Help Survey Puget Sound Shorelines for Invasive Species

Click here for 2010 Paddle Schedule

**NEW** Read 'Paddling With a Purpose' in Wavelength magazine beautiful new summer edition.

Warmer weather and calmer waters have arrived to Puget Sound!  All around the Salish Sea, emergent paddlers are airing out musty gear and dusting kayaks off from winter storage.  At the same time out in the marshes, estuaries and beaches the Spartina plants are pushing up through the muck and daring us to come find them. 

People For Puget Sound has been working for over a decade to eradicate this nasty weed from our shorelines.  This will be the fourth season we have trained volunteer sea kayakers to survey for invasive Spartina grasses.  The first trainings are coming up and we are on the lookout for experienced sea kayakers interested in this citizen science opportunity.

Spartina anglica is an invasive, salt-tolerant grass that was planted in the Puget Sound in the 1960s for dike stabilization. It aggressively displaces native vegetation, disrupts shorebird and juvenile salmon foraging areas, and impacts shellfish habitat.  It is adapted to grow in a variety of tide-influenced locations, such as mud flats, salt marshes, and sand or cobble beaches. 

Washington State has been working aggressively to eradicate Spartina from our shorelines for over 15 years.   People For Puget Sound has been a part of this effort for years, conducting dozens of Spartina removal events and educating hundreds of private property owners and members of the general public.   This control effort is one of the few invasive species stories that appears to have a happy ending coming- control efforts have been successful and all known Spartina infestations are being eradicated.  Surveys are increasingly important to locate scattered Spartina plants that represent seed sources for re-introduction of the region. 

People For Puget Sound has been working to find these unknown infestations by conducting surveys using trained citizen scientists-- volunteer kayakers.    Experienced sea kayakers attend our trainings and are then equipped to survey their local waters for invasive Spartina.  The 2010 Survey Season is here and we are looking for volunteers!  Kayakers are needed to conduct surveys and be on the lookout for Spartina around the Sound, so contact us to hear about training opportunities near you! 

Click here for 2010 Paddle Schedule