information from the “Puget Sound Science Update.”
Public Comment Opportunities
We hope that you take the opportunity to lend your expertise to this effort, and participate in the update process. Below are some specific opportunities; we will post others regularly on the Action Agenda Update Web site.
In June and July, the partnership will work closely with implementers and other stakeholders to refine draft strategies and actions, with documents available for public review on August 8.
We have established an online tool to provide an easy way for you to engage in the development of the next Action Agenda. What do you think are the most important actions to protect and restore Puget Sound? Suggest them here between now and June 20.
The Leadership Council will hear public comment at its August 25-26 meeting. In the fall, we will work with the Ecosystem Coordination Board, Science Panel and Leadership Council, as well as with stakeholders to refine the draft documents with the goal of getting Leadership Council approval in December.
Revised study of Puget Sound toxic pollution released
The Washington State Department of Ecology recently released a study confirming that surface runoff, including storm water, contributes the highest levels of most toxic chemicals to Puget Sound. The study is part of a multi-phase effort by Ecology to detail what toxic chemicals reach Puget Sound's waters, how the chemicals get there, and where they come from. The study analyzed water samples collected from 16 streams in the Puyallup and Snohomish river watersheds. The highest levels of toxic chemicals were found during storms and in the most developed watersheds. Read more. The new study will aid the Puget Sound Partnership as it refines its strategies in the update of the Action Agenda.
Sincerely,
Gerry O’Keefe
Executive Director
PUGETSOUNDPARTNERSHIP
p: 360.464.1228 | c: 360.593.6620
326 East D Street | Tacoma, WA 98421-1801
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