Description: Purpose: To provide resource managers, planners and other decision-makers with information on shoreline type.
Additional data and documentation are available from the Nearshore Habitat Program.
Originator: Nearshore Habitat Program, Aquatic Resources Division, DNR - a component of the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program.
Description: These data represent the documented intertidal spawning habitat for Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) in western Washington's marine waters. Sand lance, along with surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus) and Pacific herring (Clupea harengus) are collectively referred to as forage fish. They are important prey for many species of mammals, birds and fish, including salmon. Sand lance spawn in the upper intertidal zone of beaches comprised of mixed sand and gravel. These fine-grained spawning substrates are susceptible to nearshore development where substrate coarsening may reduce available habitat. The accurate representation of forage fish spawning habitat and delivery of those data to public sources is necessary for the conservation of these species.
Service Item Id: 5bb29712df0546b7a170f56bdf9684d5
Copyright Text: The majority of these data were collected by WDFW staff with contributions from the North Olympic Salmon Coalition and the Friends of the San Juans.
Description: These data represent documented intertidal spawning habitat for surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus) in western Washington's marine waters. Surf smelt, along with other forage fishes, are important prey for many species of mammals, birds and fish, including salmon. Surf smelt spawn in the upper intertidal zone of beaches comprised of mixed sand and gravel. These fine-grained spawning substrates are susceptible to nearshore development where substrate coarsening may reduce the suitability of available habitat. The accurate representation of forage fish spawning habitat and delivery of those data to public sources is necessary for the conservation of these species.
Service Item Id: 5bb29712df0546b7a170f56bdf9684d5
Copyright Text: The majority of these data were collected by WDFW staff with contributions from the North Olympic Salmon Coalition and the Friends of the San Juans.
Description: Locations of documented Pacific Herring (culpa harengus pallasi) spawning areas through 1991 (WDFW, 1984, as ammended 1986). The polygons were later edited by Kurt Stick, and digitized by Dale Gombert, both WDFW, 12/2003, and most recently (2010, 2017, and 2018) by Adam Lindquist. Polygons show documented pacific herring spawning areas at specific sites throughout Puget Sound and Washington coastal areas and bays. Along the Washington coast, small populations spawn in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor, and some spawning has been reported in the Columbia River estuary (Monaco et al. 1990). Larval and juvenile herring have also been found in Grays Harbor (Monaco et al. 1990). Herring deposit their eggs on marine vegetation: eelgrass and various algae, in the shallow subtidal and intertidal zone generally at tidal elevations from +3 feet to -20 feet Mean Low Low Waterline (MLLW). Forage fish are small, pelagic schooling fish which are important as forage for predatory fish, birds, and mammals. They provide an important link in the food chain between zooplankton and piscivorous (fish-eating animals). Because herring migrate considerable distances from their spawning grounds, impact on the critical habitats they utilize in one area could affect harvest or the food chain at other locations.
Copyright Text: This information was pulished as Technical Report 79, April 1992 Salmon, marine fish and shellfish resources and associated fisheries in Washington's coastal and inland mairne waters by the Habitat Management Division of the then Washington Department of Fisheries (WDF), now known as the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. This report resulted from the efforts of many individuals within WDF. Thom Hooper and Don Haring were project leaders for Habitat Management Division. Dick Allen, Brian Benson and Bill Graeber were the principal authors and Randy McIntosh provided the graphics for this report. Several other WDF personnel provided data for and/or reviewed portions of the report. They included Chuck Aldrich, Jon Anderson, Dan Ayers, Steve Berry, Alex Bradbury, Ray Buckley, Dick Bumgarner, Randy Carman, Theresa Clocksin, Anita Cook, Brian Culver, Wolf Dammers, Gary Davis, Dan Doty, Brett Dumbauld, Kurt Fresh, Lynn Goodwin, Mike Gross, Don Hendrick, Dwight Herren, Tom Jagielo, Gayle Kreitman, Paul LaRiviere, Doug Milward, Jim Norris, Tom Northup, Dan Pentilla, Cyreis Schmitt, Al Scholz, Doug Simons, Dennis Tufts, Wendy White, and Bill Wood. Special thanks are due to Dale Gombert of WDF for preparation of the majority of the maps and figures used in this report.
Description: The digital maps presented here were originally published as hard copy maps in the Coastal Zone Atlas of Washington between 1978 and 1980. Although the Atlas has been out of print for many years, the maps contain information that remain the basis for local planning decisions. After receiving multiple requests for electronic versions of portions of the Atlas, an effort was made to scan, georeference and digitize aspects of the Atlas, beginning with the slope stability maps. These maps indicate the relative stability of coastal slopes as interpreted by geologists based on aerial photographs, geological mapping, topography, and field observations. Such methods are standard, but may occasionally result in some unstable areas being overlooked and in some stable areas being incorrectly identified as unstable. Further inaccuracies are introduced to the data through the process of converting the published maps into digital format. Important land use or building decisions should always be based on detailed geotechnical investigations. This mapping represents conditions observed in the early and mid-1970s. Shorelines and steep slopes are dynamic areas and many landslides have occurred since that time that are not reflected on these maps. Subsequent human activities may have increased or decreased the stability of some areas.
Copyright Text: Washington State Department of Ecology, Shorelands and Coastal Zone Management Program