Washington State Awarded $8.5M to Protect and Restore Coastal Wetlands

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will award more than $8.5 million in grants to 10 projects in Washington that protect and restore coastal wetlands. The grants are part of the $19.2 million awarded to 11 states through the 2010 National Coastal Wetland Conservation Grant Program. Nationwide, the grant program will fund 25 conservation projects encompassing nearly 6,100 acres of coastal habitat.

Totten Inlet Makes King5 News

News Release

Algae Bloom Along Washington Coast

Beginning October 19, 2009, distressed seabirds began coming ashore along the Washington and Northern Oregon coasts. In Washington, the most birds have been found along the Long Beach Peninsula and the northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula.

The birds appear to be wet and hypothermic. Many birds are dead upon arrival on the beach and others die soon after.

This event appears to be similar to a September 2009 event along the northern Washington coast that claimed thousands of seabirds. That event was associated with a harmful algae bloom. At this time, the biologists believe the current event is a natural occurrence associated with climatic conditions.

Biologists believe foam created during the breakdown of the algae through wave action interferes with the ability of the bird's feathers to shed water. Once the water penetrates the bird's feathers they are no longer able to stay warm or afloat and they drown or suffer hypothermia. Birds that reach shore are sometimes able to clean themselves and restore their buoyancy and heat retention.

Biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), National Park Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Ecology, and Washington's coastal tribes are conducting an ongoing scientific investigation. The USFWS contracted for aerial surveys of the coastal area on October 28 to assess the scope of the incident, including extent of the algae foam's distribution and the distribution of birds that could be affected. Biological samples have been collected and are under examination at the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Biologists are also collating numbers and species of potentially-involved birds and other animals. Investigation results will be reviewed and used to determine appropriate responses to any future events. Numbers of distressed birds and foam distribution appear to have declined in the last few days but biologists are continuing to monitor the situation.

The public is encouraged, for their own safety and that of the birds, to stay away from the birds. Approaching or attempting to assist stressed wildlife only further increases the danger to both wildlife and humans. Please keep all pets, especially dogs, away from distressed wildlife.

Marbled Murrelet Remains Threatened

Citing continued declines in the population of marbled murrelets in Washington, Oregon and California, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that the small seabird continues to need the protection of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and will retain its status as a threatened species.

The decision to deny a petition to delist the Washington, Oregon and California population of marbled murrelets is based on strong science and recognition that the tri-state population is distinct from marbled murrelets in Canada and Alaska.

The marbled murrelet spends much of its life at sea but nests mostly in old-growth forests along the northern Pacific Coast. A 2009 Fish and Wildlife Service review of the species showed the population from San Francisco Bay to the Canadian border declined as much as 34 percent between 2000 and 2008. South of San Francisco Bay, the population dropped 75 percent between 2003 and 2008. About 18,000 birds are estimated to remain in the three states.

The species faces a broad range of threats that are contributing to population decline. Although some threats such as entrapment in gillnets and lack of regulatory mechanisms have been reduced since the species was first protected, most threats remain, including loss and degradation of nesting and foraging habitat and high rates of predation. The species also faces newly identified threats such as abandoned fishing gear, harmful algal blooms and changes in the quality of the bird's marine food supply. Given the species' small and declining population and the scope and magnitude of the ongoing and new threats, the Service concluded the species continues to meet the definition of a threatened species under the ESA. Therefore, removing the murrelet from the list of threatened and endangered species is not warranted.

The Washington, Oregon and California population of the marbled murrelet was federally listed as threatened in 1992 and critical habitat was designated in 1996. In 1997, the Service approved a recovery plan for the marbled murrelet that specified actions necessary to halt the decline of the species. The plan is available online at http://endangered.fws.gov/recovery/index.html

News Release

Federal Register Notice (pdf)

Learn more >