04-07-2015 WRIA 9 FlyerTHE GREEN -
DUWAMISH
CENTRAL
PUGET SOUND
WATERSHED -
WRIA 9
Now remember this, the (salmon) recovery
plan must be a living document. While we
must commit to work to make progress, we
recognize that the plans will change as firmer
answers become available... We need not await
perfection before we decide to act, We know
enough to make a huge difference if we proceed on
our current knowledge.
-- William Ruckelshaus, keynote speech excerpt,
Shared Strategy Summit, January 2005
• Vision
• Regional
Cooperation
• Foundation
WRIA 9 is 17 local governments within King
County working in cooperation with businesses,
environmental groups, and state and federal
agencies to protect and restore habitat in the
Green /Duwamish and Central Puget Sound
Watershed. Since 1998 we have been working to
create a healthy place for people and salmon
from the Cascade Mountains in the east to Vashon
and Maury Islands in the west.
The landmark Puget Sound -wide 2005 Salmon
Habitat Plan represents a deep commitment by many
partners to save salmon in Washington state: the
iconic Chinook, coho, chum, pink, and winter
steelhead. $101 million has been spent on salmon
recovery projects since 2006. Every project
underway in the watershed, every effort undertaken
by committed leaders brings us closer to our salmon
recovery goals.
The necessary future conditions for salmon health demand a broad
approach to restoration. The number of returning salmon is not the only
important metric; genetic and behavioral diversity, the geographic
distribution of fish and the physical process that led to that distribution.
We are monitoring our progress and are adaptively managingour actions
as we restore the mainstern of the river, tributaries, and the nearshore on
Puget Sound.
PROTECT • RESTORE • REHABILITATE • SUBSTITUTE
For more information:
http://wwwgovlink.org/watersheds/9/defaultaspx
THE GREEN -
DUWAMISH
CENTRAL
PUGET SOUND
WATERSHED -
WRIA 9
Upper Green Subwatershed:
Provides cool clean water to the city of Tacoma —fish
cannot currently access the upper watershed, but the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers is working on a passage facility
Middle Green Subwatershed:
Provides the county with a verdant agricultural district, and
provides the primary spawning habitat for Chinook
Lower Green Subwatershed:
Provides one - eighth of the King County GDP and has had most of the
historic floodplain disconnected from the river; floodplain access is
critical to salmon recovery
Duwamish Subwatershed:
Provides maritime and manufacturing jobs to thousands. The lower
portion of the watershed is a Superfund site and is heavily degraded,
yet young fish rely on this area to transition from freshwater to
saltwater
Marine Nearshore Subwatershed:
Provides miles of beautiful Puget Sound shoreline and is the place
where all of the Chinook populations in the Sound mix