The organisms found on local shorelines have some very interesting adaptations to live in this unique ecosystem. Use our beach guide to identify local creatures and ways you can help them as you explore gently.

Learn more about Puget Sound marine life and environmental issues through King County. Here you can do everything from view a photo collection of marine plants and animals (including Puget Sound fish, invertebrates, and algae), to identify common intertidal sea stars.

Watersheds are land areas draining or channeling rainfall and snowmelt first to creeks, streams, and rivers, and then to larger bodies of water, and the ocean. Stormwater is the water that enters local watersheds through storm drains without being filtered or cleaned. Use some of these simple stormwater action steps to improve the health of Puget Sound. You may already be doing some of them!

Most people rely heavily on plastics from day to day. The consequence is that a staggering amount of marine debris is negatively affecting species from small plankton to large whales. Learn some ways to limit these effects from the Ocean Conservancy and Plastic Oceans, which include recent and upcoming films on the subject. We typically host spring and fall beach cleanups at Seahurst Park and participants can add to the Salmon Sculpture. Take part anytime in June to have your data added to local and worldwide research!

The Environmental Science Center monitors local water quality to assess the health of Puget Sound watersheds, focusing on the impact of stormwater runoff and pollution. Through partnerships with schools and programs like Salmon Heroes, students test water at various sites for factors like pH, nitrate, and turbidity, sharing their data through the Earth Echo Water Challenge to promote public awareness and conservation.

The Environmental Science Center, supported by NOAA B-WET funding, connects students with NOAA scientists to explore salmon-related questions. Common inquiries address issues like salmon endangerment, the effectiveness of protective laws, and the biological reasons behind salmon behavior and life cycles.

The Puget Sound shoreline is vital to life for many plants and creatures. Salmon and other species depend on marine nearshore habitat for food and shelter. Find out why Seahurst was home to the largest bulkhead removal of its kind on Puget Sound and what that means for the health of our ecosystem.

The numbers of salmon in our waters have been on the decline. It is directly related to the health of our Puget Sound. Many of our programs involve reporting local water quality data and educating people about stormwater action steps. See if you have the same questions for NOAA scientists as local students and find out what others are doing to help with salmon recovery.

Birds rely on a health watershed to survive and to continue benefitting the many natural systems that they live in. Use these digital and physical resources to learn identification tips, ways to help them, and to help researchers study where they occur. From phone apps to books and games, there are plenty of ways to assist in community science projects or appreciation of the birds around us.

Check this resource to view the tide and current predictions. This is a great tool to check before planning a visit to the beach. Through this NOAA website you can look up any beach at any date and see what the tide predictions are. Find a list of 2021 low tides on our event pages.