15-year plan released to improve health of Puget Sound
posted 12/13/2006
Saying that we must "do more" and "do it better" to protect and restore Puget Sound, Governor Chris Gregoire launched an initiative in December 2005 to revitalize efforts to improve the health of Puget Sound, one of the nation’s crown jewels. The Governor enlisted some of the region’s leading citizens to form a new public/private group called the Puget Sound Partnership to develop an aggressive 15-year plan to solve Puget Sound’s most vexing problems. To assist this group, she also convened a group of 11 scientists to provide scientific input and advice on how to accomplish this lofty goal. Orcas island resident Dr. Joe Gaydos, Regional Director of the SeaDoc Society, a program of the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center, was a member of the Science Working Group and has been intimately involved in this process for the last year.
After a year of deliberations, the 22-member commission concluded "The dazzling appearance of Puget Sound is deceiving; the numbers of salmon, orcas and many other creatures are at a fraction of historic levels and tell us that our ecosystem is in trouble. The essential natural processes that support the wealth of species in Puget Sound have been disrupted through our actions." Titled "Sound Health, Sound Future--Protecting and Restoring Puget Sound," the report addresses all of the Governor’s charges to the Partners.
December 13, 2006, the Puget Sound Partnership released its final report to Gov. Chris Gregoire outlining a series of recommendations to reach a healthy Puget Sound by 2020. Gaydos says, "This is an exciting start to a long-term restoration effort. I’m glad that good science is playing a role in this process and it has been an honor for the SeaDoc Society to be involved. I’m looking forward to this regional effort translating into action."
The 25 page executive summary of the report is available on the SEADOC Society Web site.
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