Subscribe Now

Have you ever wandered local beaches and found six-foot long seaweed? Did you wonder what it was?  This seaweed is called bull kelp and is common to the Washington coast and Puget Sound.  It grows on rocky shores and can form huge kelp forests that provide habitat for crabs, sea stars, juvenile salmon, rockfish and [...]

Ever wonder why you find so many dead crabs on the beach during the summer?  Most of these “dead crabs” are actually crab molts.  A molt is an exact copy of a crab, complete with gill coverings, without the actual animal in it!  In order to grow, crabs have to shed their hard outer shell, [...]

Many of us can’t imagine a better summertime treat than a ripe red tomato or a bowl of juicy strawberries.  Growing fruits and vegetables is a great way to enjoy the summer weather and eat delicious food, but did you know that how you garden can have an impact on Puget Sound?  Striving for the [...]

As the days get longer, those of us in the Pacific Northwest might be thinking it is time to get back in the woods and do some hiking.  Keep your eyes on the surrounding vegetation and you might spot some large slugs engaging unique courtships.  Banana slugs are native to the Pacific Northwest and are the [...]

While spring rain turns our yards into soggy messes, it also brings vital habitat changes for salamanders.  As the weather warms up and rains increase, shallow ponds begin to form in the depressions of the forest floor.  Since these pools disappear in the summer months they are called “vernal pools” (vernal meaning spring).  Because they [...]

Winter storm season results in changes along Puget Sound beaches. While every beach is different, in the winter many beaches are covered in gravel or larger sized rocks called “cobbles.”  It usually takes the force of a winter storm to move rocks around and most importantly, to wash lighter-weight sand offshore, leaving a smaller, rockier beach.  These [...]

When it’s chilly, we pile on thick coats and wool socks to keep warm. But what do the creatures living on our beaches do to cope with the cold? Intertidal invertebrates like starfish and sea anemones can be exposed to very cold air during high tide. Between high and low tide, they experience large changes in [...]

Rain is simply a part of life in the Northwest. But did you know that storm water runoff is one of the leading causes of water pollution in Puget Sound year-round? As rain water runs off yards and paved surfaces, it picks up pollutants such as oil, pesticides, fertilizers, trash, animal waste and soil. This often flows [...]

Fall is the best time to see salmon returning to spawn in Puget Sound and Olympic Peninsula rivers.  Plenty of water is needed for salmon to swim upstream and successfully reproduce.  After salmon lay their eggs in the gravel stream beds, they die. The eggs are left on their own and rely on a flow [...]

Fall in Puget Sound is the time for sports, picnics, trips and other family events. These outings usually come with an assortment of plastic water bottles, plastic plates, plastic silverware and plastic containers. Fall is also the time when strong winds and fast currents are prevalent. What happens to the plastic garbage that is picked up [...]

During the fall months in Puget Sound, you may see a seal pup while walking on the beach. Seal pups regularly come to shore for several hours a day to sleep, regulate their body temperature and socialize. Young pups don’t know how to protect themselves and are extremely vulnerable. It is completely natural for these [...]

For decades we’ve been told to get rid of old prescription medications by flushing them down the toilet.   Who would have thought that by doing so we’d turn our drinking water supply into a “pharmaceutical soup?”  Although the amounts of drugs found are at very low concentrations and the water supply is considered safe, no [...]

One island in the Straight of Juan de Fuca is the nesting ground for over 70 percent of Puget Sound’s seabirds. It is a spring and fall retreat for birds away from humans and many other predators. Protection Island, found in the mouth of Discovery Bay west of Port Townsend, is a 364-acre National Wildlife Refuge.  [...]

The endangered Southern Resident Orcas spend most of the summer months pursuing Chinook salmon returning north to the Fraser River in British Columbia.  When fall arrives and the Fraser River runs slow down, these charismatic whales turn their attention southward to the salmon returning to rivers draining into Puget Sound.  They make about 15-20 trips [...]

When flying in a plane, you recognize that you’re over a city because of the concrete, asphalt and building rooftops below.  Those human-made surfaces have a big effect on local weather and the environment, turning urban areas into warmer ‘heat islands’ and causing increased stormwater runoff. Stormwater runs off those surfaces and races to storm drains and [...]

We love our dogs and know that they need to get outside regularly for exercise and to do their “business.” But, did you know that dog waste can cause water quality problems?  Almost 40 percent of Washington state households have at least one dog. Together those dogs produce hundreds of tons of new waste each day! In the fall when it [...]

Prepackaged foods are convenient, especially for lunches on-the-go.  However, food packaging generates a significant amount of waste – in the United States, over 2500 tons of non-biodegradable plastic packaging is thrown away each year. Storm drains, rivers and wind carry much of this waste to our oceans where marine animals ingest plastics that mimic food [...]