Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Washington
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Nearly two decades after the formation of the Puget Sound Partnership brought an increase in funding and management attention to Puget Sound recovery, an indicator of ecosystem health for Puget Sound, the abundance of marine birds, remains imperiled. There is an urgent need to assess the impacts of changing environmental conditions on marine bird populations in Puget Sound, as many species are already declining or vulnerable. Through funding from Washington Sea Grant, the WACFWRU is partnering with the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to carry out an integrated assessment of wintering marine birds in Puget Sound. We will integrate Washington Department of Fish and Wlidlife data with a long-term community science dataset to better understand marine bird abundance, growth, and distributions throughout the winter, to inform conservation of these species and their habitats.